Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Indoor succulent help please

dollparts1971dollparts1971 Posts: 8
in Problem solving
Hello. I'm new to this site and really need some help please. I've had this plant for nearly 4 years now. I think its an agave but not sure. Have found it hard to identify. I repotted it May 2020 in cactus/succulent soil. It started to lose its lower leaves and is now leaning. I dont know what to do. I would really appreciate any advice on identifying this plant and how to best care for it. Thank you. Maria.

Posts

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    That looks like the type of pot that has no drainage holes. If so, there is a real chance of over watering, which might possibly be a reason for the leaf drop. I'm no expert, but prefer to keep my succulents and cacti in terracotta pots, which allow the compost to dry out more naturally. Death from under watering is far less likely than the opposite!
    Some succulents do develop woody stems, like Aethiomina,so it may be yours is one of these, someone more knowledgable may be along to help soon :)
  • clarke.bruntclarke.brunt Posts: 215
    I'm pretty certain it's something in the wide Crassula family (Crassulaceae), so definitely not an Agave! The family includes many genera and species, which I'm not much good at identifying. I keep thinking of Sedum which is in that family, but doesn't look quite right.

    It looks in perfect health to me. The lower leaves are going to drop eventually, or be knocked off - not firmly attached in this kind of plant, which is the kind that will probably grow from leaf cuttings, so maybe it's even a strategy by which the plant spreads.

    And it will grow a stem with time, and tend to lean over. You can see small aerial roots growing on the stem, which is another thing they do.

    Yesterday, in my greenhouse, I tidied plants of Echeveria (these ones being different to your plant, but other Echeveria can be similar). I was removing papery dead lower leaves - every so often, the stem gets too long to be practical (they would probably sprawl around in their natural habitat), so I cut off the top and re-plant (with the aerial roots, this is usually no problem).


  • dollparts1971dollparts1971 Posts: 8
    edited February 2021
    I only water the plant once a month, so don't think it's over watering. The lower leaves do go thin and papery and then fall off. Im wondering if I should remove the lower leaves and then replant, with the soil upto the exposed stem, then I won't lose the roots. Maybe I should transfer it to a terracotta pot with a drainage saucer? 
  • dollparts1971dollparts1971 Posts: 8
    @clarke.brunt @Buttercupdays Thank you both for your help. Turns out I had over watered it! Clarke, thanks for identifying the variety. Because of that, I was able to find info on what to do. I'm now letting the roots dry out and have removed lower leaves and ordered a better pot with drainage. Im going to propagate the leaves I've removed to grow some new plants too. 
Sign In or Register to comment.