Help revive these!!

11 years ago

Hi Everyone,
I'm trying to keep these guys alive! I was wondering if anyone could advise me on what I could do to help the two succulents on the left side of the pot. The other 3-4 seem to be doing fine. Also, if anyone can ID them that would be awesome too.
Here are conditions in that room that they are all exposed to:
They were repotted last weekend in soil for cacti/succulents. They are in a large, rather shallow pot with no holes on the bottom, but I put some rocks to allow for some water drainage. The pot is in a sunroom near the window and gets plenty of sun everyday. We live in Boston however so the temperature near that window gets pretty low, especially since it's an old single pane window with a storm window too. Also, about a feet below there's a radiator that gets rather hot. I'm not sure how resilient some succulents are but I can imagine that exposing them to both hot and cold could be discomforting. I watered them last weekened and the soil seems to be dry, I was going to wait to water them next weekend though since their water requirements should be quite low.
So is there anything that I'm doing that is causing those two succulents on the left to wither like such? I think I was over watering them a little while back, so maybe they are just recovering from that episode? Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

kaliaman
11 years ago
put them into small pots, these plants like to have their roots restricted. when in too big a pot the plants tend to get overwatered and not grow well. pinch them back a bit and put in a sunny window with southern-western exposure.
User
11 years ago
I think a very important factor here is putting a drainage hole in that pot. Either that or get one that has one already.
That stretched look they have indicates not enough light.
Related Professionals
West Milford Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Windham Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · East Patchogue Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Stoughton Landscape Contractors · Aberdeen Landscape Contractors · Berkeley Heights Landscape Contractors · Lake Zurich Landscape Contractors · Lexington Landscape Contractors · Lynn Landscape Contractors · Mission Viejo Landscape Contractors · Oviedo Landscape Contractors · Riverview Landscape Contractors · Ronkonkoma Landscape Contractors · Seymour Landscape Contractors · Hueytown Landscape Contractors
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
11 years ago
That soil doesn't look anything like what I'd plant a succulent in. It looks like pure peat.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
peat is dredged from bogs..

its holds lots of water.. by definition ...

those are of the cactus persuasion .. cactus do not live in bogs ...

that is you problem.. pure and simple..

that lack of hole in the bottom is an added drainage problem ...

they do sell premixed bags of cactus media.. go buy some.. its great stuff for almost all plants ... [but for bog plants.. lol] ....

and.. VERY IMPORTANT.. you wet your media.. before you plant in it.. and sometimes it takes hot water to get it to soak into it all ... so do that in advance.. days in advance ...

i would bet a buck.. you could fill that pot of yours with water.. and the peat.. being somewhat water repellant.. would float right over the side ...

so get some cactus mix.. wet it for a day or two prior.. so all the woody parts and peat can soak up some water.. and replant these things..

an easy way to remember.. is that cactus types.. like a sip of water.. and then near dry roots .. which translates in our world to full and complete 'drainage' .. key word there..... and that includes your media .. and your pot ... and how often you water it ...

we will get you there.. thank god you found us to ask ....

if you wet the media properly ... it might be a week or 3 before it would need to be watered again.. insert finger and learn to figure out when it needs water ...

ken

ps: they really dont like ottomans.. but would prefer the recliner.. or is that a paper shredder.. ????? .. the desktop.. a bread machine??? .. i know.. you just put it there for the pic.. just having some fun ...