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pdish_gw

Help, I don't know what's wrong - first posting

PDish
10 years ago

Hello, this is my very first posting to Gardenweb and I wondered if the community could help me. I'm not sure what type of succulent this is, but when we bought it the bulbs were big and full. It's been so hot, but this is a cactus so the last thing I expected was for it to shrivel in the heat.

I think it's not doing so well and I've been told a couple of things. One person said we were overwatering and to let it dry out in the full son. Another person said the problem was the small sized pot and that we should simply change it out for a larger one. It is potted in cactus mix and we have been watering it about 2 times a week. Can I please have a bit of guidance with what my plant is and what I can do to help it get back to a less shriveled and sad looking state. Thank you for taking the time!

Comments (5)

  • Colleen E
    10 years ago

    Oooh, that's a great Aeonium. Many people, including me, would kill for such a nice, large specimen as that! And it does not look too poorly from here, with the exception of a couple things.

    Summertime is the time Aeoniums go dormant and most of the time want a major cutback on water, or to go basically dry with just a sip of water periodically. Summer is also when the rosettes ball up like yours are, which could be perceived as them sort of shriveling up. That is completely normal for this time of year. Full sun could be fine. I happen to do only part-sun with mine over the summer, to try to encourage them to wake up faster when fall comes and temperatures start dropping a bit. My conditions aren't ideal, so my plants are potted and I move them around in an attempt to please them at various times of the year.

    What isn't normal are the few branches that have flopped over. Where the branches have flopped, are they kind of mushy? If so, they're rotting, and you should remove them/perhaps cut them back to the main stem, to where the tissue is green and healthy inside. Also feel around the base of the stem for any mushy, rotting areas, and I would pray the root system is healthy and there isn't any rot going on below the soil line.

    My Aeoniums generally start waking up in the fall, and they do most of their growing through the winter and spring, until hot weather hits. Aeoniums are characterized as winter growers, which just means they don't like the heat much. If your summer doesn't get very hot, they can decide to not completely ball up and go entirely dormant, but instead only partially ball up and keep slowly growing through the season -- most of my Aeoniums went completely dormant this summer, but in the exact same conditions a couple of them didn't, and that's just a fluke.

    Aside from the few problem stems you have going there, I would hope it's one healthy plant. Just make sure you remove what has rotted so that the rot cannot spread. Don't let the balled-up look of the rosettes scare you. The leaves will open up and really start growing soon. Out of curiosity, I'd like to see a closer view of the plant. It has a look to it a bit like Aeonium balsamiferum, which I quite like.

    This post was edited by teatree on Sun, Aug 4, 13 at 19:55

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Hi & welcome to Gardenweb! I know nothing about this plant, but recognize the hard water/salt deposits at the bottom of the pot. Has your plant been sitting in a saucer of excess water repeatedly?

  • hanzrobo
    10 years ago

    Welcome! Great advice from teatree. Good question from purple, too. Yes, looks like too much water while sleeping. Still recoverable. It looks like the dead stems still have good rosettes on them... more plants!

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    10 years ago

    Yes like Hansrobo alluded to. One can grow new plants from cuttings from the drooped branches, or send them to Teatree. LOL. One cuts the branch rosette back to healthy flesh, let it callous over then mist it . Teatree probably has better instructions. I put them in a gritty mix and mist till they root.

    Nice large aeionium. I don't grow them because texas hummid hot summers is hard on them.

  • chaparralgirl
    10 years ago

    Teatree is the resident Aeonium guru here. :) Whatever advice she has on Aeoniums, I'd take it.

    *CG*