Think your succulent is dying? Saving a dying succulent takes a few steps, but it can be easy. So before you throw it away, take a step back and assess why it’s not healthy. Once you’ve done that, in most cases, you’ll be able to bring it back to vibrant life. In this article, we’ll look at the reasons why this happens and how to save a dying succulent.
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Why is your succulent dying?
Your plant may be starved of water, overwatered, sunburned, frozen or infested. Each of them needs an individualized treatment plan.
Your succulent is dying for one of many reasons. First, check if there is water. The main reason these plants deteriorate is due to too much or too little water. These are species that need the right amount of water, neither too much nor too little.
Leaves can tell you a lot. Sunburn and frostbite happen, and you can help your plant if you haven’t waited too long. If it is infested, you can see the bugs and take action to get rid of them.
Various things make succulents sick, and if you catch it early, you can save them. Let’s look at the main reasons and how to save a dying succulent.
1. Small watering
It is much easier to save a succulent that dies from lack of watering than to save it from overwatering. They are naturally habituated to drought and can often survive for quite some time with little or no water.
If you see the top leaves drying out and shrivelling, it may require more water. The lower leaves naturally dry out as the plant grows, creating new leaves on top, so don’t be alarmed if you see the lower ones die off. However, if all the leaves start to dry out, your succulent loses its health.
First, soak the soil with water using a watering can. Keep pouring until you see water dripping from the bottom of the pot or notice that the garden soil looks very full.
However, let it dry out before watering again. You don’t want to go from overwatering to overwatering. Do the heavy soak several times, then return to your normal amount of water.
Later in this article we teach a method called “hydrotherapy” that you can apply in this case.
2. Overwatering
Are your succulents suffering from excess water? You can confirm this if the leaves look transparent and soggy or yellow.
Once you’ve determined that your plant is dying from overwatering, you can take steps to bring it back to health. Start by watering less and see if that helps. Otherwise, there are more drastic procedures you can apply.
If the water settings don’t help, take the plant out of the container and gently shake off as much of the moist soil as possible. Spread it on a flat surface in indirect light for about a week until it dries.
When you think it’s completely dry, plant it in a pot with a drainage hole and use succulent soil. This soil drains well and prevents your new home from retaining water and getting too wet.
Finally, wait a week to water it for the first time. This will allow it to establish its roots in the new pot and dry out a bit more. Then start your watering schedule by soaking the soil and letting it dry completely before watering again. Remember that succulents are drought resistant.
If the leaves are brown or black and appear to be rotting, you will need to do a little more work. Cut the top of the plant just above the blackheads.
Leave the rest of the plant alone and don’t water it until it’s completely dry. It may not survive, but you can try this for the bottom of your plant that is still in the ground.
3. Sunburnt Succulents
Succulents love the sun, but they can get sunburned, so be careful how long they spend in full sun.
If you see scorching, brown or black spots will appear on the leaves, if you see this, they may be sunburned. Immediately put it in the shade.
However, if you can’t move it because it’s stuck in the ground, use shade cloth to cover it, then plan to eventually move it to a new location. This tint should help him regain his health.
However, if your plant is burned at an advanced stage, you may not be able to save it. You can try water therapy, but there are no guarantees. If it can’t survive, learn from it and research how much sun your succulents need before you plant them.
4. Frozen Succulents
Succulents can suffer from frostbite in sub-zero temperatures. If you haven’t protected your plant from this, you may see limp, brown leaves.
If there are only a few affected leaves, cut them off where they are attached to the stem and this should help revive your plant.
However, if the entire plant looks mushy, it may be too late and you will need to remove it entirely. It is easy to prevent frostbite. Plant only cold hardy succulents in areas that fall below freezing or cover them with frost cloth during colder times.
5. Pest infestation
Check to see if your succulents are infested so you can treat them immediately. There are many types of infestations, so you need to determine which type and treat accordingly.
You can remove some bugs with your fingers or tweezers if you don’t like touching them. Pay attention to the amount of scratching you do on the leaves and keep it to a minimum to keep the plant healthy.
You can also use the hose to spray the insects, but be careful not to spray them so hard that you will also damage your plant.
One insect that loves these plants is the spider mite, you can read specifically about how to get rid of spider mites here.
Once all the insects are gone, treat the plant and the area around it with an insecticide suitable for the type of insect you had. The area around the plant becomes toxic to insects and they die once they ingest it.
water therapy method
Some gardeners believe that water therapy can save severely dehydrated or burned plants. However, you should be careful when doing this and not do it more than once.
Water therapy involves completely removing the succulent from its pot and placing the roots only in water. So there is a technique.
- Gently remove the plant and clean the soil from the roots, removing dust. Do not shake or bang the roots against anything to loosen the soil.
- Pour the water into a small pitcher or pot through which you can see the roots.
- Place the roots only in water. Don’t bring out the leaves
- Leave the roots in the water for about 2-3 days
- Take the plant out of the pot and let the roots dry out completely before replanting.
- Once you replant it, wait a few days before starting the watering cycle
Water therapy should only be used when other methods of saving a dying succulent from lack of watering or sunburn don’t work, and only do it once. If during or just after you don’t see that your plant is healthy again, it is too damaged.
latest tips
Succulents are hardy plants that can withstand drought, but certain circumstances cause them to decline. Determining why your plant is suffering is essential, otherwise you may be treating it the wrong way.
Take the time to check the water, observe or even smell the leaves and go from there. Every disease has its own cure. Be patient with your succulent; it won’t be a quick fix; it needs time to heal and thrive again.
It may also be interesting to read: 12 ideal succulents to grow indoors (growing tips)
Now that you know how to save a dying succulent, share this with your fellow gardeners in case they need some advice for their succulents.
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