Succulent Care: Easy Tips for Thriving Plants

Even though succulents are a group oflow-maintenance plants, they still need to be properly cared for. Here's an insight into the most common succulent problems and how you can bring them back to life.

Your succulent’s leaves are falling off?

If your leaves on your succulent drop off when you so much as look at them, don't panic. It's nothing that can’t be fixed. Usually, this is caused by a little too much love, also known as overwatering! When you over-water a succulent its leaves start to swell, they get mushy and eventually fall off. Another cause could be extreme heat. To help conserve energy and their water supply succulents drop their leaves when it gets extremely hot. Since we are in the UK, the dropping leaves will most likely be caused by overwatering.

What to do if your succulent’s leaves have turned yellow

Succulents should be lush and green, so when its leaves start to turn yellow it can be worrying. Again, the most likely cause is overwatering that turned the succulent’s leaves to turn yellow and transparent. If you gave them a bit too much water you will also notice that the leaves feel a bit soggy. Whereas if the leaves look shrivelled you have probably not given it enough water.

The leaves have started to wither and shrivel

Shrivelling, wilting and crispy leaves… Are all signs of an unhappy succulent. You probably haven’t given it enough love. Even though succulents can go a long while without water they do need it every once in a while. If the upper leaves start to wither and shrivel you know you need to up your watering game.

My succulent’s got brown leaves or dark spots

Another colour you don’t want to see on your succulents is brown. Sometimes brown or dark spots appear on a succulent’s leaves and this is usually caused by sunburn. Unfortunately, there is no remedy for these spots but see it as a lesson. Succulents like a bit of sun but if they are exposed to direct and/or unfiltered sunlight without getting a chance to acclimatise they will get burned – just like you and me.

Your succulent’s lower leaves have died-off, what now?

Don’t be too alarmed when the succulent’s lower leaves turn dry and crispy and eventually die-off. This is a natural process that enables the plant to grow new leaves. You can remove these dead leaves by gently pulling them off and remove any dead leaves that have fallen onto the soil.

How to prevent overwatering succulents

Don’t kill your succulents with kindness. The first thing to remember is to make sure the soil dries out before you water it again. You can test this by sticking your finger about an inch into the soil. Furthermore, you need to use soil that drains well to prevent the succulent to sit in water for too long. It also helps if the succulents (inner) pot has drainage holes so excess water can drip out.

How to prevent underwatering succulents

Luckily it is a little bit harder to underwater a succulent but it does happen occasionally. When the soil is completely dry you need to give it a good soak and let it drain. If you have any shrivelled leaves they should start to look better after two waterings. From then on, remember to water your succulent more frequently. Please note that during a heatwave, succulents do need a bit more water – don’t we all?

If you'd like any further advice, help or have any questions on ordering new plants, just drop me a message! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy these posts. I'd be grateful if you could share and like :)