How to Plant Succulents
Hello.
I purchased these succulents from your garden about a month ago. They were planted directly into the soil 3 days from purchase and given a little water. Since then it’s rained a few times and I never saw any puddling. Others rooted very well, when lightly tugged on they didn’t bend or shift. A couple of days ago I noticed some of the other succulents weren’t doing so great. Attached are the ones that didn’t do so well.
– Photo (forgot the name): It seems the stem had rotted and fell limp. Is the soil not draining properly?
– Sedum hispanicum: Not sure if there’s anything wrong with them but they seemed a bit soft and not as hardy as the day I purchased them.
– Sempervivum: As you can see from the picture the succulent is just black! From the second picture the succulent is slightly elevated from the soil level just like the others.
Please help!
Thanks,
Anna
Anna,
The first one I think is an Echeveria that is turning into a single bloom stalk. The roots have definitely rotted because of the moisture. I recommend cutting the roots off the stem, bringing it inside and letting the cut portion heal for a week. Then you can replant it into dry cactus soil in a pot. If you’d like, you can bring it in to the store and we can take care of it for you.
The one Sempervivum that turned black has died, and should be removed. The Sedum looks OK, but it’s hard to tell from the photo for sure.
So the basic problem here is too much moisture around the roots. You have a wood-based black mulch on top and that is holding in the water, not letting the soil dry out. This is a good thing for perennials and annuals, but for succulents the soil needs to be able to dry out, so I recommend removing the mulch you have and using a rock mulch, like lava or drain rock.
I can’t tell what the soil is, but if it’s a clay soil it also needs to be amended for faster drainage.
Let me know if you need any more help with these.
Peter
