Growing succulents is very easy once you get it down. However, many beginners struggle with growing succulents. A lot of beginners don’t know what to do when a problem occurs so some do freak out and worry.
There’s a lot of common problems when growing succulents and most likely every single succulent grower beginner will experience these problems. This is good for beginners tho, it’s great to experience these problems because after you fix these problems then they won’t ever happen again because you now know what to do.
We’re going to help you out today and try our best to give you as much information as possible. By the end of this article, you will know all the common problems when growing succulents and you will know how to solve these problems so it never happens again!
Before we Begin...
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Let’s begin!
Some common problems when growing succulents would be overwatering/root rot, underwatering, too much sun, lack of sun, and pests. These are all common problems when growing succulents and they drive beginners crazy! However, they are very easy to fix and prevent!
Overwatering/Root Rot
Probably the most common problem when growing succulents would be overwatering and root rot. Overwatering and root rot are basically the same thing, root rot occurs when you overwater a succulent.
Succulents don’t need or want too much water, so when you overwater it things go south. If too much water just sits in the soil for several days then nasty mold and bacteria will grow and appear. That mold and bacteria will then begin to attack the roots of the succulent giving the succulent symptoms of root rot/overwatering.
Symptoms of overwatering/root rot would be mushy leaves, molding, rotting, and just an unhealthy/dying looking succulent. This is happening simply because you have overwatered the succulent.
Again, overwatering causes nasty mold and bacteria to grow and appear, and it then attacks the roots of the succulent. The nasty root rot/overwatering symptoms will occur and now you are stuck with a dying succulent.
Now what can you do now? Well first you will need to unpot the succulent and clean the pot out completely, and replace all of the bad soil. Then you must let your succulent sit unpotted out for 2-4 days until the roots and the soil are completely dry.
If you let the roots and the soil get completely dry then that will kill the mold and bacteria infection on the roots. After the soil and roots are completely dry then repot the succulent in fresh new fast/well draining succulent soil.
Once you do this then water the succulent after 3 days of repotting. If you follow this then root rot will completely be gone and your succulent will start to look normal again.
To prevent root rot you must only water 1-2 days a week or when the soil is completely dry. You must not overwater a succulent or this will most definitely happen again.
You must also use fast/well draining succulent soil. Fast/well draining succulent soil will drain the excess water and keep the soil dry at a very fast rate. This is much needed when growing succulents because it truly helps. Fast/well draining succulent soil is definitely a requirement if you want to prevent root rot and if you want to grow healthy and happy succulents.
We recommend using arguably the best succulent soil out there "Ramsey Succulent Soil"
Ramsey Succulent soil is arguably the best succulent soil on the market simply because it gets the job done and is loaded with nutrients.
Ramsey Succulent Soil has ingredients such as perlite, sand, and seaweed. Perlite and sand are known as the best ingredients out there if you want your soil well-drained. The perlite and sand will soak up all the excess water that your succulent does not need, preventing the soil from staying soaking wet for several days. So yes, Ramsey Succulent Soil will prevent mold/bacteria and root rot (the #1 most common reason why a succulent will die) simply because there will be no excess water.
That's not all tho.
What makes Ramsey Succulent Soil arguably the best are the nutrients that's in the soil. These nutrients will help your succulents grow bigger, faster, and healthier.
Ramsey Succulent Soil has seaweed fertilizer, which has 60 trace minerals and nutrients. Yes, your succulents will be absorbing 60 trace minerals and nutrients. This will make your succulents grow bigger, faster, and healthier without a doubt. Compared to other succulent soil, this succulent soil will make a huge huge difference for your plants. Don't believe us? Check out this picture below. You can definitely tell which succulent soil is better for your succulents.
Ramsey Succulent Soil: Click here to Purchase
Underwatering
If you have noticed dry/wrinkled leaves on your succulent then the succulent is most likely underwatered. This happens when you haven’t watered the succulent for a couple days or even maybe weeks.
When you underwater a succulent the succulent will then get dehydrated, that is why the leaves are now dry or wrinkled. Dry or wrinkled leaves are very common symptoms, you won’t miss them and once you see them you must take action.
To stop these wrinkled leaves simply just water the succulent. Don’t give it too much water, just give it a normal amount of water and it should be good. After a few days the succulent will get hydrated and you will start to see the dry and wrinkled leaves go back to normal.
To prevent dry/wrinkled leaves and underwatering, you must stick to a watering schedule. Water your succulents 1-2 days a week or when the soil looks or feels very dry. It’s very important to keep track of the exact last time you watered your succulent so if another watering issue occurs you will know why it’s happening.
Too Much Sun
If you start to see brown/red patches on the leaves of your succulent then there’s a very high chance that your succulent has a sunburn. Sunburns are very common when growing succulents because growers simply just give their succulents way too much sun.
You can’t just let your succulent grow in the full hot sun all day and not expect it to get damaged. Sunlight is great for succulents, but you just can’t give it too much sun especially when it’s very hot outside. Succulent leaves are very delicate and fragile, then sun easily bakes on the leaves and causes these brown/red patches also known as sunburn.
Now how do we prevent sunburn from happening? Well just make sure to give your succulent a break from the blistering sun! Make sure you grow your succulent in full sun and partial shade. Partial shade is great for succulents and will prevent the succulent from getting sunburn. You just must give your succulent a break from the sun, so find a nice growing area that will also get some shade for a couple hours! This will prevent sunburn!
Lack Of Sun
So we just talked about sunburn and giving succulents way too much sun. You also have to be careful that your succulent isn’t lacking sunlight. If you only grow your succulent in shade and not give it enough sunlight then it will begin the process of etiolation.
Etiolation is when a succulent isn’t getting enough sun, so the succulent will begin to stretch or grow tall. No, your succulent isn’t growing tall at a very fast rate it’s actually going through a very common succulent problem.
That problem is etiolation and must be stopped immediately. The succulent will begin to stretch or grow tall so it can find any source of light. It will stretch or grow tall straight up or sideways, making the succulent look unhealthy.
So how do we fix and solve etiolation? Unfortunately, etiolation lasts forever. Once your succulent is stretched or growing sideways or tall it can’t be fixed. You can only solve the issue and prevent it from happening again.
To prevent etiolation just simply give the succulent more sunlight. You should give your succulent at least 6 hours of sunlight every single day. This is plenty of sunlight to prevent etiolation and to prevent sunburn from occurring.
That’s it!
That’s all the main common problems when growing succulents! Succulents are very easy to grow and care for, but some beginners do and will come across these problems. These problems are a big deal and must be taken care of immediately or you could possibly have dead succulents in the future.
You now know all of the main common problems when growing succulents and you now know how to treat and prevent them! They are very easy to treat and prevent and you now know all of this information.
So if your succulents do have these main common problems then go take action and fix them! It’s very good that you come across these problems because you will know how to prevent them from ever happening again.
Best of luck!
Thank You!
Thank you for visiting our website and reading our article. We hope we brought value, and great information to you today. Our goal is to help fellow succulent lovers like you! Any questions or if you’d like more tips email us or comment below!
If you are interested in buying live succulents, soil, cuttings, etc. We have them available here on our website. Go to our homepage, or click the links in our articles for more information.
We thank you so much for your time.
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Ramsey Succulents
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