Succulents are some of the most beautiful, unique plants out there. Every single day more and more people are learning how to grow succulents, and are getting into succulents. Succulents are also very easy to grow and care for, but they do tend to lose their beautiful colors.
A big reason why succulents are so popular is because of their amazing beautiful bright colors that everyone adores. When succulents lose their color it’s like why am I even growing these anyways?? Right?? At least I think so.
I grow succulents because of their unique shape, amazing leaves, and their beautiful bright colors. I sometimes had my succulents lose their colors until I discovered why this happens. Now why does this happen? Why do succulents lose their amazing bright colors that everyone adores and loves.
Succulents will lose their color due to lack of sunlight, watering issues, poor soil quality, cold or warm temperatures, or the pot you are using is too big. If your succulent is losing color it’s best to test these problems and see which one needs to be fixed.
After reading, you will know how to solve these problems that we have listed. These problems aren’t hard to fix at all, just make sure you follow these steps. This will help you to never have your succulent lose color ever again!
Before we Begin...
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Let’s begin!
Perfect Watering
Too much water for your succulent will make your succulent start to lose color. We don’t mean your succulent is getting overwatered and starting to rot, but we mean your succulent has drunk and absorbed too much water. Basically your succulent is drinking the most perfect amount of water possible, there’s not much you can do about this.
A succulent that gets the most perfect amount of water will slowly start to turn green and lose the color it started out with. This is just simply because the succulent is just getting the perfect amount of water and it’s growing very healthy.
This really isn’t a huge issue, but it will change the color of your succulent simply because it’s growing healthy. When succulents get enough water and grow healthy their leaves will get brighter. If your succulent had yellow leaves and now bright green then it’s a good sign because your succulent is getting the perfect amount of water and growing healthy.
I understand if you want your succulent to look and go back to normal, but how can you fix a succulent growing healthy? To fix this you would just need to cut back on the watering for your succulent. Maybe only water once every 2 weeks and not once a week. This will help your succulent not lose its color and change to a different color like light green.
However, if you cut back on watering then there’s a chance your succulent will start to experience underwatering symptoms. This happens when the leaves of your succulent start to look dry/wrinkled. If this happens then you will need to go back to your typical watering schedule so your succulent doesn’t come close to dying from being underwatered.
Lack Of Sunlight
Lack of sunlight is another reason why your succulent will lose its color. When you don’t give your succulent enough sunlight it will start to turn and look pale. This happens because sunlight gives succulents their bright beautiful colors, if you just grow them in shade then they will just turn pale and lose their bright beautiful color.
The sunlight hits their leaves and that stimulates bright colors to produce on the leaves. Even if you start out your succulent growing in great sunlight and then move it to shade only, the succulent will turn pale because it loses its sunlight.
It’s very important to give your succulents enough sunlight, at least 6 hours a day. Not only will it keep its colors bright and not pale, but the succulent will need sunlight to prevent etiolation which is very dangerous for succulents.
To fix your pale succulent that loses its color, then you will need to move it to a new growing area that gets enough sunlight. At least 6 hours of sunlight a day is needed if you want your succulent to get its bright colors back and to keep those bright colors. If you don’t then it will continue to look and stay pale and also lack color.
Bad/Dead Soil
Yes, soil can turn bad and also be dead, this will lead to a succulent losing its color. Soil will turn bad/die over a long period of time, which isn’t good for your succulents. When soil turns bad/dies then all of the nutrients in that soil are dead, and now your succulent will stop getting the nutrients it needs.
When your succulent lacks nutrients it will also lack color. It needs its nutrients and good soil to produce its beautiful bright colors. This happens because soil will eventually turn bad/die, will then lack nutrients, then your succulents will lack nutrients, then start to lose their beautiful colors.
So to solve this dead soil problem, you will simply need to use fast/well draining succulent soil that has nutrients. It’s the nutrients in the succulent soil that the succulent feeds on, without it the succulent won’t grow healthy. This is why they start to look pale and unhappy because they aren’t eating! To make sure your succulent is absorbing nutrients, it’s best to use fast/well draining succulent soil loaded with nutrients. This will prevent your succulent from turning pale and losing it’s beautiful colors.
Use Well-Draining Succulent Soil
To prevent succulents from losing color you should use well-drained succulent soil. It's very important that you use well-drained succulent soil so the soil doesn't stay soaked with water for several days. If you overwater the succulent and the soil stays wet and not dry for several days, then mold and bacteria will grow and appear. The mold and bacteria will then attack the roots of the succulent giving it root rot. Root rot is known as the #1 most common reason why a succulent will die.
To avoid mold/bacteria and root rot, you must use well-drained succulent soil. Well-drained succulent soil will keep the soil dry at a very fast rate preventing mold/bacteria and root rot from appearing. Any succulent grower expert will tell you that you need well-drained succulent soil, it's definitely a requirement for growing this succulent and every single other succulent out there.
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
Heat
If your succulent is losing its color then it could be due to excessive heat. If growing indoors then it could just be way too hot inside of the place where it's growing. This leads to your succulent losing color all because it's just getting too hot and dehydrated.
Also when growing outdoors and getting too much sun, making your succulent just way too hot. Heat simply will allow a succulent to lose its color, it’s like when your succulent gets sunburn it loses its colors.
It’s very important to make sure that your succulent doesn’t get too much sun and is just sitting in the hot heat all day. This will easily allow your succulent to lose its color. Heat is simply just not a succulents friend, and it will cause your succulent to lose color or even get sunburned.
To stop this issue, just make sure you are growing this succulent in full sun and also partial shade. It will need some shade to relax and take a break from the hot heat. This will help avoid color loss!
Cold Temperatures
Cold or freezing temperatures will also cause your succulent to lose color. Most succulents aren’t cold hardy, so they will not survive in cold or freezing temperatures. When succulents are exposed to freezing temperatures they will turn pale and lose their colors because they aren’t meant for these temperatures.
They are used to natural growing temperatures that are fairly warm and suitable for them. Very cold weather such as under 30 degrees will cause your succulent to lose its colors and most likely kill it. There’s a reason why it’s turning pale and that’s because it’s freezing and cannot handle the cold weather.
To fix this you need to simply move and grow your succulent indoors for the cold winter season. If the weather gets under 30 degrees in your location, then you will have to move your succulents indoors. This will prevent death and also loss of colors.
Succulent Pot is Too Small
A succulent pot that’s way too small will cause your succulent to turn pale and lose its colors. This is because you’re giving your succulent way too much room or not enough room to grow.
When the pot is way too small you’re simply giving it not enough room. This will cause the succulent to stress a lot because it’s roots want to grow larger and expand, but they can’t because there’s not enough room.
The roots will just be hitting the bottom of the pot and stop expanding and growing like they want to. This causes stress and will also cause the succulent to lose or change its colors. Stress easily causes color change, so make sure to grow your succulent in the right size pot.
To fix this you will simply need a bigger pot. If you bought a 3 inch succulent, then it’s best to buy a 4 inch or 5 inch succulent pot. Simply repot it in a bigger pot so its roots can grow and expand. This will most likely solve your succulent changing of its colors. For more information on choosing the right succulent pot you can read our article!
That’s it!
Now you know exactly why succulents lose color and what to do to stop this from happening. It happens a lot to many succulent growers, so don’t get discouraged by it! You’re not the only one! Just follow the guide and your succulents should stay colorful and beautiful! 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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