This is Why Your Succulents Smell Bad

There are a couple of reasons why your succulents smell bad. By the end of this article you will know exactly why your succulents smell bad and how to get rid of this nasty smell that’s on your beautiful succulents. 

Before we Begin...

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MOLD IN SUCCULENT SOIL

If your succulents smell bad then there’s a big chance that the succulent soil you are using for your succulent has mold in it. If there is mold in your succulent soil then yes your “succulents” will start to smell. As you are probably aware it’s not your succulents that smell but the moldy soil that smells really bad.

If your succulent soil has mold then you will start to see white fungus/white mold laying in the soil. That white mold/fungus will start to smell really bad and it’s also a threat to your succulent plants. It’s important to take action immediately and get rid of the mold.

Solution:

Your succulent soil has mold simply due to overwatering and not using proper soil. To get rid of the mold and bad smell you will need to use new and fresh succulent soil. You must use well-draining succulent soil in order to prevent mold from happening again.

You will need to unpot your succulents and let them sit out for a while until you change the soil. Simply get all of the dirt out of the succulent pot and make sure there’s no moldy soil left over. After use your new well-draining succulent soil and fill up the pot and then repot your succulents.

We use Ramsey Succulent Soil when growing our succulents. Our succulent soil is well-draining with the best well-draining ingredients such as perlite and sand. It’s also loaded with seaweed fertilizer that has 50 trace minerals and nutrients. So yes, your succulents will grow bigger, faster, and stronger when using our succulent soil. It will also prevent the moldy soil and bad smell in the soil!

ROOT ROT

Another reason why your succulents smell could be due to root rot. Root rot is very dangerous and is known as the #1 most common reason why a succulent will die. When your succulent has root rot, it’s basically dying and decomposing. Your succulent is rotting/dying this is why your succulent is starting to smell. Root rot most likely occurred only because you have overwatered your succulent to the point that mold and bacteria grew in the soil and attacked the roots of your succulent. After the bacteria attacks the roots then your succulent will start to rot, die, decompose, and of course smell bad.

Solution:

It’s very important that you treat succulent root rot immediately or your succulent will most likely die. You will have to unpot the succulent and let it sit out and dry its roots for 2-4 days. You will also have to replace the succulent soil and use fresh new soil. After your succulent has dried out then you can repot the succulent in fresh new succulent soil.

After you fix your succulent root rot issue then the succulent should not smell. If it still does then there’s a chance that your succulent still has root rot. Make sure to avoid overwatering if you want to avoid root root. It’s very important to only water 1-2 days a week or when the soil looks or feels very dry. Make sure to use well-draining succulent soil to avoid root rot as well.

URINE FROM ANIMALS

Yes, sometimes dogs or other animals will urinate on succulents. This mainly happens if you grow your succulents outdoors. It rarely happens when growing indoors since your dogs/pets are potty trained and most likely you will grow your succulent on a high surface indoors.

The urine will stay on the leaves and stem of the succulent, drying up and making the whole succulent smell bad. It’s a pretty bad smell and you should do something about it right away so you don’t smell the urine ever again.

Solution:

Simply unpot your succulent and rinse them off with water. Try avoiding getting the roots wet when doing this and make sure to only get the leaves or stem. After this you can then repot the succulent back into its pot and soil. It’s important to make sure to not rinse off the succulent while it’s in its pot, for this could soak the soil and overwater the succulent.

FUNGUS ON LEAVES AND STEMS

Sometimes when you water your succulents you will get water on its leaves. If your succulents are growing indoors and not growing in full legit sun then there’s a chance that fungus and bacteria will grow on the leaves or stem. This happens because the water on its leaves will sit for too long giving a chance for mold and fungus to grow. This will cause your succulents to smell simply because of the mold and fungus.

Solution:

In order to get fungus on the leaves and stem of your succulent you will need to unpot them and rinse them off with water. After you unpot and rinse the fungus off with water then you will need to repot them again and  place your succulents in full sun. When growing them in full sun it will eat off all of the moldy fungus growing on its leaves and stems. The sun easily eats away and bakes off fungus growing on the leaves and stems of succulents. 

Make sure to not give your succulents too much sun though. Give them 4-6 hours of full sun every single day and then move them to shade so they don’t get sunburn. Do this for about 3-5 days or until the fungus goes away. After the fungus goes away then you can grow them in the regular sun like you have been growing them. 

That’s it!

You now know why your succulents most likely smell and what to do next to stop your succulents from smelling! These solutions are very simple and easy to do, just make sure you take action immediately!

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.

Thank You!

Ramsey Succulents

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