What’s up with my succulent?

Likely cause

Too much water. The leaf cells have burst from overfilling, or rot has started. Often seen after watering on a schedule, in winter, or in pots without drainage.

What to do

1. Stop watering right away.
2. Remove the mushy leaves.
3. Slide the plant out and check the roots. Cut away anything black or mushy.
4. Repot into dry, gritty mix in a pot with a drainage hole. Wait a week before watering.

Watering guide

Likely cause

Rot, usually from wet soil. It spreads upward through the stem.

What to do

1. Cut the stem above the rot, into clean, healthy, green tissue. Check that the cut surface has no dark rings or spots.
2. Let the healthy top callus for a week, then re-root it as a cutting.
3. Throw away the rotten base and its soil. Wash the pot before reusing it.

Propagation guide

Likely cause

Usually thirst — the plant is using its stored water. Less often, the roots have rotted and can no longer drink, so it looks thirsty even in wet soil.

What to do

1. If the soil is bone dry: give it a deep soak. It should plump up in a day or two.
2. If the soil is damp and the leaves are still wrinkled: check the roots for rot.
3. A few wrinkled leaves at the very bottom are normal (see "lower leaves drying up").

Watering guide

Likely cause

Not enough light. This is called etiolation — the plant is growing toward the light it needs.

What to do

1. Move it to a brighter spot, or add a grow light. Increase sun gradually to avoid burning.
2. The stretched part will not shrink back. Once the plant is in good light, you can cut off the top and re-root it.
3. Use the leftover stem: it often sprouts new rosettes.

Light guide

Likely cause

Sunburn, usually after a sudden move into stronger sun or during a heatwave. The marks are permanent, but they don’t spread.

What to do

1. Give it a little shade during the hottest part of the day.
2. Next time, introduce strong sun over 1–2 weeks.
3. Remove badly damaged leaves once new growth comes in, if you prefer.

Light guide

Likely cause

Normal aging. Succulents reabsorb water and nutrients from their oldest leaves as they grow new ones from the center.

What to do

1. Nothing to fix. Gently pull off dry leaves once they’re crispy, to keep pests from hiding underneath.
2. Only worry if many leaves dry up at once, or the leaves are mushy rather than crispy.

Likely cause

Mealybugs — small, sap-sucking insects that hide in tight spaces and multiply quickly.

What to do

1. Move the plant away from your other plants.
2. Dab every bug with a cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol.
3. Repeat every few days for several weeks. Eggs keep hatching, so check deep in the rosette and at the roots.

Pests guide

Likely cause

Fungus gnats. They breed in soil that stays damp, especially soil heavy in peat.

What to do

1. Let the soil dry out completely — the larvae need moisture to survive.
2. Yellow sticky traps catch the adults.
3. Repot into a grittier mix if it keeps happening.

Soil and pots guide

Likely cause

Spider mites — tiny sap-sucking pests, barely visible as dots. They spread fast in warm, dry air.

What to do

1. Move the plant away from your other plants.
2. Rinse the whole plant with a gentle stream of water, including under the leaves, then let it dry in good airflow.
3. Repeat every few days, and check nearby plants.

Pests guide

Likely cause

Scale insects. They sit still under a hard or waxy shell and suck sap, so they look like bumps, not bugs.

What to do

1. Scrape them off gently with a fingernail or a cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol.
2. Check again every week. Young scale are tiny and easy to miss.

Pests guide

Likely cause

For burro’s tail, ghost plant, and some sedums, this is how they’re built — fallen leaves can root into new plants. In other plants, sudden leaf drop often signals overwatering or a big change in light.

What to do

1. Handle fragile plants as little as possible and give them a spot away from foot traffic.
2. If plump leaves drop on their own, check whether the soil is staying wet.
3. Lay fallen leaves on dry soil — many will grow.

Propagation guide

Likely cause

Not enough light. Reds, pinks, and purples are “stress colors” the plant makes in strong sun and cool temperatures. Lose the sun, lose the color.

What to do

1. Increase light gradually. Colors usually return within a few weeks of brighter conditions.

Light guide

Likely cause

Healthy “stress coloring” from strong sun, cool nights, or a dry spell. Many growers work hard to get it.

What to do

1. Nothing to fix, as long as the leaves are firm.
2. If the whole plant turns red-brown and shrivels, it may be getting too much sun and heat at once.

Light guide

Likely cause

This is farina, also called epicuticular wax — a natural coating that protects the leaves from sun and water loss. It’s not mold or mildew.

What to do

1. Leave it alone. Avoid touching or wiping the leaves.
2. Water the soil, not the leaves, so the coating isn’t washed away.

Watering guide

Likely cause

Aerial roots. The plant is reaching for water or moisture in the air. It often means the plant is thirsty, or that the air is humid. Stretched stems in low light grow them too.

What to do

1. Check the soil. If it’s been bone dry for a long time, give it a deep drink.
2. If the stem is long and leggy, cut the top off. The aerial roots give the cutting a head start when you replant it.
3. Otherwise they’re harmless. You can leave them or trim them.

Propagation guide

Likely cause

Mold growing on soil that stays damp, often with little air movement or a lot of organic matter in the mix. It grows on the soil, not the plant, but it means the soil is too wet.

What to do

1. Scrape off the moldy top layer and let the soil dry out completely.
2. Water less often, and only when the soil is fully dry.
3. Top the soil with grit or gravel, and move the plant somewhere with more air and light.

Soil and pots guide

Likely cause

Minerals left behind when water evaporates, especially with hard tap water. Terracotta pots show it most, because water seeps through their walls.

What to do

1. It’s harmless. Wipe it off the pot with a damp cloth, or scrape it from the soil surface.
2. If it builds up a lot, flush the pot with plenty of water now and then, or use rainwater or filtered water.

Watering guide