Echeveria Is Dying
The most common reason that Echeverias' decline in health is from overwatering. Succulents need far less regular watering than most houseplant gardeners are used to. It may feel odd to neglect a plant for 2-3 weeks at a time but Echeveria really can go that long without supplemental watering. These plants come from the semi-arid areas of Mexico, Central, and northern South America where rains may sometimes be heavy but occur infrequently year round.
Light levels in their native habitat are also very high, for at least 8 hours a day. This is not easily replicated indoors although an unobstructed window with a south-facing exposure is a great place to grow succulents of all types. Lower light levels will cause problems with leaf color and how fast the plant grows. Often, the yellowing of leaves can be reversed just by moving your plant to a brighter spot in your home.6
Fungal and bacterial diseases are easy to identify. They are encouraged when a plant's leaves are bloated from too much water or continuously soggy soil. Often showing up as dark brown or black spots on the leaves, opaque-looking leaves, or stems that are rotting and toppling over at soil level. Repotting in a sterilized pot with fresh potting mix that is free draining is the best way to allow an overwatered plant to recover.
Remove as much of the plant material that appears to be dead or too far damaged to restore to health. Do not water your newly refreshed plant until it has recovered and the leaves appear to have lost their distended appearance. to allow it to use up the excess water stored in its leaves.
Browning and dying leaves on the bottom of the rosette are completely normal and part of the plant's natural aging process. Gently remove the leaves when they are dried as part of your regular plant maintenance.
Echeveria Leaves Turning Yellow
Light levels and watering are the two most important climate details that have an influence on the health of your Echeveria. Leaves that are turning yellow often are overwatered but rarely could also be underwatered. Under-watered leaves appear to first shrivel as the moisture leaves their cell walls, turning yellow when completely dry. Watering from the bottom of the pot in a basin of water will rehydrate the dried potting mix and help the plant recover over the course of a week or so. Soil that does not have enough inert material for drainage often gets soggy, reducing the air spaces around the root ball. This lack of oxygen flow and high moisture levels can cause the leaves to yellow on Echeverias.
Repotting in a better-draining potting mix is the best solution for plants to rebound. Low light levels and the presence of sap-sucking pests (see below) also are reasons for the yellowing of leaves. During the winter when light levels are low in the Northern Hemisphere, your indoor light levels will also diminish. Move your plant to another room with a brighter exposure or use a LED or fluorescent grow light until the days get longer in the spring.
Echeveria Pests
Three main pests plague Echeveria when they are grown as houseplants. Two of them are sap-sucking insects that damage the plant directly while the fungus gnats indicate issues with the potting medium and drainage of your pots. Fungus gnats thrive on soils that are constantly moist and may have large amounts of decomposing plant material.
Improving drainage of the container and refreshing the soil with a new potting mix especially blended for succulents and cacti generally solve any issues with fungus gnats. Also giving your plants a thin mulch of sharp grit or perlite deprives the gnats of access to the potting soil below.
Spider mites and mealybugs are the two most common issues that indoor-grown Echeveria will encounter. Both insects appear when the humidity level drops dramatically like during the winter when most people are running heating units. The damage to leaves from spider mites is often seen before the microscopic arachnids' webs form in the stem and leaf joins.
Leaves stippled with yellow or white and possibly tiny red dots (the mites) can be seen with a magnifying loupe. Mealybugs appear as wooly, white spots mainly on the stem join and in between the tightly packed leaf rosette. They multiply at a moderate rate but may start exuding a sticky honeydew that coats unaffected parts of the plant or drips on tabletops or other furnishing when an outbreak gets large.
Keeping humidity levels to 40-50% is a great way to fend off outbreaks, especially of spider mites that thrive in dry, warm climates. Mealybugs are easily wiped off plants with a cotton ball or swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
Echeveria Diseases
Fungal or bacterial rot disease is most common for Echeveria and are related to overwatering and low light levels. Succulent roots need more access to oxygen in the potting soil than other houseplants. When soils are dense and hold moisture for long periods of time the roots weaken and are much more susceptible to any fungal or bacterial organisms that are naturally occurring in your potting mix.
Using peat-free or a soilless mix is one way to ensure that the potting medium is sterile and less likely to harbor pathogens. Using peat moss in a potting mix also greatly improves the water-holding ability of a potting mix, which is exactly the opposite of what Echeverias need to thrive. Echeveria that grows in medium light levels will not dry out as quickly as those growing in the optimal indirect bright lighting, increasing the likelihood of overwatering.
Echeveria Not Blooming
Echeveria are reliable bloomers only after they have reached a mature age of 4-5 years old. Over-fertilizing a young plant will not speed up flower production and can seriously stress the plant. High levels of nitrogen encourage very leggy growth of the plant's stem. The plants can become top-heavy and start to stretch toward the light or topple over.
Light fertilizing during the spring and summer with a balanced fertilizer will help keep your Echeveria rosette stout and close to the soil surface. Use an orchid or African violet liquid fertilizer when plants are mature to encourage flower formation. Keeping Echeveria in as bright a sun exposure as possible year-round also helps to encourage regular flowering.
Sources:
“Common Problems and Issues of Succulents.” Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Yard and garden. www.extension.iastate.edu
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Author Robbin Small - Published 12-27-2024 |