My Unhappy Succulent

by Pepper
(Novi, Michigan)

A friend gave me part of her plant and it grows really fast but it seems sad. I think because it is inside and hasn’t got a lot of sun in the past few months.

I had it outside in the summer, but then it seemed to get too much water because of all the rain.

I don’t know what type of succulent it is or how to care for it.

Please help!

Comments for My Unhappy Succulent

Mar 09, 2011 Too Little Light, Too Much Water by: Jacki Hi Pepper, you’re right in your two basic assumptions – too little light over the winter especially (due to reduced day length as well as intensity) will create the symptoms you see here – droopy growth and etiolation which is a fancy way of saying elongated. If you can, I recommend a grow light of some kind to give this type of sun loving plant a boost through the winter. Your other comment about too much water due to excessive rainfall is right on too. I seldom if ever water at all in the winter as most plants originating in warmer and drier areas resent wet soil anyway, and especially if compounded with lack of light. If you can, get the plant out of the pot and let it sit on paper towels to actually soak up any excess moisture, then don’t water it again until the spring. Other than that, it’s hard to actually identify your plant other than it does seem to be succulent.

Mar 09, 2011 Could it be… by: Blue a Graptopetalum or Graptoveria? These both have similar leaves depending on the species or variety and look quite similar to your plant. I recommend (once spring is here of course) that you take the pruners to the tops of the plant and behead each rosette – simply set it on top of some potting soil and it will grow lots of roots, then if you’re lucky, the bare stems will sprout out some more smaller rosettes. Those long gangly stems look like some kind of alien being…