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Posted 7M ago by @GoDakotaGooo

My Moonstone is struggling 😣 I noticed the black spots on...

My Moonstone is struggling 😣 I noticed the black spots on him a couple of weeks ago along with a wilted leaf. I read somewhere to remove the leaf and place cinnamon on the infected area (that’s what the red tinge is towards the bottom)

What could be going on?? All suggestions are appreciated 🫢🏾
#Moonstone
4” pot with drainage
Last watered 2 months ago
Best Answer
just so you know, it's normal for leaves near the bottom of the stem to wilt away. it's not something to worry about unless the leaves up near the top are wilting :) i'm not gonna comment on the black spots because idk what that is (it doesn't look like a big deal though), but overall your plant looks completely fine except for etiolation. which is a fancy way to say it's stretched out from not getting enough light. i recommend buying some grow lights (google "succulent LED light specs" to find what to look for, i can't name them off the top of my head), otherwise it'll keep getting longer and longer until you have a huge unmanageable vine of a succulent. succulents are generally reallyyyy light hungry, i have all of mine under pretty good grow lights for 16 hours a day (much brighter than most windowsills) and some of them still etiolate. also if you give it proper lighting it'll be much less at risk of overwatering and rot and such, since it'll be using more water to grow
Do you bottom water or water from the top? I’m curious if it’s leaf burn or just scarring.
Unfortunately, I was watering from the top. I did so twice after I transferred him into his current pot.
Also what kind of soil are they in? They like nicely draining soil with lots of grit/gravel/bark/perlite in it this stops the roots getting to soggy.
Now that you mention it, that may be an issue as well. I just took a look and he’s in Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix. Not good at all πŸ˜‚ They have soil specifically for cactus, palm, and citrus.
@GoDakotaGooo for sure that will become an issue and start to show in leaves and steam, its to heavy and wet for them. I've not used that mix but probably is a good starting point.
also about the miracle grow cactus mix- that stuff gets hydrophobic real easy, and you'll probably need to add extra perlite/pumice to it. it's made more for like.. succulents planted outdoors, and indoor succulents need a much grittier potting mix. i've used that stuff before and it honestly frustrated the absolute hell out of me lmao (because of the hydrophobia). i'm sure you can make it work if it's your only option, but something made with coco coir instead of peat moss would work better (you'd most likely still need to add extra grit to it though, 50/50 soil to perlite/pumice is a good starting ratio but you might need to alter it to be more or less water retentive)
Leaves tend to shrivel up at the bottom and it’s totally normal. I would put this one in more direct sun. It’s pretty lengthy for this type of succulent
@slayonium use succulent soil and succulent fertilizer works best.Succulent Soil is less than miracle grow potting soil.
@slayonium I finally have time to reply πŸ˜… Thank you so much for your response! I took your advice along with everyone else’s to put him near more sunlight. So I’m looking forward to seeing a change. I was keeping him away from the window because I thought his leaves were starting to dry out. I’ll take a look at the succulent LED light you mentioned as well.

In regards to soil options, I guess I’ll work on making the right mixture πŸ™ŒπŸΎ
@Plantlife101 thank you πŸ€—
@JackHenrysMom thank you, will do 😊