To cut or not to cut
Hiya, so today was repotting day for my babies, and when I was repotting my #SeaSandwort , I noticed the bottom two leaves were really quite unhealthy, and it concerned me quite a lot. This poor baby already had some scarred leaves when I got her and I was already concerned enough about how to sort that, but these leaves are much worse than the others. Should I cut them off or leave them be? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
repottingDay">#repottingDay #BabyPlants #SucculentLove #SucculentSquad #NewPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict
repottingDay">#repottingDay #BabyPlants #SucculentLove #SucculentSquad #NewPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict
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Best Answer
Hi Lizzie! Definitely remove the bottom leaves with the damage before repotting. They probably look like that from sitting on the soil, so when watered they'd end up sitting in wetness (the arch enemy of succulents). You can gently twist them back and forth till they pull off, or you can use a sterilized knife or scissors to remove it as close to the stem as possible. When you repot, make sure you use a very well draining soil mix (any succulent/cacti soil is great, or add perlite to regular potting soil at a ratio of 1:3). A pot with ample drainage is also important, and a porous pot (terracotta) is ideal. Make sure you sufficiently bury the root ball and that the lower-most leaves aren't sitting directly on top of the soil. A sunny spot with at least 3 hours of direct sunlight and only watering when the soil has completely dried out will ensure your sandwort acclimates well to its new pot and thrives 😊
@stephonicle thank you for all the tips!! I’ve already put her in her new pot and the leaves are resting against the soil, so I’ll fix that right away. I’ve planted her in a perlite/soil mix which is nearly 50/50 I think. As for the amount of sun, she was on the windowsill of a southern window where she got maybe 6/6+hrs of direct light, and the side of the stem facing the window started turning red, so I moved her further away. Should I put her back on the windowsill or is that redness ok? :)
@PiousWaterfern Sounds like a great set up! As for the amount of sun...sounds like 6+ hours in a south facing window might be a scooch too much. For some succulents it's common for leaves to turn red with too much sun (lots of folks do this intentionally to make their plants more vibrant and colorful). I wouldn't move her out of the sun completely, but maybe a spot with fewer hours of direct sun, or an east or north facing window, would be more her speed 😉
@stephonicle perfect, thank you!