She’s looking sparce
#Sedum #coralreef #ChineseSedum hi guys, another question… my Chinese sedum “coral reef” is looking really sparse, compared to when I got her (if you check out her before & after gallery pics-she’s the one in the description below). Being new to succulents I’m pretty sure I previously overwatered her, & lost some growth from this particular pot (but those propagations are growing in another pot with all my other *let’s try this again* succulents😊). Question is, Greg doesn’t want me to water her just yet although the soil looks extremely dry, does anyone know how to help her fill out & grow? Am I missing something? Thanks in advance!!
3” pot with drainage
Last watered 2 years ago
8
@RainbowFairy Hi there—I have reviewed your plant profile and I suspect that the issue is the plant is not receiving enough light. Often succulents are marketed or sold as “indoor” and grow lights are marketed as suitable for indoor growing of succulents, but I have not found this guidance accurate. The first plants I started to grow were succulents and I had them under grow lights and they withered. Out of desperation, I moved them outside, and for plants that required, “full sun” as yours does, once I gave them full sun they started thriving. Also, ensure that you are making sure the top layer of soil is dry before you water it, even if Greg says its time to water. Greg’s algorithms take into account that one will hit snooze even when the app says its time to water if the top of the soil is not dry. If you want to grow indoor succulents, plants like Haworthia or “little warty” are more suitable for indoor growing. I’m going to shout out to @fitsedum here because she adores succulents and I’m sure she has some great insight to add.
@TexanExpat thanks for the tag.
@RainbowFairy, Mila, welcome to Greg! TexanExpat gave excellent advice. I will add the following:
Your plant needs to be in a smaller pot. They like snug roots. They do better this way.
Sedum is a winter grower and even if you keep them indoors since they go dormant in summer, your home’s temperature will affect it. This particular plant does not do well in humidity over 40%. It thrives in 20-30% but indoors, if you water less often and allow the soil to dry completely between waterings, it’ll start to fill out again. I usually allow three to five days between waterings if I want to see growth. The reason is that they are ready to absorb water when they go through a drought and this pushes new growth to prepare for the next drought it expects.
Light is a common misunderstanding when it comes to plants. One bulb seems ok to us but we see light differently from how plants see light. One LED bulb left on 12 hours makes up for 6 hours of morning sun. Afternoon sun is 4 led bulbs left on 12 hours. There’s a difference. This sedum likes bright light and temperatures that are a touch cooler than other succulents. It also needs to be cut back in waterings and the amount per session when kept indoors or the leaves will wither off due to overwatering. This is normal for all succulents so please don’t be hard on yourself.
I would make sure to go down in pot size, repot with a mixture of well-draining succulent mix to make sure it doesn’t hold too much water, give it longer light exposure and water less often and less than recommended. You can check for soil moisture by feeling the soil at the bottom for dryness via the drainage holes. You shouldn’t water if you sense any moisture. Wait three to five days and water again. What you are doing is mimicking a drought which is natural to these plants. Please remember the plant thrives on neglect. You just have to give it the occasional drink of water to keep the roots healthy. An indoor succulent is usually a winter grower because it is dormant in the summer and needs less water until the following winter. This applies in stricter sense when grown indoors.
Lastly, your home’s higher than normal winter humidity is also watering the plant via air . Yoh should see an improvement within a few months once you change the current care routine.
@RainbowFairy, Mila, welcome to Greg! TexanExpat gave excellent advice. I will add the following:
Your plant needs to be in a smaller pot. They like snug roots. They do better this way.
Sedum is a winter grower and even if you keep them indoors since they go dormant in summer, your home’s temperature will affect it. This particular plant does not do well in humidity over 40%. It thrives in 20-30% but indoors, if you water less often and allow the soil to dry completely between waterings, it’ll start to fill out again. I usually allow three to five days between waterings if I want to see growth. The reason is that they are ready to absorb water when they go through a drought and this pushes new growth to prepare for the next drought it expects.
Light is a common misunderstanding when it comes to plants. One bulb seems ok to us but we see light differently from how plants see light. One LED bulb left on 12 hours makes up for 6 hours of morning sun. Afternoon sun is 4 led bulbs left on 12 hours. There’s a difference. This sedum likes bright light and temperatures that are a touch cooler than other succulents. It also needs to be cut back in waterings and the amount per session when kept indoors or the leaves will wither off due to overwatering. This is normal for all succulents so please don’t be hard on yourself.
I would make sure to go down in pot size, repot with a mixture of well-draining succulent mix to make sure it doesn’t hold too much water, give it longer light exposure and water less often and less than recommended. You can check for soil moisture by feeling the soil at the bottom for dryness via the drainage holes. You shouldn’t water if you sense any moisture. Wait three to five days and water again. What you are doing is mimicking a drought which is natural to these plants. Please remember the plant thrives on neglect. You just have to give it the occasional drink of water to keep the roots healthy. An indoor succulent is usually a winter grower because it is dormant in the summer and needs less water until the following winter. This applies in stricter sense when grown indoors.
Lastly, your home’s higher than normal winter humidity is also watering the plant via air . Yoh should see an improvement within a few months once you change the current care routine.
Thank you both @TexanExpat & @AnthuriumQueen so much for the quick & thorough replies. I’ve read through everything & will do what’s suggested. You guys rock! 🙌💕
@TexanExpat I would love if my location had full sun right now, but we’re still coming out of winter, so I’ve been using the grow lights mostly, & on sunny days I tote all the succulents to my south window, then bring them back to the lights the following morning if snow is forecasted. I’m really babying these little ones for now as I got them in winter. I’m so thankful for this info as now I’ve had more time to reply :)
@AnthuriumQueen now that I’ve got more time to reply , again, I’m so thankful you took the time to reply!! I’m a bit confused on the humidity& watering though.. my location is really dry, high desert (Utah mountains). I’d say my home has very low humidity overall, so I’m wondering what to do? I’ve watered it when the soil is boooone dry, it feels like the app is telling me to wait too long between waterings. I haven’t looked in a bit, but I think like every 9-10 days is what’s recommended on here. As you mentioned though, 3-5 days feels closer to what I would prefer to do as well. Also, I haven’t repotted coral into a smaller pot (she’s in a 3 inch terracotta pot now, I got her online in a 2 inch plastic pot, but she was much fuller then, & I was so excited to give it a new pot, maybe a bit too hasty 😂). I’ll repot her back into a 2 inch plastic pot when I transplant the Gazania seedlings that are currently in them to grow bags. Also, I’m so glad you pointed out the difference in light bulbs vs sunlight. I’ve been googling & YouTubing all the info I could find on taking care of these rarer succulents I’ve got. Your info was so helpful! Edit: omg… I just looked at my watering schedule history with this one, and I’ve been watering her pretty often 😬 . But what if the soil is bone dry? Still wait?
@RainbowFairy sometimes the app jumps ahead a bit and it’s ok to wait a few days longer if it’s a succulent, cacti, Euphorbia, or Agave. They can definitely go longer between waterings. It sounds as though it’s getting a bit too much water which will make the leaves look a bit translucent or transparent and then fall off. I’d wait a bit longer. Maybe a day or two then water. Make sure it’s getting lots of light since it needs it to grow fuller. Try to remember that your home is not a professional greenhous so be kind to yourself. Leaves will fall off or they get a tad sad looking all once they get home. Give the plant sone time and once you get it’s care right, it’ll start to come back. Good luck!
@AnthuriumQueen thank you so much! I just repotted all of my gazanias into grow bags, so now I’ll have a bunch of tiny 2-inch pots. I’m repotting coral reef tomorrow. You’ve been so helpful 🙏I really appreciate you!