Stem rot or normal lignification?
The stem has slowly been darkening over time but the leaves are firm and intact. The dark part also feels firm and not squishy. Is it still rot or is this normal? This is a young Echeveria Madiba that I got from a Whole Foods plant section. It was originally planted in peat moss and I repotted it in a mix of succulent soil and silica sand in terra cotta. #planthelp #Echeveria #SucculentSquad #Succulent #RootRot
2ft to light, direct
2” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 week ago
15
@Succulent_Soul It looked light brown before but the stem has been getting darker but the leaves are still firm. Since I planted it the stem has actually swelled up and it doesn’t look as skinny as it used to when it was in peat soil. The brown mark is staying towards the bottom and hasn’t moved upwards towards the crown. It’s just been getting darker though.
@ZenfrogZero if the plant is still looking happy and healthy I wouldn't worry about it too much but would recommend removing th gravel from the top.
@Succulent_Soul So I decided to take the plant out to inspect the roots just to be safe and the portion closer to the roots was actually soft but still dry and the roots were brown and so dry to the point that when I touched them they dissolved into dust and dirt. So I think what happened was when I got it, it was already rotting and then when I replaced the potting medium the rot just got delayed and it started dry rotting. So I beheaded it, crossing my finger now that it will start growing aerial roots so I can replant it. 🙏
@ZenfrogZero best of luck to you! Hope everything goes well! Could you send a picture of your new setup?
@ZenfrogZero just to clarify, you found dry roots, so you dead headed the plant? Echeveria don't grow aerial roots my dear. Did you save the leaves? Each healthy leaf can be propagated and grown into a new plant.
I don't want to tell you what you "should have done", since what's done is done and I don't want to make you feel bad. We've all fallen down the rabbit hole when we're worried a plant is sick, & we end up doing "too much" instead of just leaving it be. This would be one of those situations ☺️ You started with a slightly darkened stem that felt firm, not mushy. Ok, so far so good. I suggested removing the gravel and keeping an eye on the stem. When I came back a few hours later, you'd done...so, so much more 🤪
It's entirely possible your plant experienced minor root rot at some point in time. But echeveria are desert plants with thin, fragile root systems, so they *should* generally feel/look dry. Dry rot isn't a thing, at least not with succulents' roots. The only type of rot that impacts an echeveria's roots is from overwatering.
I don't want to tell you what you "should have done", since what's done is done and I don't want to make you feel bad. We've all fallen down the rabbit hole when we're worried a plant is sick, & we end up doing "too much" instead of just leaving it be. This would be one of those situations ☺️ You started with a slightly darkened stem that felt firm, not mushy. Ok, so far so good. I suggested removing the gravel and keeping an eye on the stem. When I came back a few hours later, you'd done...so, so much more 🤪
It's entirely possible your plant experienced minor root rot at some point in time. But echeveria are desert plants with thin, fragile root systems, so they *should* generally feel/look dry. Dry rot isn't a thing, at least not with succulents' roots. The only type of rot that impacts an echeveria's roots is from overwatering.
@stephongreg I’ve never heard of dry rot not being a thing. There are many sources talking about the instances of dry rot happening to both cacti and succulents. I’ve only overwatered an echeveria once and the way it rotted was very wet with the leaves turning yellow and translucent and eventually the core turning black. The way this echeveria rotted was very different than typical over watering. My soil was also succulent soil mixed with sand in a terracotta pot so and hadn’t been watered in 2+ weeks. Overwatering causes mold and I saw no mold on my echeveria.
@stephongreg I have E. Fred Ives currently growing aerial roots. I also was able to make a crested echeveria cutting that I ordered from a good friend on Palm Street grow aerial roots. Any succulent/ cacti can grow aerial roots.
@stephongreg I still think I did the right thing. I think it got a fungal infection from when I ripped the root ball by accident while it was still moist and then planted it in dry soil thinking it was fine. 😭
@ZenfrogZero but based on what you found when you unpotted it, it's far more likely what you found was old root rot that dried out, which isn't the same as dry rot. Dry rot is caused by a fungus that kills tissue without it ever being overly wet. As for the "aerial roots", this was merely a mix up of terminology, and also confusion on my part, as I didn't realize you removed the entire root system and were talking about the leafless stem growing adventitious roots to replace the original roots 🤓
@stephongreg Oh okay, and that’s totally fine! That likely could have happened since I remember when I first repotted it the roots were already thin and black but I just thought it was normal as I don’t really inspect my plant’s roots often once they’re potted up. I have beheaded it but it still has four small leaves. Unfortunately the largest one which was right above the black part fell off but as of now the rest of the stem is still green and the cut has calloused. I’m leaving the cutting in front of a west facing window that gets dappled sunlight so hopefully it will survive. I’m not going to touch it anymore than I already have. 😮💨