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Hi all! All of my plants bit the dirt (ha ha) after an experimental… | The Cactus & Succulent Circle | Communauté Planta

Katherine

Hi all! All of my plants bit the dirt (ha ha) after an experimental bottom watering gone root-rot. Lesson learned. Not always ideal for glazed pots in particular! I have not tried to care for an Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg yet, and this one is (in my minimal plant experience) absolutely massive. 4” approximately. My new plants, including this one, arrived about one week ago in mostly dry soil, not *completely* crumbling, so I’m holding off on watering all of them for at least a few more days. North facing window light is trash, but my grow lights have been upgraded and doubled, and I used my bunny ear cactus as a metric for light success — it’s growing at an absurd rate, so I think I’ve hit the grow light sweet spot. All of this to say: I am 99% certain I do not have a water or light issue, for once! Regarding this echeveria: does this need to be in a deeper pot? It arrived very much like this, after a period of rest it was transferred to its “home” pot from the plastic nursery pot. I added about a half of an inch of soil and some small bonsai pebbles as a topper to give it more opportunity to succeed. However, it seems like it’s “throwing” little roots toward the soil and I don’t want them to be exposed to any pests/become damaged and compromise the plant. I don’t want to disturb existing roots, this plant is very well-rooted and seems comfortable (with about an inch of extra perlite cacti soil beneath the root base) in the pot that it’s in, but if it requires more space, I can transfer it. I’m also not sure if these are just the result of the lowest leaves (maybe 1-2) inevitably being weak and removed/knocked off shortly after “settling in.” All opinions and advice are welcome! This plant is very new to me and I have a similar-sized echeveria chroma (a favorite!) that is also SO tall, and I feel I might run into this problem with that one even though it is in a terra-cotta pot with a wider top. Two photos of the mystery roots, two photos of the plant for reference. (It’s the pot, isn’t it?)

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10 commentaires

  1. Phil

    The roots are normal. Succulents are shipped in dry soil. That’s common and the correct way. Does the current planter have drainage? That is a necessity. As for the best size planter, I usually go by root size and not plant size.

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    • Katherine

      Pot drainage is decent in these, but I’m thinking of switching to terracotta. Glazed ceramic seems to be kind of tricky. Terracotta seems to have the perfect amount of drainage/evaporation when it’s lacking any glaze. Roots seem comfy with some space to grow, so perhaps I’ll leave it alone until it’s ready to repot into something slightly larger and give it a little more depth. Thanks!

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    • Phil

      Terracotta is by far the best but I like the look of ceramic, however I found the perfect terracotta pots on Amazon-wide and shallow and a little style.

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    • Katherine

      Oh, these are great, thank you. I love the saucers.

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  2. Phil

    I know you light is not a problem, but seeing your two echeverias stretching out may mean you need even more. In the pic, the small one is about a year old, and the large one I’ve had about 6 months. Neither is stretching.

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    • Katherine

      This is interesting, and it seems I can’t ever get enough light. Do you mind sharing what light you use? Not a brand or anything, but the specifications? There has been no additional spread since they have arrived, so I am hoping they will adjust to the light.

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    • Phil

      I’ll give you brands. I recommend them a lot. For succulents, by far, it’s Sansi. Huge variety. For tropicals and Haworthias and Gasterias, I use Barrina. Check out my Planta. It’s public.

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    • Phil

      Top is 46 watts and 32 watts, or about. Two black boxes are 70 watts. On right are Sansi pods under the shelves

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    • Kelly

      Your plants are amazing! What’s the name of the purple one on left second shelf from top looks like a strings of some sort?

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    • Phil

      That is Callisia Pink Panther. It is a semi succulent.

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