TIL I was overwatering my succulents for like 3 years straight

I had a whole shelf of those things and they kept getting mushy and dying on me. A lady at the nursery in Austin told me they need way less water than I thought, like once a month instead of every week. Anybody else kill plants by being too nice to them?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_patricia29d ago

My neighbor in Houston swore by the "ignore them and they thrive" method for years and I thought she was just lucky. Then I accidentally left for a two week trip and forgot to have anyone check my plants and they looked BETTER when I got back. @sageross nailed it with that finger test though, that's the only thing that finally clicked for me. I used to water on a schedule no matter what and I think that was the whole problem. Now I wait until the soil is completely dry and the leaves look a little wrinkly before I even think about it. It feels wrong at first but it actually makes sense when you think about them being desert plants.

sageross1mo ago

I killed a whole batch of echeverias before I figured out they actually thrive on neglect. Now I just stick my finger in the soil about an inch deep and only water when it's bone dry, which ends up being maybe every 3 to 4 weeks in summer. Your mileage may vary based on your climate and pot size, but that's what finally worked for me after years of mushy disasters.

susana6629d ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard. I was drowning my jade plants for like a year before someone finally told me to just back off. And @sageross is totally right about that finger test, I started doing that and it saved my last batch of echeverias from turning into mush. Now I water maybe every three weeks and they actually have firm leaves instead of falling apart. Have you noticed a big difference since you switched?