It can be challenging to spot the signs of under and overwatering. Underwatered succulents are usually easy to save, but overwatering can have more detrimental consequences. So, what are the signs you should look out for?
You can determine if your succulent is under or overwatered by looking at its leaves. Yellowing, paling, and browning can indicate a problem, as can a decrease in leaf volume. Continuous wetness and a smelly soil odor can indicate overwatering and root rot.
This article discusses the signs of overwatering and underwatering of succulents, the effects, and ways to save your plant.
1. Understand How Succulents Regulate Water Intake
Succulents don’t need as much water as other plants because much of it is stored, and it simply doesn’t need a lot of water to thrive.
This does not mean you shouldn’t look after your succulents; prolonged drought can kill your plant, just like an abundance of water.
Succulents are less likely to suffer from under-watering. Underwatered succulents can only result from extreme neglect.
Storing
Succulents retain water, predominantly in their leaves. That’s why they have thick leaves with a spongy feel.
The retained water is used bit by bit by the succulent to keep itself alive. However, that retained water will run out eventually when there’s no moisture in the soil to absorb, and all the water has evaporated.
Why Succulents Are Different From Other Plants
Succulents, like cacti, are made to survive the desert. They need to store as much water as possible to survive prolonged droughts.
Most other plants wouldn’t survive this because they don’t have the means to absorb that much water, store it, and retain it in the heat. That being said, succulents can also dry out and die. You can easily catch the signs of underwatering if you pay attention to your plant.
2. Learn What a Healthy Succulent Looks Like
Healthy succulents have thick leaves with a vibrant (green) color. Their leaves and stem have a spongy texture with a firm exterior.
The leaves of a healthy succulent are perky because they have the consistency and thickness to lean on other leaves and stand up, unlike the limp leaves of an unhealthy plant.
3. Check the Leaves
The leaves of a plant are the best indicators of its health. They depend entirely on the roots and stem of a plant to provide them with the nutrients and water they need to survive and thrive.
It’s important to keep in mind that a lack of water would show in the tips of the leaves first, whereas overwatering would damage the stem and lower leaves first and foremost. It’s a great way to figure out what’s wrong and what you can do to save your succulent.
Thickness
As mentioned, much water is stored in a succulent’s leaves, stem, and roots. This abundance of water makes the leaves thick and sturdy. If the leaves of your succulent are flat and don’t have a squishy feel, there’s a lack of moisture, and your plant needs to be watered.
Color
You can’t base the diagnosis of your plant’s health solely on the color of the leaves. The color of the leaves can go through similar changes in both cases, as discussed below, making it challenging to figure out the cause by merely looking at the leaves.
So, which color changes can indicate a problem with your plant’s health?
Faded Colors
Succulents come in various colors, like green, purple, pink, and red. A color change is a good indication of both under and over-watering.
It’s normal for the vibrant colors to change over time. They usually fade a little after purchase and growth, so it isn’t an immediate cause for concern.
A technique used to bring back the vibrant colors of succulents is underwatering the plant. It stresses out the succulent and can bring back the color. This isn’t very harmful if you don’t take it too far.
You should read this article if you’re interested in learning more about this and other techniques.
Brown, Yellow or Pale Leaves
Brown leaves can indicate one of two things; over-watering or under-watering. Overwatering and root rot can cause the lower leaves of a plant to turn brown or even black. A lack of moisture can do the same thing, but the browning starts with the leaves’ tip.
Yellowing or paling of the leaves usually indicates over-watering or root rot. These yellow leaves can eventually turn brown if the cause of the problem isn’t dealt with immediately. The yellowing would start with the lower leaves.
Drooping
The leaves of an overwatered succulent can start to droop because they become mushy and heavy. The firm exterior of healthy leaves will slowly soften and cause the leaves the hang low.
The same happens to dried leaves that have shriveled up and hang down because there’s no texture left.
The firmness of the leaves plays a big part in slowing water evaporation, so limp and heavy leaves will eventually start to shrivel up.
4. Look at the Soil
The wetness of the soil can give you an idea of the state of your succulent. Whereas dry soil doesn’t show you much, wet soil can indicate a problem. A succulent’s soil is dry most of the time because of how quickly they store the water they need.
Dry Soil
Dry soil isn’t necessarily an issue for succulents. They can go months without water, only surviving on the water they retain. Dry soil doesn’t indicate underwatering because the soil must be thoroughly dry before watering.
If your succulent looks healthy, with thick leaves and vibrant color, you should only lightly wet the soil. That’s because plenty of water is stored in the plant, and it most likely won’t absorb much more from the soil.
Wet Soil
If your soil is wet and stays that way for a while, there might be an issue. Succulents absorb water quickly, so anything that’s left in the soil is excess water that might cause root rot.
Over-watering of any plant can lead to root rot. When there’s too much water for a plant to absorb, it sits in the water and starts to rot from the roots up. A rotting succulent will eventually die when nothing is done to fix the issue.
Smell
Root rot causes a stench. Anything that rots has an unpleasant smell, which will seep into the soil.
Root rot is a common issue amongst overwatered plants. Most things that sit in water too long will eventually start to rot. That includes plastics, clothing, wood, etc.
Root rot advances quickly and can kill your plant before you know it. It’s also not the easiest to combat and takes time and effort. Besides giving your succulent the right amount of water, you can prevent root rot by using well-draining soil.
A horrible-smelling soil is a good indication of root rot, and it should motivate you to check the roots of your plant, which will have turned brown or black if infected. We’ll discuss how to save your plant from root rot further down the article.
5. Try To Save Your Under or Over-Watered Succulents
If you catch the symptoms in time, your chances of nurturing your plant back to health are very high. Saving underwatered succulents usually doesn’t take much effort. The opposite is true for overwatered succulents.
There’s a strong possibility of root rot in overwatered plants, which isn’t the easiest to combat. Once your roots are infected, it’s pretty hard to prevent it from happening again to the same succulent.
How To Save Over-Watered Succulents
Saving overwatered succulents is significantly more complex than saving underwatered succulents a lot of the time. That’s because overwatering causes immediate structural changes to the plant.
Mushy and soft leaves are more challenging to recover than dried-out leaves, which can often be saved by watering the succulent until it absorbs enough water to survive and thrive.
You can save overwatered succulents by doing the following:
- Throw out wet soil.
- Cut off dark roots (healthy roots have a pale color).
- Repot the plant in a plant pot with well-draining (dry) soil. (the roots need time and space to dry out) .
You can read this article if you are interested in learning how to repot succulents. The article includes information about soil composition and ways to make your plant look nicer.
Root Rot
People quickly throw away plants infected with root rot, even though there are ways to treat it and help your succulent survive.
Here’s how you do it:
- Take your succulent out of the soil and remove all the dirt from the roots.
- Cut off dark roots; only keep the pale ones.
- Let your succulent dry out. This will take several days.
- Repot the succulent. Don’t use the previous plant pot unless you sterilize it first.
If too much of your plant has started rotting, you’ll most likely be unable to save it entirely. You can try to keep parts of the stem and healthy leaves for propagation if all else fails.
How To Save Under-Watered Succulents
You can save your underwatered succulents by simply watering them. Make sure the entirety of the soil is moist so the succulent can absorb all the water it needs, and do this until the succulent leaves have returned to their average volume.
If your plant is dry to the point that some leaves have turned brown, it’s unlikely you can save them. However, the plant will harvest and thrive on the nutrients from those leaves as it grows strong again.
Final Thoughts
It’s relatively easy to spot the signs of overwatering and underwatering early on if you know what to look out for. It allows you to intervene before your plant dies.
Over- and underwatered succulents are salvageable, even if they’ve been infected with root rot. Additionally, understanding how succulents regulate water intake can help you prevent any issues in the future.