Unlike most house plants, succulents come from much warmer climates than the houses they are often kept in. If you water them as regularly as your other plants, you might find that they begin to wilt away and rot. However, it’s not over for the plant. You can bring a succulent back from overwatering.
You can care for an overwatered succulent by drying it out. You must stop watering it immediately and repot it in drier soil as soon as you get the chance. Keeping it in warm areas like south-facing windows or near a heater will help the plant dry out faster and prevent further rot.
The sooner you notice your plant has been overwatered, the better your chance of saving it. Here is a quick guide on how to tell if your succulent has begun to rot, how to save it, and how to tell when it’s time to give up on an overwatered plant.
Is It Possible to Save an Overwatered Succulent?
Yes, an overwatered succulent can be saved, but it depends on the extent of the damage and how quickly you take action.
Overwatering can cause root rot and other problems, which can be difficult to reverse. If caught early enough, however, you may be able to save your succulent by reducing watering and providing proper care. With patience and careful attention, you can often help an overwatered succulent recover and thrive.
How To Tell if You Have an Overwatered Succulent
The best way to tell if you have overwatered a succulent is to note how often you have been watering it. Your common houseplant will need watering on average once per week. If you have been watering your succulent this frequently, it could be in serious trouble.
There’s no exact science on how often you should water a succulent. It all depends on the heat and light levels of your room, plus the quality of soil and breed of succulent. However, you can tell when a succulent needs water by testing if the water is entirely dry. This happens on average once a month.
If you have watered just a little more than this, your succulent may well be just fine. However, if you have stuck to your regular watering schedule for all your plants, you may have been seriously overwatering them. This can lead to the rotting of the roots and lower leaves.
How To Tell if Your Overwatered Succulent Has Started To Rot
There are several symptoms of overwatering in succulents, so the more you are aware of them, the more likely you are to save your plant. You may notice some of these before it becomes too late.
Discoloration of the Leaves
Ironically, an overwatered succulent can look a lot like an underwatered plant of any other kind. You have to be careful not to misinterpret their brown and yellow leaves to mean they are wilting, as this will only worsen the problem.
Instead, a color change in a succulent’s leaves can mean it has been dangerously overwatered. If your plant usually has a purple or red tip to its leaves, then its leaves turning green could be a sign that you have overwatered the plant and diluted its pigment.
Change in Feel and Texture
A healthy succulent will be firm and dry. The leaves won’t have much give when pressed and hold their shape well, regardless of their size. An overwatered succulent loses these qualities. It becomes looser and won’t hold itself up. It can also become moist.
If your plant feels mushy or rubbery, then it is likely that you have overwatered it. Similarly, the plant should not feel wet; if it does, its outer barrier is no longer tough enough to hold its moisture in. An overwatered succulent may appear wrinkly and be unpleasant to touch.
It Looks Like It’s Dying
This may seem obvious, but if your succulent starts to look like it’s dying, and you haven’t been neglecting it, then you’ve probably overwatered it. Succulents can’t cope with that much moisture in their leaves, and overexposure to water will begin to kill them slowly. Once these symptoms show themselves, you must act fast, as the plant is already dying.
When your overwatered succulent starts dying, its bottom leaves will start falling off. This is due to rotting in the plant stem disintegrating the base of the leaf. An overwatered leaf will be discolored and mushy. It may start wilting before its leaves fall off. You have a good chance of saving it if you find it at this stage.
Root Rot
Root rot occurs when the roots of a plant become surrounded with more water than they can effectively absorb. This leaves them wholly submerged and cut off from oxygen, effectively drowning the plant. The cells in the root begin to die off, eventually killing the whole plant.
As the roots are below the soil, it can be challenging to spot root rot before it’s too late. However, there are some subtle signs. If your plant doesn’t respond positively to its regular care, there could be a deeper problem, and you should check its roots.
How to Save an Overwatered Succulent
If you noticed your plant had been overwatered in the early stages of drowning, then it is entirely possible to save your plant. It is essential that you act quickly if you want to keep your succulent, as root rot can take hold quickly and kill the plant completely.
Here are some steps you can take if you feel you have overwatered your succulent.
1. Stop Watering the Plant
It might seem obvious, but when a plant appears to be dying, the next step is usually to water it. Make sure everyone in your household knows that the succulent should not be watered under any circumstances.
Perhaps add a sticker to the plant pot that tells people not to water it, so they don’t forget and send it to an early grave. If your succulent has been watered recently, it is especially important that you carry out the next few steps quickly and efficiently.
2. Repot the Overwatered Succulent Immediately
As soon as possible, replace the moist soil in the plant pot with dryer soil. Remove the plant from its pot, gently shaking off as much of the damp soil as possible, and place it in a safe location. Then empty the plant pot of the moist soil, and replace it with fresh succulent soil. Once this is in place, you can repot the dried-out succulent in the new soil, ensuring you don’t damage any of the roots.
If you want the best results, you should repot the plant with succulent soil. Unlike most soil, succulent soil is made with additional components, such as moss and gravel, to increase the drainage capabilities. This will encourage your plant to dry out faster and prevent similar issues from happening in the future.
You can buy succulent soil from most good gardening stores and online. This Miracle-Gro Succulent Potting Mix (available on Amazon.com) has a blended formula of soil, moss, inorganic matter, and vital nutrients to keep your succulent happy. It is reasonably priced and a great alternative to regular soil, which retains much more water than the average succulent needs.
3. Place It in a Warm and Sunny Spot
Even if your overwatered succulent has been moved to new soil, it can still retain too much water in its cells, increasing the chance of root rot. The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to keep it in a bright and warm area of your house. This will evaporate the excess water and encourage growth in the plant, giving it a chance to use up its stores.
The best place to keep your overwatered succulent is by a south-facing window. These get the most light throughout the day and give the plant endless sun. It is also ideal to keep the plant in a hot area, perhaps near a heater or in the kitchen, where the use of the oven will naturally increase the temperature.
Whatever you do, don’t place it in a bathroom or any other room that generates steam. Showers and baths produce steam that can linger in the air and be absorbed by your plant, prolonging the drying process. If condensation is forming on your plant, you should immediately move it to a warmer, dryer area.
When To Accept That Your Overwatered Succulent Has Died
If you try all these measures and your succulent hasn’t picked up in a few weeks, it could be beyond saving. Overwatering can cause significant damage to the roots, and you can’t save a plant with no roots. It won’t be able to sustain itself.
Here are a few ways to tell that your plant has bitten the dust. If any of these happen to your plant, then say your farewells and dispose of it in the compost or bury it in the soil outside.
There’s Visible Root Rot
Root rot is difficult to spot in its early stages, which is what makes it so deadly to plants. However, it can be spotted in extreme cases. If you can see white clumps in your plant’s soil and rotting plant matter at the top of the soil, it’s definitely too late to save your plant. If you can’t see root rot but suspect it, move the top layer of soil away and see if you can see the roots.
The Upper Leaves Are Wilting and Falling Off
It can be expected for the lower leaves of a succulent to drop off. Even if it is a cause for concern, it can be saveable if only the lower leaves are affected. You should be concerned if the leaves become discolored, wilted, or mushy. However, if the upper leaves start exhibiting the same symptoms, it might be too late for your plant. This can be a clear sign of root rot, and you’re unlikely to be able to save it.
Your Overwatered Succulent Doesn’t Respond to Any Lifesaving Measures
Sadly, if you’ve followed the advice on this page and nothing changes, your plant may have suffered too much damage. A healthy plant will respond to care measures within a couple of days, so if you’ve been waiting weeks and it still seems unhappy, it could be time to say goodbye.
Don’t worry, though. Your plant may not be wholly lost, even in the most dire cases. There are ways that you can keep your plant alive in spirit, even if all hope seems lost.
How To Propagate Your Succulent
Good news, if your plant is still alive, there might still be time to save it. Many succulents are extremely easy to propagate – grow anew from a single stem – so if you can take a cutting from your deceased succulent, you may be able to prolong its life a little longer.
Here is a step-by-step guide to propagating most succulents so that you can still enjoy the offspring of your favorite plant.
- Twist a healthy-looking leaf from the stalk, allowing it to detach fully. In the case of our injured succulent, the closer to the top of the plant, the better. Avoid any leaves that look like they have already succumbed to the symptoms of root rot.
- Allow the leaves to scab. When you detach a leaf from its stem, you will be left with a moist area exposed. Place the leaf on a dry paper towel and leave it in a warm spot until the moist area has dried.
- Lay your cuttings flat on a new bed of soil. It is essential you do this in a shaded, moist area, as succulent saplings are more vulnerable. Eventually, they should take root, and new succulents will start to grow.
- Mist the plant and avoid overwatering. Baby succulents occasionally need misting to help growth, but make sure you don’t overwater this one too. As it starts to grow, the original leaf will die on its own, and you can care for your new plant as you would any succulent.
You might want to use a rooting hormone for step three. It is non-essential but will encourage your plant to take root quicker and is a good option if you have limited leaves to attempt this process with. You can buy the Bonide BND925 – Bontone II Rooting Powder on Amazon. It promotes root development and supports the plant through its rooting stage to increase the likelihood of successful propagation.
How To Prevent Overwatering A Succulent
Preventing overwatering is the key to keeping your succulents healthy and thriving. Here are some tips to help you avoid overwatering your succulents:
- Use well-draining soil: Succulents need soil that drains well to prevent moisture from accumulating around the roots. When planting succulents, use a soil mix that is specifically designed for succulents and cacti. These mixes usually contain materials such as perlite, sand, or pumice, which allow water to flow through quickly.
- Water sparingly: Succulents are drought-tolerant plants that don’t need a lot of water. Instead of watering on a strict schedule, wait until the soil is completely dry before watering again. To test the soil moisture, stick your finger about an inch into the soil. If it feels dry, it’s time to water.
- Provide adequate drainage: Make sure your succulent pot has drainage holes in the bottom. This allows excess water to drain away from the roots and prevents standing water, which can cause root rot. If you’re using a decorative pot without drainage holes, consider planting your succulent in a plastic pot with drainage holes and then placing it inside the decorative pot.
- Avoid misting: Misting your succulents can lead to overwatering and can also encourage the growth of mold and other fungal diseases. Instead, use a watering can or a drip irrigation system to water your plants directly at the soil level.
By following these tips, you can help prevent overwatering and keep your succulents healthy and happy. Remember that succulents are adapted to dry conditions and thrive in well-draining soil with infrequent watering.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many options for your overwatered succulent, so the chances of losing it are low. If the worst case scenario has happened and you have lost your succulent, heed the advice of this page to make sure that the rest of your succulents remain safe, and you never overwater them again.
Most importantly, please don’t beat yourself up about it. Overwatering happens to the best of us; all you can do is try your best. Learn from your mistakes, and you’ll already be a better plant parent.