Advice on this succulent

I'm not sure what the species is but I've regarded it as a sedum of some kind. I am wondering if it needs re-potting. As can be seen, the stem has curled back in on its self and I wonder if this is a sign that it has outgrown its current space. Also the stem and foliage is not as vividly green as it once was, though it has been watered. Perhaps I've watered it too uch? We're talking once every week or so. You can also see a new plant springing up, what should I do with that? Is this time of year a good time for division?

 

Hello Simon. Yes your plant is classed as a succulent. This one in particular can sometimes play tricks on us. Some will automatically branch out others like yours has just gone on growing.
One benefit of succulents is their fleshy make-up. This as with much of the cacti family, allows them to store moisture and this also carries the ability to regenerate quickly.

Perhaps in simple terms. All parts of the plant will if severed quickly produce a root system and grow on. It's as if it's will is. I don't want to die, so it fights on.

Simon. Your specimen is fighting on but with very little chance of ever becoming an atractive specimen. My advice is. Cut it off just above that clump of vegative growth. Now repot the main plant, centralizing it in its new larger pot.

Now using a standard seed tray or even a couple of say 5-6inch pots. Fill the l;atter with a gritty compost, water and let drain. Now take the cut off part of the plant. Each one of those teat-like growths will given the chance develop roots. Eithe simply pick them off or use a sharp blade and sever them. Now, you can leave them to dry and calcify or you can simply press them cut/severed end gently into the compost. Then leave them. You will in time notice tiny new sprouts at the base of each segment. Be careful with watering, at this stage succulents are prone to develop basal rot. In time gently prize each individual from the compost and pot up. You will have no problems sharing these plants with friends. Good luck.

 

In the second pic it looks like a leaf has fallen off and formed a new plant. Take this out and pot it, as Mike says, in gritty compost.

I use a mixture of mpc, John Innes, chick flint grit, horti sand and perlite. If the mix holds together when you squeeze it in a ball, it needs more grit.
Succulents in habitat will receive rain but it drains away quickly. This is what you are trying to replicate at home.
Id recommend buying a moisture probe and only watering when the plant is fully dry. In winter, water the plant less.

 

It is one of the Crassula family, possibly C rogersii. When you repot, regularly turn to the light for balance.

 

Thank you for this. Just to be sure, you mean I should cut it off above the first cluster of leaves, ie cut through the stem? Should I also re-pot the other half of the stem?

 

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the best time of the year to renovate the plant as any new growth would be weak due to the low levels of light- but if it's going to die before spring without action it's better to do it now.

The yellowish, almost translucent growth look like too much water and not enough light. So for the offspring I agree totally with andrews to use well draining potting mixture. Half sand, small pot and good drainage holes are a winning combination for succulents, who are apparently slightly bent towards masochism and like to occasionally teeter on the edge of death

If I had to cut this one now, I'd cut it here, and also re-pot the remaining roots in a new sandy mixture just to see if anything sprouts.



All fallen leaves and remaining bits would also go in as they all have potential to grow. Perhaps a shallow seedtray like container would be best, you can then separate the sprouted and rooted plantlets into pots individually or in groups. If you don't have a shallow container, just cut top off a normal plastic pot.

The point of shallowness (of the container... ) is the same as with sand, less soil means shorter drying time so that the plants get their drink and then quickly return to dryness.

All parts of the plant can root and make new plantlets. @pete is expert on this I remember

It's a lovely plant and even when growing wonky can look great, it has character. I have a tiny Mr Wonky gathering speed in an "experiments" pot, it's a rooted fallen "leaf" from a cheapy sickly plant.

 

Personally I'd call this a classic case of growing out of character.

Its gone wonky, not enough light is the usual problem along with warmth at the wrong time of the year, overwatering mostly ends up with rotting, but it doesn't appear to be doing that.

I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to what it might be, mostly because its is out of character and I',m not that good at ID ing these .

But you can leave it or try propagating from it, stems leaves are all potential new plants, but as said, this time of year is not good unless you have lighting.

I'd just let it languish a bit longer until around April and then give a haircut.

 

I used to like to specialize at times. Mind you, often I ended up knowing perhaps less after a year or two, than I began with.Having built up a fair sized collection of cacti & succulents, I planted them into a bench-top garden like thingy. In an attempt to recreate in minature these strange plants natural enviroment. Apart from taking cuttings and having a go at grafting, I also left the plants to their own resources. From my notes. Parts/ segments that had due to whatever cause had fallen/broken off, I let them lie there. Some bits especially those from the succulents. I noticed that as they perhaps decayed and basically rotted, even right upto the point when you could hardly see any remains, after perhaps months even, suddenly life appeared and minute growths could become visible. These were left insitu until lage enough to handle, even using tweezers.
I fully agree with Pete, that attempting cuttings at this time of year, might be adversly affected by low light levels. This is absolutely true. Yes here we tend to retrace our lessons on photsynthesis and all of that. However in my studies, I realised that some plants including succulents and some cacti will manage to survive. Perhaps due to their minutness their need for sunlight and the process of photosynthesis etc, the latter was perhaps not so important as with most other vascular plants.

Somewhat immitating the natural growing areas of these plants, they often depend upon the roots and root base, that area of the subject whence the roots sprout. I came to the conclusion that, in times of dire need, the design and ability of this species of plant to store water even to the minimum that here even perhaps a sliver of the plant still retained all what was needed to survive and regenerate.

I have since found similar instances. Recently I mentioned here on GC, that I was going to take cuttings of my Begonia semperflorens. I lifted the plants, let them stand in the GH for some time. They are still looking good. Outside we have had a couple of frost that have left their mark. In the GH I will let the plants rest. Cuttings are being taken even at this time of year. These I plant into cell trays. Then making use of twinwall polycarbonate sheet, leftovers , I set up a covered area on the staging. Fair do's, seed from these begonias germinates so easily but, hey ho, I have more than one string to my bow. Honestly, I like to encourage all gardeners to branch out. Try this and that. "Ttrust me, I'm a doctor"

 

Many thanks to all for your ideas and advice. I'm tempted to go ahead withsome cuttings and try the in seed trays tomorrow. I live in a pretty wintry place, but the window faces south over a valley and as such gets a lot of sun in the mornings with nothing to block the light - its 1.30AM now and its still flooding down - and I've nothing to lose as the plant has already survived for a good while. Worth mentioning it seems to be coming into flower.

 

Where are you Simon?

 

Winter light is never the same as summer light, for starters the days are much shorter, and plants know that.
Secondly the light intensity is never the same in winter.

These are plants, in general, that mostly grow in full sun on pretty dry poor soils, often only growing when there is enough water, then shutting down when its dry.
As such they have a will to survive almost any conditions we throw at them.
But there is a difference between surviving and thriving.

 

Looks similar to my Crassula ovata. It's really old and was planted in MPC. Sheds lots of leaves and some stems in Autumn/Winter but foliage grows back dense in Summer when it's outdoors.

Nick

 

I dont think its a money tree.
The flowering stem looks wrong.
It could be something similar to this,, and I do mean similar, not exactly, but it has grown elongated and lost its colour due to poor light.
Dont ask me what it is though.

 

@pete Yes, that's closer to the leaf shape. I think Simon is right about it being a sedum. A distorted adolphii?

Sedum adolphii 'Golden Glow' | Succulents and Sunshine

Edit: Another possibility would be Pachyphytum looking at that smaller plant, but no idea on the species.

Nick