[Monday - Liza's Plants] Succulent on the Edge

Oh dear.

Turns out, moving my Carruanthus plant was a bad idea.

Aaaahhhh! Poor baby!

A few months ago, I moved her to a place I thought she would thrive – the bookcase in the living room:

See her down in the corner? I thought she’d be so happy there!

And she might have been, except that I didn’t do a good job taking care of her recently. I noticed she had a few crispy leaves last week, and thought it was because she was thirsty but I didn’t check. I just gave her water last week and then again about four days ago.

Then Saturday, I was horrified to see how little green remained on her.

I guess she wasn’t happy with the amount of water she got. (It’s not a lighting issue – she’s fine in the shade.) Her decline was rapid.

Nothing like an overwatered plant to remind you how fragile life is.

I’m doing my best to save her.

First, I cut off all remaining green parts, and let them set overnight.

The reason to set them out overnight is so the cuts have time to scar over.

The best part of succulent plants is their ability to grow anew from their leaves. Hopefully that one quality will save the plant from doom.

I saved the root stem, too, hopefully that can grow some new leaves as well.

I took a small container (I didn’t paint this one myself) and put a small amount of soil on the bottom of it:

I filled the rest up with vermiculite:

I chose vermiculite because I’m hoping it’ll help promote the growth of new roots. The plan is to keep the vermiculite moist for the coming weeks and months.

Here’s what the green pieces look like in their new container:

Fingers crossed she survives. It would be such a bummer to lose her.

The pieces are back on my kitchen windowsill, but in the shade to protect them from direct sunlight.

I hope the Carruanthus roars back to life better than ever. I’ll keep you posted.

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