Hey Mads!
This post goes out to all my beginner plant moms…and is dedicated in (maybe) loving memory of my beloved succulents…
A year ago I got a baby Jade plant and a Darley Sunshine Graptosedum, then throughout the school year, I somehow acquired a kalanchoe fedtschenkoi (let’s call her kalanchoe), a pot of three String of Buttons (Crassula perforata), another Darley Sunshine Graptosedum, and a Jelly Bean plant (Sedum rubrotinctum)- thanks, Lukas! Wow, that paragraph was a mouthful.
While I lived at college they had this beautiful window spot in my dorm where they got a bunch of sunlight and seemed really happy. When I moved home at the end of the year, finding a sunny spot was a challenge where our cats wouldn’t be able to get them so they ended up on the kitchen counter. This turned out really bad Maddie I’m not gonna sugar coat it. The spot they called home didn’t get much light save for the morning hours, and I failed to check on them unless a week and a half had passed and it was watering time. This proved very disastrous and I should have seen this next part coming but- oh no- my plants started to rot *tears* At first I didn’t know what it was so I ignored it, another big mistake. By the time it clicked that something was really wrong I had to completely throw Kalanchoe away :( for my little darley sunshine, jelly beans (sorry Lukas), and string of buttons I turned to my go-to succulent blog The Succulent Eclectic. They have blog posts on virtually anything you could need for succulent care as well as a free course on succulent care (which I will 100% be doing!) For this specific situation I turned to their “How to Save Overwatered Succulents” and scrolled to the section about dealing with and saving a plant with stem rot. I then turned to Garden Answer on youtube to watch how to propagate succulents in the hope of salvaging what little was left of my plants.
Mads I really can’t believe I’m sharing this minor-maybe-tragedy-hopefully-regrowth-story because I’m quite embarrassed. I’m sure you’ve heard me go on and on about Han Westby and Kristin Johns and how many lovely plants they have and my goals of being as much of a plant caretaker as them but this is a testament to their talents, it is NOT as easy as I thought it would be but there is still so much adventure in researching a problem and then- in my case- clipping my plants in the pouring rain in a desperate attempt to save what I can. And now I am jumping into propagation! I’ve been following along Garden Answer’s video on succulent propagation which I am finding to be pretty straightforward (the photo included is from one of the earlier steps.) I hope this encourages you either in that you are absolutely rocking the plant mom life, or that you find solidarity in my failure!
Some happy news is that my Jade plant and one of my Darley Sunshine Graptosedum’s survived the plant plague. I’ve been watching them closely and finding them a new place to live to ensure their survival.
-hp
p.s the underlined words provide links to the resources mentioned!
p.p.s my rubber tree (Ficus elastica) is doing amazing, she needs a dusting every once in a while and has yet to get a proper pot, but so far she is liking her new home!
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