I bought a succulent at my city's Comic Con in June in a cool looking skull planter. It was a beautiful pink tipped succulent. I recently went on vacation in late July and came back to it looking kind of sad. I'm not sure what's wrong.

This is what it looked like when I bought it.


This is what it looks like now.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Kiwi is usually like a low mounding shrub if you give it enough space to grow. In a small pot like the one pictured, it will be dwarfed. So to some extent you can expect the plant to be on the slow side just based on its confinement. Does the container have a hole at the bottom? How often and how much are you watering?

Aeoniums typically go through a summer rest period. More so with some than others, but you can expect your plant to be in the doldrums this time of year. Come fall it should look more alive. The growth season for Aeoniums is fall through spring. So I wouldn't be terribly concerned about a smaller rosette with fewer leaves as long as it's temporary. That would basically be normal.

More about Aeoniums, their lifestyle and care here.

The Aeoniums Database

The container unfortunately does not have a draining hole. I've been watering it every two weeks or so. I've had to fix the plant a couple of times so I've seen the roots. They did not look rotted at all so far.
I've been giving it about a tablespoon or two of water at a time.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but I'm not sure that container is going to work for you. The problem is you will have a hard time properly saturating the soil with water (which I would regard as essential for the health of your plant) without leaving a puddle at the bottom (which will lead to rot if it persists over time). Try to navigate that balance as you proceed, if you want to stick with the container.

My usual care for Aeoniums (in pots with holes at the bottom) is to water well, until water comes out the holes, and then allow the soil to dry out most of the way before watering again. They do best when they have a cycle of alternating properly wet and properly dry conditions. If you water before the soil is going dry, you have an increased risk of rot. On the other hand, there is no benefit to leaving the soil bone dry for any extended period. Every 2 weeks is probably about half as often as you should water this time of year. Be prepared for changes come late fall and early winter, when the light is much lower, and if it's cool and dim then water less often at that time.

Do you think there could be any way I could DIY a draining hole in the bottom? I really don't want to get rid of the planter. I have affectionately named it Yorick because of it. It's ceramic.

Also, should I trim or propogate it at all? The roots are very good and strong, so I don't want to waste them if I don't have to.

You can certainly try to drill some drain holes. Use a masonry drill bit and go very slowly. I like to stick it in a dish or bowl of water and drill it under water. It keeps it cooler, and doesn't crack it as often. You may be successful, or you may break the planter. It can go either way.

If any leaves fall off you can certainly propagate them.

Yes, if you drill, try to keep it cool, and be prepared for breakage. I would wait to even consider propagating the plant until fall, to stay on the right side of the annual cycle.

I find that putting a piece of very stick tape (like duct tape or greenhouse tape) over the spot to be drilled also helps, in addition to doing it while wet.

I'm finally repotting it today. Look how little soil it had :(






Here's the pot I made for it that has a draining hole in the bottom.

Your plant will be much happier in the new pot, I think.

Here's the final product! Not sure if I should add more soil to the top.

It should be good as is.

Okay thank you!!! I hope it'll be happier now
Now I'm not sure what to do with the planter

Looks good, though I would have made that media a bit more grittier by adding more pumice or perlite. Just my own preference since I grow my Aeoniums outdoors all year long and they get winter rains here.

If you are keeping it as is in that media and just grown indoors, do longer watering intervals.

Approximately how long should it be? A week and a half, maybe?

It will depend on your soil. Use bamboo skewers, stick it in the soil, if it comes out wet, delay watering.

Here's an update. The colours look better, it's less brownish looking and that pretty light to dark green gradient they have, but I feel like it's also a bit stretched out I know it'll take time to recover, I'm just not sure what else I should do to help.

Patience. Fall is the start of the growing season for Aeoniums.

Looks good to me Blueleaf, it is perking up nicely. As Baja said....Patience!

My Aeoniums are waking up now as well, soon better growth all the way to Spring woohoo!

Here's another update



Today I just noticed some more roots growing.



Not sure if that one smaller baby coming off is ready for a propagation or not. Or what I should do about those extra roots.