Hello,

I bought this succulent from Walmart yesterday, and wanted to know if anyone could ID it and give me some care tips? I have yet to kill any of my succulents, but I've also never tried caring for a fuzzy one.

I repotted it since taking the picture; I'm worried that the new pot might be a bit small (the pot is shaped like a llama, though, so I really do want to use it), but I wasn't able to separate the bunches from each other to give it more space, and I didn't want to force it since I don't know anything about this succulent. I potted it into a mix of succulent soil and perlite.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Kalanchoe tomentosa

Does the new pot have a drainage hole?

The new pot doesn't have a drainage hole, unfortunately, but it is a really thin terracotta. I also have a decent amount of experience keeping my succulents happy even in pots without drainage holes, so I'm not overly concerned about that.

I've heard that fuzzy succulents shouldn't get their leaves wet, though, is that true?

Forgot to say! I put a pretty high concentration of perlite to help with the drainage. If it's too finicky, though, I can put it back in its original pot (which does have drainage holes) until I get used to caring for it.

I'd say it's probably time to quit the habit of using pots without holes at the bottom, or nest pots with holes inside them so that they can be removed for watering. Holes let you water deeply, to saturation, without leaving a lake at the bottom. Pots without holes require much more attention and fine-tuning (or skill) to get good results. I would consider that above my skill level.

Wait until spring before performing any major intervention.

The more light, the better for this plant and most succulents indoors. I would assume that's especially true for the ones with hair or dense spines.

The fuzz can get wet but it cannot remain wet. I usually try to water the soil, not the plant, avoiding the foliage unless there's no other way. As long as there's decent air circulation and strong light, I wouldn't worry about the leaves getting wet when you water.

What Baja said.

Terra cotta certainly helps, as it'll help draw excess water away from the roots and help everything dry out faster. But it's definitely preferable to have a drainage hole in your pots.

I find my K. tomentosa is one of the thirstier succulents I have. I water it a bit more frequently than my other plants, but still waiting till the soil is completely dry. You don't want the roots remaining wet for extended periods of time.

Macrocentra said:What Baja said.

I find my K. tomentosa is one of the thirstier succulents I have. I water it a bit more frequently than my other plants, but still waiting till the soil is completely dry. You don't want the roots remaining wet for extended periods of time.

I love this post. It demonstrates well how plants do under different conditions. In my part of normally hot/dry conditions, I've found K. tomentosa to be among the most sensitive to water and subject to rot as a result. I hardly ever give it supplemental water. For the most part it's dependent only on what nature provides. Here that can be long periods of excessive heat with no rainfall. That's when it has moved outside for the warm months where it usually is residing on the edge of dappled shade. Inside in the cooler months, I don't touch it in fear of rot. My methods are based strictly on my experiences with the plant. I can't help but believe the excessive heat is a major contributing factor to my experience.

Werner Rauh, in his Madagascar book Vol. 1, places it in his chapter on central plateau/inselberg succulents. These are plants that grow on granite or gneiss rocks between 1000-2000m elevation. Meaning they are relatively high altitude plants (read: probably heat sensitive) that prefer a rocky, fast-draining substrate (read: sensitive to rot in overly rich mixes if you don't compensate with the watering and/or protect from rain). The climate in habitat has summer rainfall and a winter dry season. This plant tolerates day-long sun here in our mild coastal climate. Perhaps my description of the plant's origins helps make sense of your own experience.

Baja_Costero said:Werner Rauh, in his Madagascar book Vol. 1, places it in his chapter on central plateau/inselberg succulents. These are plants that grow on granite or gneiss rocks between 1000-2000m elevation. Meaning they are relatively high altitude plants (read: probably heat sensitive) that prefer a rocky, fast-draining substrate (read: sensitive to rot in overly rich mixes if you don't compensate with the watering and/or protect from rain). The climate in habitat has summer rainfall and a winter dry season. This plant tolerates day-long sun here in our mild coastal climate. Perhaps my description of the plant's origins helps make sense of your own experience.

Helpful info. When I decided to try again for the 3rd time, the soil mix is more than half perlite, but supplemental water is almost non-existent. That only happens when I can tell by looking it needs water. If it doesn't show that stress, it's dependent on what falls naturally. So far, 3rd time has been the charm but I can always mess that up!

Baja_Costero said:I'd say it's probably time to quit the habit of using pots without holes at the bottom, or nest pots with holes inside them so that they can be removed for watering. Holes let you water deeply, to saturation, without leaving a lake at the bottom. Pots without holes require much more attention and fine-tuning (or skill) to get good results. I would consider that above my skill level.

Wait until spring before performing any major intervention.

The more light, the better for this plant and most succulents indoors. I would assume that's especially true for the ones with hair or dense spines.

The fuzz can get wet but it cannot remain wet. I usually try to water the soil, not the plant, avoiding the foliage unless there's no other way. As long as there's decent air circulation and strong light, I wouldn't worry about the leaves getting wet when you water.

The pots-with-no-drainage issue was entirely accidental haha. About two years ago I treated myself to new pots for all of my succulents, specifically looking for ones with drainage holes. It's hard to explain in text but I realized a few weeks after buying them that the drainage holes were fake (like fake pockets), and the store didn't accept returns. I was very upset at the time, but my succulents have seemed happy and are even growing (albeit slowly), thought whenever I next buy pots I am definitely paying more attention.

The new pot was a gift and I really don't want it to go to waste, so I'll try it for now and pay a lot of attention. Its almost spring here anyway.

I always aim to water only the soil, but good to know that my newest addition isn't hyper-sensitive to wet leaves!