I recently put several of my Mother of Thousands plants in new pots. All but my favorite are doing just fine. I am gone for two weeks and the day I leave the favorite looked a little limp. It is at the mercy of my husband and I don't know what to tell him to do.

The lower leaves are curling and turning yellowish-brown so I had him cut those off. If it were any other kind of plant, limp would indicate a need for water....but if I recall, this plant becomes limp if it has too much water.

I don't know if it needs water because of possible damaged roots during the transplant or if that would simply kill it by the time I get home.

I really want to save it as it was a first gen start from a plant my aunt had. She passed away this year. I do have plenty of babies but this one was special too because it grew like a bush instead of a single stalk.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! I have a slightly out of focus photo but don't seem to be able to attach it here.
Annie

Daisyifyado

To attach a picture - below the box when you are typing a reply there is a green box that says 'upload an image'. When you click on that it lets you browse through the files on your computer. You then click on the one you want to use and it will upload into your post.
I am sure someone will have an answer but a picture would be very helpful.

Hi Daisy: Kalanchoe: Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) is a succulent and doesn't need a lot of water. In my experience with succulent type plants, when they go limp it's a case of too much water.

They may be limping either because of too much water..or if it is a new transplant, too much sun. Needs part shade/sun till acclimated. But from my experience this plant is quite resilient, it may pout a bit, but eventually recovers well.

for me it is hard to kill. A friend of mine had one that thrived on the steps going up to her deck....no water, no dirt. It just grew between the wood "slats" of the steps....we are in the Florida panhandle about 30 miles north of Panama City.

Daisy: Is there a drainage hole in the container? The plant looks healthy; I think it may just be pouting a bit from the transplanting as tarev mentioned and should perk up soon ... keep us posted!

When you have a plant of this sort in a pot with a saucer, is it a good idea to place something in the saucer to raise it out of any water that might collect?

I agree with what's been said so far.

- make sure the pot has a hole that is not blocked (prop it up with pencils or chopsticks or at least bamboo skewers).

- tell DH to remove any standing water from the saucer. If you let him use the turkey baster, he'll probably get it right.

Maybe have him give it shade, like by bringing it inside.

If he can't give it shade, but has a spray bottle, maybe mist the leaves.
- - - - - (Is that OK to do for succulents?)

If there is fertilizer anywhere in the house, tell him not to use any fertilizer. Just like overwatering, it is much easier to kill a plant by over-fertilizing then by under-fertilizing.

When you transplanted, was the potting mix loose and open, sandy and gritty, hence fast-draining and well aerated? Or was it fine, heavy soil prone to compaction? I'm guessing that most succulents want grit and bark chunks, not soil or peat moss.

I see the pot is shallow, so an inch or so of perched water would kill roots in the bottom half of the root zone.

If you need to drain excess water right out of soggy soil in a pot, set some thick, absorbent cloth like cotton flannel, an old Tee shirt, facecloth, or cotton socks right under the drain hole so that it touches the soil mix through the drain hole. The pot should not press too tightly on the saucer, pinching the cloth. (Chopsticks or shims are great. I think three quarters in a triangle might give enough clearance. Four bottle caps in a square?).

Then trail the cloth DOWNwards (maybe putting the pot up on a table or some bricks so the cloth can hang down. Now it will wick most of the water out of the potting mix and down onto your patio, since gravity AND capillary action can overcome the capillary attraction of the mix itself. (You could catch the drippings with another saucer or plastic dropcloth, but it might also evaporate from the cloth.)

Once you pull the water out, air can get in, and roots can resume breathing instead of drowning. This "wick" can also help you to slowly flush a pot that doesn't really drain well enough to flush easily.

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE EXCELLENT ANSWERS!

I got back home yesterday and my plant is looking pretty good. The best solution was indeed to ignore it.....meaning no water, fertilizer, bright sun.

I am so pleased with this web site. I've needed help over the years with a few plants but never found sufficient info on the Internet. In no time at all, I was given very good instruction from you all. I can't thank you enough and will enjoy using "allthingsplants" in the future and be sure to pass this site along to others!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I have a mother of thousand plant that I received from my brother. He was growing seedlings that weren't growing upright, more like vines. I transplanted it and since then it has gone straight up. The thing is, it doesn't look like the pictures I've seen of this plant and I'm wondering if it is in fact a mother of thousand plant and how I can help it to grow properly?

Hello AmandaJ, not sure either if your plant is Mother of Thousands either. But to improve its growth, I would reduce container size, make sure it has drain holes. Improve the media, it seems too heavy and will hold moisture too long. Make it grittier, mix in some more perlite or pumice. If you can, grow the plant where there is more light, so it keeps growing upwards. It is trying to seek more light when it is etiolating like that. When I say more light, does not necessarily mean full sun. Just part sun and shade later once it stabilizes.

Your plant maybe another type of Kalanchoe.

Great advice and so very timely! I just "inherited" 3 of these that were given to me due to the same problem. Their previous owner was going to toss them, so I rescued them & was going to ask the same question! Now, thanks to this thread, I know what to do! THANKS EVERYONE