Not knowing which succulent this is makes me ignorant about caring it... So pls id it and extra help for pointing out what problem I have missed. Thanks.

I believe it is a Crassula called the propeller plant. Gene

But if its Propellor Plant, it needs way more light.

Thanks, Gene & Daisy. I do think it probably needs more light... but harder and harder to find a spot that receive more sunlight due to other plants (succ & cacti) already take most space. Well, just have to squeeze out some... Oh, and more water too?

Feel the leaves. If they are plump and firm, do not water. Only water when the leaves get a bot limp/soft. Gene

Thanks, Gene. plump? firm? limp? soft? I think I am not good in "feel the leaves" as scared to touch them... Can you see how they feel from the picture? I think the bottom one already dry out and other lower ones are kind of wrinkled up?

Your Crassula falcata 'scarlet' is looking good.
The lower leaves do naturally shrivel up and die as it grows if it gets too dry.
It likes to be fertilized and full sun or at least as much as you can give it.
The pot looks big enough for it to reach maturity. When full grown it will send up a flower spike from the center with a large cluster if red, fragrant flowers.
The mother plant will slowly shrivel after the bloom; however,
it will make many offshoots from the leaf axis.

Thanks, Bob for the growing guide and the valuable info... I do need self-research after knowing plant name. But many thanks.

Hi, Either late last year or early this year, the lower part of the plant (the lower stem) started withering/drying out... So I cut the top and two lower leaf cuttings for replanting. The top one has been growing well since then. But there has been nothing happening on the leaf cuttings... not until recently that one of them made some new grows, but another looks like a goner. Question: what to do with the mother leaf? Remove or keep?

I have never grown this plant from a leaf. Usually you have to start with the whole leaf, intact all the way to the base, for that to work in this family.

These plants are great looking for the first season (especially when they flower in the summer) but then they tend to start looking a little unkempt as the stem extends and they start to grow sideways. That seems to be the natural habit of the plant. It is normal for them to have stem without living leaves below the first year's flower. The flowers are terminal (so the plant has to branch afterwards).

The flowers are also pretty powerful bug magnets.

If you want to propagate the plant down the road you can try beheading it when it's going strong. Root that cutting separately and the mother plant may very likely sprout branches. I have one of these in a pot where the growth center died off earlier this year and it now has about a dozen new heads.

Hi Baja, Thanks for replying with good info. As you mentioned, probably my another leaf cutting was not perfect and so couldn't produce new growth (it looks like drying out now anyway). Unfortunately, I did not retain the down part of the plant (thought it's gone) when beheading it. Definitely will remember next time. Thanks

If you're wanting your mother plant to branch after beheading, the optimal location for the cut would be about halfway down, so that living leaves are left afterwards.

Here is the plant I mentioned which lost its growth point before it flowered.

Boy, @Baha_Costero; You and I have the exact same opinion of this plant.

@fiat, Your original stem probably had rot so it 's ok you did not save it. Succulents like this don't tolerate guessing on watering, as they just are unable to tolerate too much water and croak in record time. Growing succulent plants is so unlike the growing of other houseplants. For example, your plant would likely have "survived" being watered 3 times over the winter, and may have thrived with water only once a month, in a dark spot.
Winter darkness and too much water is certain death. I know, because I am terrible at starting succulents. Even knowing what not to do, my intuition is pathetically dysfunctional, and I fail time and again. @Gasrock's tip for feeling the leaf is brilliant, and a must for me. To grow from a leaf requires even more self discipline with the watering can. Let it be quite dry, give it a spray with a spray bottle once a day, more or less. Others here will better describe growing from leaves, for your plant next time. I found it easier to learn to grow succulents from plants I bought that were in pots no smaller than 4 inches.

Hi Laurie, Thanks for the watering tip and reminder. Oh, should I be proud of myself for succeeding growing this one from a leaf! (well, at least one out of two)

Baja, your plant(s) in the pot look wonderful! Since your photo is taken from above, I wonder how tall are the branches? Are they as tall as the photo in my starting post? Will you be (or needing to) beheading them in the future? Just curious to see your plant from a side view. Thanks

They are about half the height of your plant. Very low actually. All the branching happened just a few months ago so there has not been time for much extension. Plus they're probably a bit set back by how constrained they all are. I will probably divide the clump and give most of them away some time this winter. I'm thinking it's probably best to avoid propagation around flowering time.

When I have some daylight I'll get a side shot and also a picture of the plant in the garden (which has been there 3-4 years and has become quite ratty in the process).

Baja, I have a new little Agave potatorum minima. I can't find much info on it. Do you have it? Do you think it has any cold hardiness? It's a cute little agave.

I'm not sure about the name. There are a few plants which have been called that, which may or may not be potatorum. There is also a closely related plant called isthmensis which is generally smaller than potatorum and more likely to offset. Anyway, those plants are from tropical Mexico and they require frost protection in Phoenix. They may be okay to around freezing but too far below.

Can you take a picture?

Yes, I'll get a pic. This one is tiny and offsets very readily. The tag just said A. potatorum.

From the side you can tell the pot is less than half full.



This plant in the ground has flowered a few times now, and is branching at those points. It gets a lot of sun in the summer and only occasional water.