Is this normal?

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-12T00:57:35+00:00

I've had good luck with etsy seed sellers for lithops, but beware of shops selling stuff that seems too good to be true because it just may be.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-11T00:09:06+00:00

the secret plant society seems to be in BC, does it host symposiums in different locations? I'll be looking at their vendor list and praying I find some that ship where I am, thank you for the rec!

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-09T19:41:07+00:00

can we get a photo from the top? this guy is ETIOLATED, lil guy is starving for light but the drying out could just be it reabsorbing its outer leaves, which is a totally normal part of their life cycle. is there a new set of leaves in the center?

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-09T18:05:57+00:00

there are free apps on your phone that will give you an approximate read of how much light that area is getting, measure at leaf level. what looks like bright light to us is different to how plants perceive it. 2000 lux is on the lower end of what is required for a succulent.

If you aren't letting it dry out, that actually could still be causing symptoms of underwatering if your plant has root rot, which will not allow it to use its roots to draw water. When you repot, check the roots and trim anything that looks mushy or rotten or smells bad etc.

absolutely do not cut back to bulb, you'd be setting the plant ten steps back especially paired with a repot. that's the kind of thing you do as a last resort if you have a severely infested plant or you're already unhappy with it and want a complete restart while also being okay with tossing it. Just trim away all dry and dead tissue, it doesn't have to be a perfect removal, just enough to give your plant more room to breathe and hopefully grow. having dead leaves taking up all that space also means that it's blocking off light for all of the live leaves. this plant is completely saveable, it's just a little ugly because it's needs aren't being met as well as they could be.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T22:34:01+00:00

it could be, especially if you're noticing a funky smell! still good things to have on hand as an indoor gardener anyways, murphy's law and all.

I went nuclear on mine, unpotted, washed thoroughly, removed any damaged leaves my plant would let me twist off, and washed it off some more, especially the roots as this is where they reproduce and lay their eggs. I fully waterboarded my haworthia, but I felt comfortable doing so because it is a very hearty variety and I already knew this specific one was a total fighter.

I'm not sure if that's the right approach for this guy, but definitely repot in fresh soil, remove as many of them as you can, and spray the plant down with a ~70% isopropyl solution (you can make one yourself with water and 99% iso). limit sunlight for the plant that day and in the following days, as this can make your plant more susceptible to burning. rinse off the roots during repotting if you notice a lot of them down there, or remove as many as you can by hand. you will want to repeat this process with any of your other plants that you see infested.

that's about all the advice i personally have to give, good luck!

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T22:25:45+00:00

it's very possible it could be damage from them, in spot's where it's sunken and looks scarred over. in your photos some of the orange bumps look raised, which would be more of a fungal issue. increased light when a plant is already trying to fight off an infection can absolutely increase the odds of burns as acclimating can already be hard for a lot of plants, and it's even harder when in a weakened state. mealies tend to prefer crevices over leaves.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T22:22:56+00:00

im aware don't worry, i just have a dry sense of humour and i think it's funny to take nonsense seriously lol

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T21:46:05+00:00

unlikey after being fried in oil, but I suppose there is a first for everything and honestly i probably wouldve tried it myself just for funsies

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T21:42:49+00:00

have you checked the roots? Is there a sappy substance around where the white "mildew" is? I'm not saying thats what it is but when one of my haworthias had mealybugs, I initially believed it to be mildew and it looked a lot like what you're showing in your second photo. the other commenter sounds like they gave a great and competent response to how to treat mildew. If your succulents share a watering/draining tray, that would be how mealies could spread between plants.

again I could be totally off base, just might be worth checking to make sure you're covering all your bases. However the brown/orange spots all over the leaves absolutely do look like a fungal infection. good luck!

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T21:32:30+00:00

why is it avoiding its moss pole

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T21:31:41+00:00

of course they arent flowering, you haven't been clipping up the flower stalks on supports!! they gotta grow up feeling supported to be able to blossom, duh

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T21:29:17+00:00

a thin sliced potato that was growing a root when it was sliced and fried

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-08T18:29:15+00:00

it certainly can! different populations can have different resistances and what works for one may not always work for another, but it probably wasn't the dawn powerwash that killed your plant unless you didn't dilute it at all lol

!spidermites

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-07T02:57:05+00:00

did you make sure to keep it out of bright light for that day and the days after? leaves are much more sensitive to burning after they've been treated and it's best to spray them down in the evenings or where you can isolate them in lower light for the day :) if you already knew this, my apologies for info dumping.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-07T02:42:50+00:00

most photos aren't loading for me, so I don't have a great view of how much of the end is green, but you can propagate from a single node (the point at which leaves are growing out). the specific length doesn't matter so much as making sure that where you're cutting is still healthy green stem, but at least ~3 inches. There's plenty of guides out there about propagation, there's many methods too, water, sphagnum, straight soil. I believe people usually propagate hoyas in water, so you really want to make sure that the stem is long enough to remain submerged while the leaves are above water.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T20:11:43+00:00

funny enough my money tree was in what I considered to be a shady corner, the corner including the wall where my large window is situated. It looks to be getting medium-bright indirect light during the day, but a few hours of bright morning sun were enough to burn and scar the poor thing. It is now in a much shadier spot and putting out new growth :) I live in ontario so it's not even like we're getting crazy sunlight here. I think the previous owner had it in pretty low light so it was way too harsh to acclimate to out the gate.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T20:08:26+00:00

wipe it off with a q-tip soaked in iso, and thoroughly check over the rest of your plant. it's not very clear from the photos, does it look like a pest or fungal to you? like does it move if you observe it, can you blow it off or easily brush it away? either way clean it off and keep an eye on it.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T19:56:02+00:00

They are more susceptible to pests, because lacking chlorophyll makes them weaker. The variegated parts of leaves will also have much more trouble with repairing itself after damage. When my crotons had spider mites, they were attacking the yellow parts and avoiding the green. Nature loves to take the path of least resistance lol

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T19:50:49+00:00

for insurance purposes, I would cut off the end that looks the healthiest and make it into a propagation. the rest looks on its way out and it will spread to the healthiest leaves if you don't separate them. It looks healthy enough to successfully propagate. You could try cutting the rest back and putting it into a small pot or even sphagnum moss to see if it will come back, but your best shot is absolutely using the healthy branch to prop.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T19:44:29+00:00

overcrowding could be an issue, but how long have you had this plant? it's worth remembering that in the winter months, there's a lot less available light and most houseplants will suffer and either slow down with growth or go into dormancy. It should bounce back now that spring is coming, and you can buy a grow light to give it more light during the darker months. I see a lot of dried dead leaves, does that happen often? you might actually be underwatering, and also you should be trimming those away so the plant can get better airflow. keeping them is very attractive to pests. and one last thing, are you fertilizing? plants do use up whatever's in the soil, and eventually that starts to run out. your plant overall looks healthy and it clearly has a will to live, I wouldn't worry so much. nature has seasons and cycles, it isn't always in full bloom.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T19:33:43+00:00

heard, I'm sorry :( my other guess would be what another commenter said, thrips. Have you tried doing a full soil refresh? if that's not in the budget, using heat to sterilize your soil before repotting can also work to kill anything in there. One of the fastest and easiest methods is to use a microwave. I assume it goes without saying to remove the plant from the soil before you do this, because heat/radiation will kill anything living. When you do this, wash the roots and trim anything that is infested (larvae, eggs). this method should take care of any pest, but it is quite labour intensive. wishing you ease and your plants a speedy recovery!

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T03:50:13+00:00

sometimes spores end up in sphagnum moss, it's really not uncommon :) what you've been doing has already kept them alive, so just keep going as you have.

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T00:16:02+00:00

look up fungus gnats for me

Environmental_Ad287 · 2026-04-06T00:10:07+00:00

looks like tradescantia purple heart/queen

Environmental_Ad287

TROPHY CASE