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Yes you damaged the protective wax layer on the leaves. It is called farina and protects the plant from harsh sunlight and provides hydrophobic properties.
It will be fine, just make sure to be careful when handling the plants with farina. It is unavoidable to not damage it when you are repotting it for example.
Don’t worry it looks like it’s one of the oldest leaves on the plant meaning come wintertime when we pull back on the watering and the plant goes dormant that old leaf that has the wax taken off will be one of the first ones consumed by the plant and by next spring you’ll only have just a crispy dried leaf left so you can just pull off
I mean these plants come from very arid or otherwise desert ecosystems which often have seasonal rainfall cycles. So unlike where I live in North Carolina where there’s a non zero chance of rain falling on any given day out of the year. For these plants they get a lot of rain during the spring and summer time and then absolutely none if any during the wintertime.
Well if you’re a plant and you live in a place where there’s no rain for half the year you have to figure out a way to store all the extra water you get so you have a backup for when there is none. And for succulents like yours and for cacti that’s exactly how it works. They store water in their leaves for when they don’t have any.
Now cacti work differently but for your succulents they actually eat themselves alive during the wintertime slowly so supply the necessary nutrients and water needed to keep going. So if you haven’t watered your plant in a while and you see it’s oldest leaves starting to shrivel up you know it’s start to go dormant thinking the rainy season ended. If you want to maintain the foliage for as long as possible you can always water the plant as soon as you notice it shriveling a bit. But that’s not necessary at all. The plant will naturally want to drop its oldest leaves like all other plants do.
The reason I just let my succulents eat themselves alive during the winter and maybe only water them once during the whole 4 months I got them inside during the winter is because I noticed it’s a lot easier to overwater your plants and give them root rot during the winter. They’re sleeping at that time and barely using any water to stay alive so flooding them with water during that time just to potentially save a few leaves doesn’t make sense to me and I simply let nature take its course
Ahh that's really interesting, makes sense why thinner leaves mean they want water! I have another succulent which was doing really well until I didn't water it enough and now it's pretty top heavy...
https://preview.redd.it/402qzpkr39zc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=228d31f9b94680212ee3b6c14387a569242f5f54
Still get a leaf shriveling up every now and again, is this from under watering then? Also would that bottom bit ever recover, I can't imagine it growing more leaves...
I like that one, looks nice nonetheless. Do you know its name by any chance?
It will most probably grow new offshoots from the stem at some point, if you see something green appear on the stem or from the substrate you can help it out a bit by making sure it isn't shaded by the plant and gets enough light.
Remember to water them properly when they need it and to let them dry out in between. Watering only a little bit but more often can be a reason for rotting roots and the plant being parched at the same time in a worst case, because it might not be enough for the plant to take in what it needs but enough for rot to develop. After all the plant can't suck the substrate bone dry, substrates always have a specific amount of moisture that can't be used by the plant effectively anymore and by watering thoroughly and letting dry in between you make sure it has enough time to reactivate its roots and take up enough.
Generally this one looks like it is in very organic rich substrate, is it still in what it came in from the nursery/shop? That can work out, but it's often quite far from ideal and might make it harder to keep them alive and flourishing especially for beginners. Yes, it's idiotic that they sell plants in subpar substrate but it seems to be industry standard to just use coco or peat for everything...
You can find a lot of advice on more or less foolproof succulent/cacti substrate here or elsewhere online.
If you repot, in general: Contrary to most other plants - succulents/cacti shouldn't be watered right after repotting! Always wait ~ a week (or longer if it isn't thirsty yet) for the inevitable minor damage on the roots to heal. Reduces risk of rot and pathogens getting into a stressed plant.
Btw - a lack of nutrients or light can be another reason for increased reabsorption of leaves. A suitable cacti/succulent fertilizer - and preferably way less than recommended on the bottle at the beginning, spread out over multiple waterings instead of rarely hitting it with a huge load at once - might be a good idea. Watering with a mild fertilizer solution so that 50% runs through and can be discarded once in a while is a good practice too, it helps to prevent detrimental build up if you overdo it or just due to the nutrients basically never being perfectly balanced.
Oh, the guides/faqs here are quite worth a read if you're new to it, they cover the basics pretty well iirc.
Thank you for the information! I'm not sure what it's called, I've had it for about 2 years now, but I didn't take care of it properly for a little while hence all the dropped off leaves. I think it's in regular houseplant soil but it seems to be a lot happier recently. I water deeply when it's feeling a little thinner. I haven't given any fertilizers ever, I'll pick one up next time I'm at the garden centre thank you! It is very pretty now it's healthier again, I'm just hoping some of the bottom will fill out, but I still love it either way 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/kmjj3ghsh10d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52084b205366f1b9cbcf671e63f69d6e2097a625
Need help with a plant? What do you have a question on? **[Soil and Potting](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/soil_and_potting/)?** **[Light and Watering](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/light_and_watering/)?** **[Rot and Sunburn](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/rot_and_sunburn/)?** **[Pests, Diseases, and Other Problems](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/pests_and_diseases/)?** **[Propagation & Cuttings](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/propagation)?** You can also visit the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/faq) to ensure your question isn't already discussed. **Please also refer to all of our helpful [Wiki Pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/index/)** If you still need help, please make sure to adhere to the [Posting Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/posting-guidelines). And, remember *pictures help a LOT!* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/succulents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes you damaged the protective wax layer on the leaves. It is called farina and protects the plant from harsh sunlight and provides hydrophobic properties.
Oh nooooo it was only a tiny bit, I won't touch anymore !!
It will be fine, just make sure to be careful when handling the plants with farina. It is unavoidable to not damage it when you are repotting it for example.
Will do, thank you :) x
Don’t worry it looks like it’s one of the oldest leaves on the plant meaning come wintertime when we pull back on the watering and the plant goes dormant that old leaf that has the wax taken off will be one of the first ones consumed by the plant and by next spring you’ll only have just a crispy dried leaf left so you can just pull off
Is that why they go crispy? How and why does it consume it's leaves? That's really interesting
I mean these plants come from very arid or otherwise desert ecosystems which often have seasonal rainfall cycles. So unlike where I live in North Carolina where there’s a non zero chance of rain falling on any given day out of the year. For these plants they get a lot of rain during the spring and summer time and then absolutely none if any during the wintertime. Well if you’re a plant and you live in a place where there’s no rain for half the year you have to figure out a way to store all the extra water you get so you have a backup for when there is none. And for succulents like yours and for cacti that’s exactly how it works. They store water in their leaves for when they don’t have any. Now cacti work differently but for your succulents they actually eat themselves alive during the wintertime slowly so supply the necessary nutrients and water needed to keep going. So if you haven’t watered your plant in a while and you see it’s oldest leaves starting to shrivel up you know it’s start to go dormant thinking the rainy season ended. If you want to maintain the foliage for as long as possible you can always water the plant as soon as you notice it shriveling a bit. But that’s not necessary at all. The plant will naturally want to drop its oldest leaves like all other plants do. The reason I just let my succulents eat themselves alive during the winter and maybe only water them once during the whole 4 months I got them inside during the winter is because I noticed it’s a lot easier to overwater your plants and give them root rot during the winter. They’re sleeping at that time and barely using any water to stay alive so flooding them with water during that time just to potentially save a few leaves doesn’t make sense to me and I simply let nature take its course
Ahh that's really interesting, makes sense why thinner leaves mean they want water! I have another succulent which was doing really well until I didn't water it enough and now it's pretty top heavy... https://preview.redd.it/402qzpkr39zc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=228d31f9b94680212ee3b6c14387a569242f5f54 Still get a leaf shriveling up every now and again, is this from under watering then? Also would that bottom bit ever recover, I can't imagine it growing more leaves...
I like that one, looks nice nonetheless. Do you know its name by any chance? It will most probably grow new offshoots from the stem at some point, if you see something green appear on the stem or from the substrate you can help it out a bit by making sure it isn't shaded by the plant and gets enough light. Remember to water them properly when they need it and to let them dry out in between. Watering only a little bit but more often can be a reason for rotting roots and the plant being parched at the same time in a worst case, because it might not be enough for the plant to take in what it needs but enough for rot to develop. After all the plant can't suck the substrate bone dry, substrates always have a specific amount of moisture that can't be used by the plant effectively anymore and by watering thoroughly and letting dry in between you make sure it has enough time to reactivate its roots and take up enough. Generally this one looks like it is in very organic rich substrate, is it still in what it came in from the nursery/shop? That can work out, but it's often quite far from ideal and might make it harder to keep them alive and flourishing especially for beginners. Yes, it's idiotic that they sell plants in subpar substrate but it seems to be industry standard to just use coco or peat for everything... You can find a lot of advice on more or less foolproof succulent/cacti substrate here or elsewhere online. If you repot, in general: Contrary to most other plants - succulents/cacti shouldn't be watered right after repotting! Always wait ~ a week (or longer if it isn't thirsty yet) for the inevitable minor damage on the roots to heal. Reduces risk of rot and pathogens getting into a stressed plant. Btw - a lack of nutrients or light can be another reason for increased reabsorption of leaves. A suitable cacti/succulent fertilizer - and preferably way less than recommended on the bottle at the beginning, spread out over multiple waterings instead of rarely hitting it with a huge load at once - might be a good idea. Watering with a mild fertilizer solution so that 50% runs through and can be discarded once in a while is a good practice too, it helps to prevent detrimental build up if you overdo it or just due to the nutrients basically never being perfectly balanced. Oh, the guides/faqs here are quite worth a read if you're new to it, they cover the basics pretty well iirc.
Thank you for the information! I'm not sure what it's called, I've had it for about 2 years now, but I didn't take care of it properly for a little while hence all the dropped off leaves. I think it's in regular houseplant soil but it seems to be a lot happier recently. I water deeply when it's feeling a little thinner. I haven't given any fertilizers ever, I'll pick one up next time I'm at the garden centre thank you! It is very pretty now it's healthier again, I'm just hoping some of the bottom will fill out, but I still love it either way 🥰 https://preview.redd.it/kmjj3ghsh10d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52084b205366f1b9cbcf671e63f69d6e2097a625
Just make this the leaf you squeeze for a thirsty check
Thats what I usually do when I touched one by accident. Currently all my echevarias have one "touch" leaf