PSA: My garden mentor told me to stop watering my succulents every week and I killed three of them

I started getting into succulents about 6 months ago and a lady at the local nursery said they need water once a week max. I trusted her because she seemed like she knew her stuff. After 2 months three of my echeverias rotted out at the base and I was so confused. Then I looked up the specific type and learned they only need water every 2-3 weeks during winter. So now I only water when the soil is bone dry and I check with a bamboo skewer before anything. Has anyone else had a plant "expert" give bad advice that killed your plants?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan_mason2d ago

Got burned by a similar thing with my snake plant. A guy at a big box store told me to water it every week and I nearly drowned the thing. Turns out snake plants are basically camels and they prefer to be ignored for like a month at a time. Now I only water my succulents when the leaves actually start looking a bit wrinkly or soft. That skewer trick you mentioned is solid, I use a wooden chopstick myself. Also learned the hard way that pots without drainage holes are basically death traps no matter what anyone says.

wadem892d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you're telling me that guy at the store didn't know his snake plants from his water lilies? I swear some of those big box employees just guess based on what they'd do with their own houseplants, which is scary. My mom had a similar issue with her jade plant, she followed the sticker tag advice and watered it every 10 days until the leaves started dropping off like autumn. Now she just pokes the dirt with a bamboo skewer and if it comes out dry she waits another week just to be safe. The no-drainage pot thing is wild too, I turned one into a pencil holder after I lost my first succulent to root rot in three weeks.