Why is my succulent becoming transparent and soft?

I have an echeveria that I bought a few months ago at Carrefour and recently I noticed the leaves look weird, like they're almost transparent and really soft to the touch. I have it in a plastic pot with drainage holes on the living room windowsill. What's happening to it? Is it from watering or something else?

3 answers

It's most likely that you're watering it too much. Succulents store water in their leaves, and when you give them more than they need, the cells become saturated and start turning soft and translucent, like they're about to burst. Plus, if the pot is in a window without enough direct light, the problem gets worse because the plant doesn't use up the water as quickly. You should let the soil dry out completely between waterings (in summer every two or three weeks is fine, in winter much less) and if possible move it to a spot with more direct light, even if it's just a couple hours a day.

How often are you watering it, and what's the soil like when you touch it? What you're describing is typical overwatering: the transparent, mushy leaves mean the cells are filling up with water and the plant is rotting from the inside, especially the roots. Echeveria can go a really long time without water, so the ideal thing is to let the soil dry out completely between waterings - it happened to me with one I had at home, I started watering it every two weeks and it bounced back. Check if the pot drains well (it looks like it does from the holes), but make sure the soil isn't too dense: it needs to be nice and sandy, almost like beach sand, so it doesn't hold onto moisture.

roberto78 asker Thanks, that's really helpful. I water it every week, so that's the problem. I'm going to let it dry out more between waterings and change the soil.

It's almost definitely overwatering - succulents need very little water, and that transparent, mushy texture is a sign that the roots are rotting. You should take the plant out of the pot, check if the roots are black or slimy, cut off the damaged parts with something clean, and let it dry for a few days before repotting it in fresh succulent soil. From now on, only water it when the soil is completely dry - roughly every two or three weeks depending on your climate - and even less in fall and winter.

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