I am watching and watering my sister's plants for her over the winter and have been watering precisely as she instructed but the pot of succulent plants is taking a nosedive and we are not positive of the cause. Last week we felt it may have taken a hit from being near a window with our extreme cold temps or the soil dried out rapidly because of the very dry air, so I was instructed to water 3 cups last week, instead of the normal weekly 2.25 cups. Upon arriving this week to water I found some very aggressive browning and yellowing of the tips, but again, I am not sure why. In looking at the photos, I see evidence of some tips browning back on January 11th, so I am not sure if there was already an issue and now I am just seeing the advancement of the problem. Sure would love to save the plant and bring it back to health. any suggestions? Pics are dated Jan 11th, Feb 1st and Feb 8th

Your plant is overwatered. How didnt it occur to you that the stiff leaves could mean dont water?And its winter, it was cold and dark , do you water the same as summer?
Does that pot even have drainage holes?

The plants look fine to me although the watering is a little odd. I assume the bowl they are planted in has drainage? The brown/yellow spots look like lack of water.

Can you share where this plant lives? Outside conditions do affect inside plants.

Were Jan 11th, Feb 1st and Feb 8th the dates you watered? You should be watering when the soil is dry then adding enough water to the entire soil surface so the soil is saturated and water drains from the bottom hole. I can't imagine 2 - 3 cups of water achieves that. Your repeat watering could be a month later, depending upon how fast the soil dries.

It does seem overwatered, with that frequency of watering for those succulents being grown indoors during winter.

It does not look like a lost cause yet...just keep it dry for now and continue allowing the plants receive as much light it can get from that window.

Those plants you have can typically handle temps down to 30F as long as it is kept dry.

Too cold and too wet media is often the cause of rotting at the root zone.

So be patient for now. Do not water.
If there is a fan you can use, run it also for a few minutes, especially after you do any watering. They also need good ambient air circulation.

At times once a month light watering is more than enough for them during winter time.

It is during the much warmer months where light duration and intensity is longer that these plants will be more actively growing and consuming more of the moisture from watering. Then if it goes intensely hot over 95F and higher they again shut down, close down their rosettes as it conserves moisture loss and wait it out till more favorable temps return.

The location is central Minnesota. Temps have been a bit brutal for a few weeks but not sure how that has impacted the plants.

Since the problem has escalated after thinking it was too dry and giving it a couple more cups of water, I think the assessment that it is overwatered is most likely correct.

I will let it dry out a week or two and compare pics to determine possible adjustments.

Thanks much for the recommendations.

Hi & welcome!

If this pot has a drain hole, does water come out of the hole when you water? If not, the soil may not be getting fully saturated. If the heating system is making the air very dry, the soil could dry very quickly. I can't tell if it's a clay or plastic pot. The soil looks very dry in the pic. Soil in clay pots dries much more quickly.

I'm having to water my plants at work 2x per week in plastic pots, but my plants at home only 1x week, even in clay pots, because the air is so much more dry @ my office.

In winter when the light level drops, you should be reducing watering. Ideally you don't want them to grow at all during winter, UNLESS you have growlights. Reducing water allows them to go into a dormant state. It is possible to let them grow through the winter if you are in a warmer climate like here in CA.

raymondn said: The location is central Minnesota. Temps have been a bit brutal for a few weeks but not sure how that has impacted the plants.

Since the problem has escalated after thinking it was too dry and giving it a couple more cups of water, I think the assessment that it is overwatered is most likely correct.

I will let it dry out a week or two and compare pics to determine possible adjustments.

Thanks much for the recommendations.

Good luck! Keep us posted later how it goes

I feel its underwatering because the tips of the leaves are dying, not the bases. The bases would yellow if it was overwatered.

Don't know if it is over or under water, what I can see is that the plant looks healthy, and the plant in the last photo even looks better than the first picture. The soil looks very dry though..

Imma point out what I know is overwatering
I have a haworthia too. At the time being its being a lot more compact than this. The more core/stem you see, the white part, means the plant is forcing itself, at a semi etiolative state.
And of course, the leaves, all straight and erect, and minimal concavity. Means turgescence is high, they are inflated like a balloon. In a normal state the leaves dont look like that. Some are bent towards the center, others are spread out at the bottom, and mostly concave and not bloated. Thinly packed. Not open like a flower like in this case.

It is definitely overwatered and etiolated. It is winter now, so the low lighting is the cause of the etiolation. You should hold off of watering in winter (seeing your zone). That should keep them from growing, and etiolating. Alternatively, get growlights.

I have learned a lot from one post. Nice

In regard to the order of pics, the nicest looking was the 1st pic, the worst is the last pic.

I know my sister will be happy to know there is a remedy.

I've never been able to stave off etiolation by withholding water, plants just lose a bunch of foliage &/or die if they don't get enough water. I killed most of the succulents I got the first year I started buying them because everyone kept saying don't water them. After buying many of the same plants again and giving them more consistent conditions, I have very few casualties.

The goal most people have for their cultivated plants is a picture-perfect specimen. Extremes in conditions are forces that compromise that goal and yield a survivor appearance. Just because a plant is capable of surviving does not mean it retains the same appearance. Nothing wrong with survivor plants but if you are going for the chubby, picture-perfect, plants need what they need, and adjusting the other conditions to try to compensate for something like lower light hasn't worked for me. I have very few picture-perfect specimens from plants brought inside for winter because I don't have grow lights, just windows. So plants get stretched, develop leans, and it is what it is, but as a generalization, when they don't get water, they die. Very few plants just wait for more water, like resurrection ferns.

Using clay pots instead of plastic has also made a huge difference. The clay pots enable the roots to breathe. And not using any peat moss. Might be great stuff in desert conditions but in the humidity of my location, soggy, airless peat is an easy recipe for death for any plant, but especially succulents.

Tiffany, etiolation and watering have nothing to do with each other. One is a light problem and one is a watering problem. Yes, those plants are a little stretchy but that might be fixed by turning the pot once a week or so. There is no sign of rot or damage at the base of the leaves, just the tips. The base of the leaves have adequate water, the tips may not.

But by watering to completion and then waiting until the soil is dry again, instead of watering on a schedule, will fix that too.

DaisyI said: Tiffany, etiolation and watering have nothing to do with each other. One is a light problem and one is a watering problem. Yes, those plants are a little stretchy but that might be fixed by turning the pot once a week or so. There is no sign of rot or damage at the base of the leaves, just the tips. The base of the leaves have adequate water, the tips may not.

But by watering to completion and then waiting until the soil is dry again, instead of watering on a schedule, will fix that too.

Lower older leaves shrivel firs, not the leaf tips. Plant always distributes water among the new growth.
Also, etiolation is caused by growth in lower light levels. Stunning the plant with lower temps and drought does mitigate this.
Its why at times like this underwattering is better done , instead of "water deep when dry at depth"

It sounds like you're having a different experience. Happens a lot with plants.