How can I get my Burro's Tail plant to look healthier? They are so hard to grow but look so good!?

Question

It does good then it looks bad, it really rollercoasters.

It is planted on a medium pot and the longest vine is to the end of the pot the others are small vines. Some look dried out and some vines are really healthy looking. I water it about every 3 days. My mother has one and she waters it every 2weeks and hers looks great. I tried that with mine and it was really about to be unsaveable!

Answer 1

What kind of soil are you keeping it in? It is a succulent but it will benefit from a slightly richer soil than would typically be used for succulents; it may also benefit from some weak liquid fertilizer (just a general balanced one will do fine - Miracle Grow or something similar) every few weeks, but dilute it to about half of what the instructions suggest.

Ideally do not water it on a schedule but water it when it dries out. If you see the leaves start to shrivel at all then it probably needs more water. When you do water it soak it thoroughly then leave it to dry out again. Make sure the water is really soaking in, either stand it in water for a few minutes (add a drop of dish soap to reduce the surface tension of the water & make it easier for the soil to absorb) or water it several times in a half hour period.

They like full sun but sometimes suffer from a little too much sun, if you have it in full sun then try moving it to a place with a little less direct light. If it is in direct light then maybe try a fuller sun spot. Look at where your mothers's plant is & see if you can find a similar place in your house for yours.

Also, are you sure it does not have any pests? Sedums are very susceptible to mealy bug. These look like little white fluffy things. Sometimes they are just in the roots - maybe unpot the plant & check the roots. They are easily treated on the foliage with diluted dishsoap or diluted rubbing alcohol. On the roots it is hard to get rid of. Sometimes standing them in soapy water helps or barerooting them & cleaning the roots with diluted dish soap before repotting in fresh soil.

You can also try to take cuttings of the plant - stems cut with a few leaves removed will easily root in soil & then you can try them in a couple of locations until you find one that works.

Anyway, I hope this is not too much disjointed infomation.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Can you add to your message and say what it is you do, so the gardeners can tell you where you might have gone wrong? Here is one site, in the meantime http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Sedum_morganianum.html