Is your succulent turning gray, and are you not sure why? This happened to me three times with my succulent (an aloe vera), and I’ve made some interesting observations as to what caused it and, more importantly, how to save it! I also work in a garden center, so I’ve been fortunate enough to converse with some expert growers.
In this article, I’ll share with you all the tips and tricks that I learned firsthand in a step-by-step guide so that you can identify the reason your succulent is turning gray and learn the techniques to save it…
Let’s get straight to the point, shall we?
If your succulent leaves are turning gray, this is because there is too much moisture around the roots of your succulent due to overwatering or slow-draining soils. But I’ve also seen succulents turn gray if they are moved from a sunny location to an area of shade or as a reaction to cold temperatures.
Keep reading for more on why your succulent has turned gray and how you can revive it…
Help!! My Succulent is Gray: Could it be Overwatering?
So I’ve discovered that succulents can turn gray for several reasons, but the most common reason I come across for succulents turning gray is because of too much moisture around the roots, which is caused by:
- Overwatering.
- Slow-draining potting soils.
- Pots without drainage holes in the base.
- The humidity of the room.
If too much moisture around the roots is the cause of the gray leaves, then usually the succulent also has the symptoms of:
- Leaves that feel soft and mushy rather than firm.
- A drooping appearance.
- Gray leaves can turn yellow, translucent, or even black and drop off.
I know this because this is the reason one of my echeverias turned gray! To understand why this happens, we have to consider that all succulents originate in arid climates and are specifically adapted to growing in harsh conditions with gritty, stony soil and infrequent rainfall.
Therefore, to grow succulents successfully, we need to replicate the conditions of their native environment with the optimal watering regime and well-draining, gritty soil, as succulents are very susceptible to overwatering.
It’s important to let the soil dry out somewhat between bouts of watering to water succulents correctly and avoid the leaves turning gray.
What our succulents need is a ‘soak and dry’ style of watering as this emulates their natural watering conditions in their native habitat of a heavy down pour of rain followed by a period of drought.
If you are watering your succulent more frequently than once every two weeks, you are likely overwatering your succulent plant, and this is the reason the leaves turn gray, which is a sign of stress.
From my research, I’ve learned what specifically happens is that the roots get damaged from being in boggy water, which interferes with their ability to draw up water and nutrients, which results in your soft gray leaves!
Slow-draining soils…
Overwatering your succulent is not the only reason for gray leaves and too much moisture around the roots, as slow-draining soils are also a problem.
From my research, I’ve found out that lots of our favorite succulents often grow on hillsides and in rocky locations where the soil is very porous and drains quickly.
If your succulent’s roots are sat in damp soil for too long, then this increases the risk of your leaves turning gray, which is a sign of stress as it mimics the effects of over-watering and can cause root rot.
This is a really common mistake for beginners. Often, succulents are repotted into the wrong soil, which retains moisture for too long, or people compact the soil around the roots too much when they are repotting, which pushes the air out of the soil and makes it more difficult for water to drain.
Pots without drainage…
Succulents should always be planted in pots with drainage holes in the base to allow excess water to escape out the bottom so that the soil can dry.
If you use a tray or saucer underneath your pot to prevent water from spilling in your home, it is important to ensure that it is emptied regularly so that the soil can dry out properly between waterings.
I often see succulents sold in a standard plastic pot with drainage holes and a decorative outer pot without drainage holes.
This causes water to pool around the roots and submerges the roots of your drought-tolerant desert plant causing leaves to potentially turn gray.
Ensure that the drainage holes in the base do not become blocked by compacted soil or tangles of roots, which can slow drainage.
I have so many succulents that one or two do not get repotted often enough and start to turn gray as their own roots have circled around the base of the pot so many times that water doesn’t drain efficiently.
Rooms with high humidity
As we discussed, our succulents are specifically adapted for growing in arid conditions. Therefore, they are not tolerant of high humidity, which is contrary to their preferred conditions of lower humidity in deserts and dry mountainous areas.
I would ask you to think about the rooms in your home, such as bathrooms and kitchen, which can be exceptionally humid at different times of the day.
What I’ve learned is that high humidity reduces the succulents rate of transpiration (water loss) from the leaves, which is the plants primary way of regulating its moisture balance to help the leaves stay healthy and firm and avoid stress from too much water in the soil.
Bring Your Overwatered Succulent Back to Life: How to Revive Succulents with Gray Leaves
- The key to reviving succulents with gray leaves is to scale back the watering. I’ve learned through significant trial and error that the exact frequency of watering often depends on factors such as the temperature of your room, humidity, and light intensity, and therefore, giving generic water advice is often flawed. However, as a guidepost, I water my succulents once every 14 days with a generous soak. The secret is to let the soil around the succulent dry out before watering again.
- Replace the soil. Remember how we discussed that certain potting spills retain too much water succulents for our succulents to tolerate? Succulents require soil that drains much quicker than most conventional potting soils to prevent the leaves from turning gray, yellow, or translucent. So my tried and tested advice is to re-pot your succulent with a special succulent and cactus potting soil (which are available from garden centers and on Amazon). Special succulent potting soil recreates the soil conditions of a succulent’s native environment with more favorable drainage characteristics to avoid water stress and leaves turning gray.
- Repot your succulent into a pot with drainage holes in the base to allow excess water to drain away from the roots. I have seen examples of this happening to people because they have let water sit in the tray or saucer underneath their pot, which created boggy soil conditions that damaged the succulent’s roots and turned the leaves gray. I look again half an hour after watering and empty the saucer to prevent this from happening.
- Move your succulent from any room with artificially increased humidity. Succulents prefer low humidity and can suffer if in a bathroom or kitchen so move it to any room that is low in humidity and has some bright indirect such for sun sensitive succulents such as String of pearls plant or full sun for succulents such as Aloe Vera.
One of the reasons I love succulents is that they can tolerate the adversity of low humidity much better than most houseplants, and I’ve grown all sorts of succulents near the dry air of radiators and in the path of air conditioning, all of which keep the humidity low and your succulent happy!
Tailour your watering cycle so that it suits your succulent, plant it in well-draining soil and in pots with good drainage, and lower humidity, your succulent can dry out from its previously over-watered state and restore its preferred moisture balance.
This should help your succulent leaves recover from their gray appearance. What has happened in my experience is that the gray leaves do not turn green again but rather shrivel up, at which point you can cut them back with a sterile pair of pruners as I did.
However, if your succulent leaves start to turn black or develop brown spots, then I recommend taking a cutting and propagating a leaf of your succulent from a healthy part of the plant, as if it is turning black then the rot can spread and kill the succulent.
Propagating succulents is very easy and is a great way to grow extra plants at no extra cost. Watch this helpful YouTube video for how to propagate succulents:
Help Your Succulent with Gray Leaves Recover: My Tips on Sun and Temperature
Succulents tend to turn light green if they are in too much shade, but what I’ve personally noticed is that they can turn gray if they have been moved from an area of intense sun to an area of comparatively less sun and more shade.
What I’ve observed is that some varieties such as Jade plants turn red as a reaction to the sun to prevent sunburn. But if it is moved to an area of shade from an area of full sun then the drastic change in light intensity can cause the succulent leaves to look somewhat gray.
If you plan to move a succulent from one place to another when there is a contrast in the hours of sun and the intensity of sun then the correct best practice is to move the succulent for a few hours a day over the course of 3 weeks to gradually expose the succulent to either more or less light so there isn’t such a sudden contrast.
But to be honest with you, what you really need to do is look up your specific succulent variety and find a place that meets their specific requirements. That is how you truly prevent them from turning gray in the shade or burning in full sun.
For example, my jade plant and my string of pearls succulents are now in 4 hours of the morning sun, and they are shaded in the afternoon in correspondence to how they would grow naturally in their native environment!
I sometimes have to experiment with my succulents to find their ideal amount of sun, but I would recommend always establishing how your succulent grows in the wild and seeking to recreate these conditions.
Do you live in a northerly latitude like I used to? When I lived in New York, my apartment did not get enough sunlight for some of my succulents, which caused some to turn gray as a response. I did some testing and research and came up with a solution!
In the Winter months, when the sun is much weaker, I supplement the amount of sunlight my succulents get by placing them under a grow light!
The additional light really helps, and my succulents look much more healthy; most importantly, none of the leaves have turned gray since I implemented this solution!
I have seen the best results using it for 4 hours in November, December, and January! The rest of the year, my succulents typically have enough natural sunlight to avoid turning gray.
What about temperature?
So, a good guidepost is that most succulents also require room temperatures of at least 59°F (15°C) to stay healthy.
If room temperatures go below this temperature then the succulent leaves turning gray is usually the first sign of stress as this is contrary to the preferred consistently warm environment.
This has only happened to me once. One of my string of pearls plants had one of its elegant tendrils pressed slightly up against a window.
I’m sure you’ll agree that this was a forgivable oversight on my part! Of course, I didn’t think about the window pane’s significantly colder temperature than the room’s ambient temperature. This temperature difference was enough to cause all the pearls on the individual tendrils to turn gray!
In this particular instance, I just got out my trusty pruners and made a tactical cut to remove the offending tendril, and moved my string of pearls away from the window, and hey presto! I had no more problems with gray pearls!
Do you have any more questions or insights into saving succulents with gray leaves? Has this happened to you? Please let me know in the comments so I can address some of your individual concerns. I’d love to hear from you!
Key Takeaways:
- Succulent leaves turn gray because of too much moisture around the roots caused by overwatering and slow-draining soil. Succulents can turn gray because of too much shade and as a sign of stress due to cold temperatures.
- Succulents are adapted to arid conditions and do not tolerate being in damp soil, which can turn the leaves yellow, brown, black, or gray depending on the variety of succulents and the extent of the stress.
- Succulents require room temperatures of 59°F (15°C) or more to avoid stress, which can turn the leaves gray.
- Water succulents once every 14 days and plant them in a well-draining soil mix in a pot with drainage holes in the base. Ensure the room has low humidity, warm temperatures, and the correct light for your particular succulent variety to revive your succulent and help it recover from the stress that caused the leaves to turn gray.