Jack + Succulents

Hello everyone, Jack here. This might just be the final post of this blog in case anyone is still reading.

After 10 years of being in love with succulents, one day I just suddenly stopped being fond of them like I used to. I think I simply outgrew them. It feels weird but I guess it makes sense- all my hobbies never last forever.

I’ve since been focusing a lot on my creative work, as my illustration business has been growing steadily lately and I just don’t have the time and space for a lot of things in my life anymore at this stage. Work usually takes up 80% of my available time :’) If you want to support me, do check out my IG @Jacktus.my

Until then, ciaos.

Update: 24/9/2024 Cant believe it but some of my followers (from 10 years ago) still recognize me at my market! Regrettably though I usually have to tell them that I’m not such a big succulent hobbyist like I used to be anymore. BUT BUT BUT if you ever have some questions about your succulents, feel free to drop a DM. I may or may not answer them though.

I still think that succulents are the most beautiful plant group ever- and am now open to keeping some especially when I move to a new place sometime in the future. For now though, because I’m living with my family. space is a problem, and the accessibility to tend to my plant takes a huge role in whether I get to enjoy keeping them. 

And yes, work has been hectic AF, and such is the adult life. I’m still keeping some whale fins, but most of the plants I had since a decade ago were unfortunately thrown away by my mother during her (literal) psychotic episode. I don’t think I can ever get over this, but maybe some day I hope I can grow back some plants that I truly love.

That’s all for now!

Update: 04/10/2025 Was at a plant bazaar and it’s safe to say that I still love succulents very much! I look forward to the day when I can finally have a space to myself to grow them. Wouldn’t want to rush into getting all of them though because I believe having too many plants to care of was the reason of my plant burnout.

Hey Jack! It’s yinnyy from Shopee. I am very new to succulents so I am unable to ID them (I got them as a gift as well)

1) This succulent the leaves are very soft, I’ve watered it threw times already, 7-10 days between each water. I have two of them and both are in the same pot and leaves both are soft! Other than that they seem to be fine.

2) In the same pot as 1, there’s one super sunburnt u.u I know that it will take some time for the leaves to grow out. I’m just wondering if I need to repot all three of them. Or should I leave them be.

3) I heard this is called a jelly bean succulent? XD I notice some aerial roots coming out, do they have to be watered more? It is potted together with an echeveria (I think that’s what they’re called). Does it need to be repotted as well? The jelly bean The other echeveria it is planted with (slightly sunburnt but other than that doing very well and happy). Based on my intuition I do believe they have different watering schedules! Sorry there are so many questions.

Thanks for your help! I hope the pictures work, I don’t quite know how this works

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Hello Yinnyy! From what I could tell, there are: 1. echeveria agavoides 2. echeveria pink ruby 3. Echeveria 'Pulvi-Carn 4. Sedum Acre 5. Sedum makinoi 6. sedum rubrotinctum aka jelly bean yes!

No. Absolutely do not repot them, just let them be bc repotting by a new succulent grower would do more harm than good. Repotting actually takes a lot of care and experience!

They actually wouldn't mind staying together with the same watering schedule, so keep up your schedule of 7-10 days of watering once and see how it goes. Just remember to soak the whole pot everytime you water them, and make sure there's drainage hole at the bottom of each pot. Let the burnt succulents heal and try not to disturb them.

Hi, Jack! Thank you sooo much for responding to my sos so quickly. I really appreciate it. I really didn't know that sometimes the rot don't spread. This is new to me, as I cannot find this in the internet. For now, I will leave it and follow your advice. I will definitely come here again when I have important questions. Thanks again!

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I am so sorry for the faulty link. I uploaded all 5 images in a folder and share you the folder link instead. Thank you!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1r6gDTpZP5Ly-ocGW2UIHV6l7JQOt5DS6?usp=sharing

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1) It's a Graptophytum 'Supreme' 2) Unfortunately it is indeed suffering from rot, most likely from the lack of ventilation and sunlight (it does look like it hasn't gotten ample light as of late). 3) If you want to you may chop off the rot in case it spreads further, but doing so will not guarantee its life. Sometimes I just let the rot be bc there are times when they don't spread. Totally up to you! But new growers I wouldn't recommend chopping it. Tt defo needs soft direct sunlight now to recover tho.

No watering for now until it gets more direct sunlight.

I purchased this in Melaka on Monday and brought it back with me to Selangor right away. On the same week, on Thursday, I noticed the black patch (1). I have been adoring this succulent so much, I can't believe I didn't see that black patch before. It seems big. At the same time, could you please help me ID this succulent? That would be a huge help! 1) How often and how do you water them?-since I bought it, I have not watered the plant. But I must say the soil was wet, probably due to heavy rain in Melaka the weekend before it. 2) Potting mix you’re using-I didn't change the soil yet. I'm sorry but I have no idea what medium it is, I just started succulent journey about 2 weeks ago (2). 3) Where do you place them? Is there sunlight? Right by my big glass, window. Yes, there is indirect sunlight daily. My phone compass shows that the window is  middle of South and West direction. 4) Material/ shape/ size of the pot you’re using-the typical 5.5cm plastic pot. Also, I didn't change the pot yet.  5) Is ventilation good?-No. I almost never open the window as I am not in my room during day time. If it rains, my room will get flooded. 

I attached 3 other photos for your reference (3,4,5). Because I do see a small area of the stem that don't look infected, but I'm so scared to conduct any surgery on it with my limited knowledge. 

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Hmmm true or not that's very hard to say, because everyone's truth is a little different. What does/ doesn't work for me might not work for you and vice versa!

I do know that most of the succulents out there are grown from cameron highlands, and a small percentage from JB. You can tell that the soil from CH is mostly just peat moss/ coconut peat/ some perlite (sometimes none at all)/ river sand, and using just these soil won't do you good in KL because of the lack of drainage. It's different in CH because it's cold up there and drainage is less necessary. Plus they are cheap and readily available, using expensive soil like pumice is just not feasible.

I usually recommend letting them be in the pot that they came with for a while before you repot them. At least a month or so. Only repot when they're stable. Aerial roots are often mean damaged roots or in better cases just an issue of high humidity.

I’ve been neglecting my plants for a few weeks now that our country is going into the second month of second lockdown.

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Thank you for the pictures! I'd say it's a Senecio Mont Blanc.

Definitely top up some loose, well-grained soil and do not disturb any existing root. Give it a few weeks to recover with soft direct sunlight and some moisture periodically for root growth.

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Hi Jack,

I’m glad that I stumbled upon your blog. I’m not sure where else I can ask for advice. I bought and received my succulent, Anacampseros Telephiastrum Sunrise on 18 June. On 20th June, I started to notice a few spots with ‘hole’ on the leaves. Those leaves fall off easily. The stems are quite flimsy too but I’m not sure if the flimsy stem is normal for this type of succulent. Hmm.. I’m not sure what’s going on. Fungus? Infection?

I’ve watered it twice since 18 June. I’ve not changed the soil. I place the plant outdoor under the sun without shade. The pot is plastic material.

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Jack: Hello! I hope I am not too late in answering you. I hardly get on Tumblr desktop these days and mobile has been a disaster in notifying me on any new inbox.

Ok! So this particular succulent tends to show these symptoms - mainly soft, flimsy leaves, sometimes holes on leaves, like they are drying out and rotting, leaves falling easily etc when it is not placed in a well-ventilated area AND watered frequently. Since you’ve watered it only twice, my guess is bad ventilation, and if ventilation is not an issue, then I’d say it’s the soil medium that’s causing it to have a bad root growth (which can also cause these issues).

This succu needs an extremely well-drained soil and plenty of soft direct sunlight to thrive, and is one of the easier and more manageable types to grow. It needs some time to acclimatize and will do very well after that, sometimes loving plenty of water even.

So for now: more ventilation, some water to make sure it doesn’t dry out, try shaking it a little to check if its roots are stable, and if it is you should repot it. Otherwise wait until it grows stronger.

Hi Jack!

I stumbled across your account while Googling whether plants get sunburnt through tinted windows. Didnt get an answer for that so imma ask you haha. Is it recommended to leave my bearpaws next to a tinted window that provides direct sunlight from about 8am-1pm? Coz people say to avoid noon sunlight, but what if its tinted? Ive noticed the tips of my bear paws are turning a bit dark coloured idk if they’re burnt.

As for watering, I tried using a skewer to poke all the way into the soil and wait for a few minutes to see whether the skewer is dry before watering the plant. (Saw this somewhere coz idk how to determine if the soil is dry) is there a better way for a beginner succulent owner? Coz i cant tell by the weight or look of it

I got this little bear paw plant 10days ago from Shopee and it came very slanted (probably from falling around in the box during delivery) so the seller suggested me to put it under sunlight so i did but then now its like in an S shape lol. Also, the way the plant is not placed in the middle of the pot kinda annoys me so i bought some succulent soil and one little pot to recenter/upgrade it. Is the plant too young for repotting? Any tips for repotting it?

Hello! It's slanted because it had been etiolated during transit. It happens most of the time if you buy succulents online. You may repot it but only if it's steady. If it's shaky then absolutely DO NOT repot it. When you do repot it, take out everything with the soil intact. If the soil pecah and the roots are exposed then you'll have a harder time regrowing it.

For a pot this small you don't have to wait for the soil is dry. If it's dark colored it's usually still wet and I'd wait longer. It's possible to burn your succulents through tinted windows (depends on how tinted it is also) especially for a succulent that's been stored in a box during transit. 8-1pm is fine and the tips don't look like burn marks to me. Bear paws are known to have a little dark markings on their claws. Noon sunlight outdoor is particularly dangerous so I wouldn't worry too much about sunlight from a tinted window.

Hi! I haven't had a lot of cacti but you may try the Opuntia family like the Mickey Mouse, the Mammillaria family like the Gracilis etc. Try to avoid the Astrophytum!

Generally cacti are a little more sunlight needy than succulents. You may also try the haworthia, aloe, and some kalanchoe.

This is a graptoveria lovely rose I bought online. First pic is when I first unboxed it and the second pic is how it is doing now :(

It has lost all the outer leaves and has been not growing, nor dying for like a month or more.

It was in cactus soil that was 100% rocks, but I recently repotted it into normal cactus soil mix, and I notice there was one strong, white healthy root. So I have hope, but it just isn't growing. Help!

I keep all my succulents on my shaded window sill, that receives 3-4 hours of direct morning sun and bright shade the rest of the day, it is an east facing window. I was wondering if this would be enough for my succulents to grow, or do I need to move it to get more sun exposure?

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I am so sorry for answering this late, I get really occupied at this time of year. Anyhow is it still alive? If it is, please update me with a recent picture. I am doubting that it's a graptoveria. Do you happen to have a sample/ adult picture that I can identify with?

I'm sorry this is my first time using tumblr so I'm not so familiar with it.

My little ice plant had some full on afternoon and evening sun for a week and started wrinkling. Then i moved it to have evening sun only and still no improvement, more wrinkles! So I guess it may be drying up? It's too young to have wrinkles! can i give it some sheep placenta mask? Just kidding hehehe.

Anyway then i moved it to this spot where it doesn't get direct sunlight but next to a window that overlooks my balcony. But it's still looking haggard.

I use the toothpick method to water. I pour a cup of water you can see the amount in the picture, whenever the toothpick comes out dry. I pour it directly into the surrounding soil.

I watered it about 4 days ago.

I love this ice plant, it's so cute, like little building blocks. Please help me make it look pretty and thrive!

Thank you so much Jack 🙏🙏

#succulent #submission