Saving Succulents from the Lowe’s Clearance Rack
Hi hello! I want to use this post as an opportunity to walk you through my process of rescuing and reviving succulents from the Lowe’s clearance rack.
Like most plant-obsessed people, I can’t walk by the Lowe’s plant clearance rack and not want to bring home every single sad plant and try to give it a better life. We have this one Lowe’s here in Columbia that always seems to have at least one shelf full of clearance succulents. I mean I’m one for a good deal and I’m also one to save sad plants and give them a better life. In my eyes, it’s a win-win situation. Plus, it’s so fun to see a plant come back to life!
These tips & tricks can be used for any sad succulent and not just the ones from the Lowe’s clearance rack.
When I’m picking succulents from the clearance rack, I look for a few things:
- No mushiness. If the stem is mushy or the center of the rosette is mushy, the plant is long gone and there’s no point in trying to save it. Sometimes squishy leaves can be okay, but it’s on a case by case basis.
- No pests. Pests are going to make it a lot harder to revive a plant, and if the plant is already in bad shape, the pests are going to make recovery that much more challenging.
- Sturdiness. If a plant immediately falls apart when I touch it, it automatically goes back on the shelf. Plants that fall apart like that are usually suffering from root rot or some other sort of disease or fungus. I don’t want to be bringing that home to contaminate the rest of my plants!
Taking a Succulent from Drab to Fab
Remove all dried, damaged, and diseased leaves.
These immediately go in the trash (or compost if you’re really being eco-friendly) because leaves that are dried and/or damaged tend to attract pests. Here in this planty household, pests are not allowed.
Gently remove any leaves from the portion of the stem that shows etiolation.
This is definitely a personal preference, but I feel like doing this immediately makes an impact on the overall appearance of the plant. When removing the leaves, I make sure to remove the leaf cleanly from the stem. Gently rock side to side and twist until the leaf pops off. I don’t throw away these leaves because they can be used for propagation! (leaf propagation blog posts are coming!)
Chop & prop if needed.
Chances are, the succulent has etiolated (aka stretched out) and is no longer compact. I’m not a fan of that look so I tend to behead my succs and propagate them. Essentially it’s just cutting the top portion off of the succulent and replanting it in order to give the succulent a better shape and more stability. (beheading and stem cutting propagation blog posts are coming!)
Repot & replant into fresh soil.
It’s not uncommon for big box stores like Lowe’s to have pests in their soils, have the soil be sopping wet, and have poorly draining soil. I always always repot into fresh cactus & succulent soil to avoid root rot and pests and to give the succulent a fresh start.
What to do with all the pieces
Leaves
Leaves will be placed on top of soil and allowed to propagate. Each leaf will produce at least one new plant so why throw away free plants!? There will be a whole post on leaf propagation because it’s one of my speciaties.
Top Rosette
The top rosette will be placed into fresh, dry soil. Hold off on watering for at least 1 week to allow the end of the cutting to callous over. I sometimes will leave them out of soil and wait for them to callous because that reduces the chances of rot and fungal problems due to the open wound making contact with moisture. I’ve never had any issues with that so I go ahead and pop them into soil.
Rooted Stem
This is a new area of propagation for me. Repotting or even leaving the stem in soil and watering it like any other succulent will allow that stem to produce babies. It’s weird to me to water a bunch of stems, but I’m trying it out, and so far it has seemed to work!
Saving sad succulents is definitely so much fun and has become quite an addicting hobby for me. I love chopping and propping them (thanks @succulentscientist for that terminology) and watching them recover and grow into beautiful plants. Such a fun process to document!
Have you ever saved a succulent or plant from a clearance rack? What’s your favorite plant to rescue? Can’t wait to share more propagation tips and updates on these plants!
~abigail gray
