I think Bridget is dead

[Ginfizz2]

I decided during lock down I needed to add some greenery to my flat and that it may have some sort of positive impact on my overall well being. Anyway trundled off to sainsburys and I bought Bridget. I bought her a beautiful pot and placed her in a corner in my bedroom which would provide her with some sunlight. I regularly watered her but despite my efforts at keeping her alive it looks like she’s dying??? What do I do?? To top it off I read an article about how great succulents are at filtering the air so I then bought a selection. Jeffery also looks like he’s had enough. Any avid green fingered experts who can help??

Succulents live in the desert so need next to no water.

Houseplants generally die from over watering.

Jeffrey is in a situation equivalent to having a scarf wrapped around your head up to just above eye-level. All his light is blocked due to the depth of his pot. I suggest you stick a couple of googly eyes on a couple of his lowest leaves, and then make sure he's in a pot where he can see out.

I have a Jeffrey, tucked away in a darkish corner, and I mostly forget about him until his leaves wrinkle and then I give him a good watering. And then ignore again. He's probably watered less than half a dozen times a year, and he's thriving and so big that I need to get him a bigger pot. I've had him for about 10 years and he's thriving! He was originally potted in cactus compost with crocks in the bottom of the pot for drainage, so I think he had a good start in life. He also lived on a sunny windowsill for the first 8 or so years, its only been the last couple of years that he's been relagated to the corner!

Regarding Bridget - no idea. Jeffrey is the only plant who I've ever managed to keep alive!

@Ginfizz2 put her in a bath so water can drip off over night. It will help

Have you replanted Bridget with some new compost? That usually revives my plants for a while. Get them in direct sunlight and they'll be fine.

Or replace them all with something cheap and plastic. They always look nice

Ditch them! (Sorry! ) I can't bear pots of mud around the house.

Did you put a few bits of broken pottery in the bottom of the plant pot to aid drainage?

My aunt used to do that and she had a Bridget that was the height of the entire living room.

It lived behind the telly. It was so big that as a teen I remember suspecting that David Bellamy might be hiding in there with a safari hat on.

You gotta let the soil dry out completely between watering. It's hard to tell from your photo but would you say that spot gets 'bright indirect light' for most of the day? That's more light than you think - according to this article "Indirect light can be found in places with an east-facing window, or in an interior of a room that receives full light from a south- or west-facing window." - by interior, they mean on an unobstructed surface in the middle of the room, not behind a chair in the corner.

Aside from letting Bridget dry out completely and moving her somewhere brighter, make sure to cut off any wilted leaves and stems - otherwise she will spend her energy trying to keep those bits alive.

If you want a plant for a darker corner, look for a snake plant (AKA mother in law's tongue), a ZZ plant, or even a variegated Pothos (Golden or Marble Queen). I have a marble queen that lives quite happily on a table in a hallway that only gets light through the open doors of the bedrooms and bathroom.

Jeffrey looks healthy to me, but he needs a bigger pot to look his best because he wants to be a low-growing ground cover sort of plant. He's a sedum, also known as stonecrop - these grow outdoors all over the UK in alpine or rock-style gardens. They're hard to kill and not super picky about water. Put him in a wide, shallow dish instead of a little pot and he'll look amazing in a few months.

This is my Bridget and Jeffery. I water them when I eventually remember, about every 2-3 weeks, and they seem to be thriving!

I have a plant like Bridget (mine's called Fred ). He gets watered once a month if he's lucky. He's about 20 years old so it suits him. I think you might be over watering her.
Fred likes light, but not too much and no direct sunlight.

My mum used to water even 2x a week in Central Europe. In here, I assume it's the humidity, if I water 1x a week with just 100ml (yes I bloody measured it😂), it all swims for 3 weeks...
Uk plants are different....

If any of Jeffrey’s beans fall off you can place them on a dry saucer until tiny roots appear and then place the bean in a pot (don’t bury it).

You’ll grow a brand new Jeffrey.

Maybe Bridget would be happier in the bathroom and not being watered for a bit? We have an Aloe and she’s doing nicely by the loo (we could just call her Vera).

@ChocolateCherrybomb plants need real drainage, actual holes in the bottom of the pot. An outer decorative pot or tray is fine as long as you pour off the standing water a couple of hours after watering. The broken crockery/rocks advice is really outdated. It either doesn't help at all and basically just means your plant is growing in a smaller amount of soil with a soggy mess towards the bottom that will never really go away and can cause root rot and fungal issues from the bottom up. Yes, some people grow house plants successfully in pots without drainage, but that's in spite of the rocks not because of them (I import and sell houseplants for a living so I like to think I know what I'm talking about).

I think Bridget may be missing Derek (who, if you are lucky may still be a Sainsburys) and is finding Jeffrey rather tedious and irritating and she sometimes thinks 'This is no life for me I want to LTP but will I be able to find another nice pot like I have now?'

Shouldn't have plants in yer bedroom...poor feng shui.....

Jeffrey is too low down in his posh pot, either put something in the bottom to lift him up, or buy a lower pot.
House plants are best being stood in a bowl of water for half an hour so the roots can take up water.
The odd watering from the top won't matter too much, but it does tend to wash the nutrients out.

Jeffrey is in a situation equivalent to having a scarf wrapped around your head up to just above eye-level.

I bought one of these today... it only needs spraying with water twice a year or so!! This is my speed. terrarium

Agree about Jeff being lifted - put some stones under his smaller pot. I find my plants all get really happy when I re-pot them in larger pots. Remember to get the succulent specific soil

Also if you have an ugly corner in your garden throw a few of Jeffrey's beans in there come spring and you'll soon have a lovely ground cover. I swept soil between the flagstones in the yard of my Georgian terrace last spring and sprinkled various bits and pieces of my indoor sedums around and by July and it looked amazing now- people walking past (our back lane is on a popular walking trail) stop and ask about it.

@ Bearnecessity I thought the plants were meant to help me sleep??? This whole trying to keep plants alive (as well as the kids) is really quite stressful. Well Jeffery is now on a little plate so when we actually get some sunshine he’s got maximum exposure.

Stop watering them. I have loads of plants and they seem to thrive on neglect. They only get watered when bone dry. My MIL was keen to water my plants when I was on holiday for a week but there was no need, they easily go a week without water. ( apart from my maiden hair fern and asparagus fern but they are just thirsty buggers who are slowly adapting to my drought regime)

plants filtering the air is sadly a myth.
I love my houseplants though and have lots of them.

most common issues are overwatering and too little light.
get some grow light bulbs (ikea) and put a lamp with it near the plants. on a sunny and not too cold day, of you can put them outside for a bit will do them good.

Repot with the right type of soil and don't over water.

I have quite a few succulents.

Buy some liquid plant food. Add the appropriate amount to the water at the intervals suggested. And move closer to the light. Corner of bedroom is not a good spot for a plant to thrive!