Troublesome succulent

[Bruisername]

any advice appreciated as to what to do with this plant! The bottom has gone all brown and a little withered but the top looks healthy. Is it supposed to want to trail across rather than go up? I’m totally clueless with plants!

It would appreciate more light, it’s getting elongated because it’s searching for light.

once the leaves are dead, you can pull them off easily.

Thanks - it has been on a table by south facing windows and gets direct sun half the day. How often should it get water?

can I take off the top healthy part and plant that?

Yes, you're supposed to chop and let them dry and callous over for a few days before replanting. Perhaps keep turning the pot to keep growth even. If any individual leaves come off, that aren't dead, you can try propagating new plants from them. Just lay them on succulent soil and wait for baby plants. Or if you pull off leaves when shortening the plant, you can do the same.

Oh great - so I cut it between the healthy looking part and the unhealthy - leave it out and then replant after a day?

and they should be going up rather than sideways

Perhaps cut a little lower, the stem isn't dead, and a longer stump will give something to anchor the plant. It's easier to trim it shorter, it's impossible to trim it longer 😁 You can pull off any leaves, dead, dying or even healthy that you don't want. Let it dry for a few days or rot can get into the stump. Keep the growing medium completely dry for a few further days. Then water sparingly Once it's replanted rotate the pot every few days to stop it growing towards the light source and keep the growth even.

This is the general growth pattern you're looking for in a mature specimen. (Not necessarily the same species, but yours is a Haworthia)

Thank you!

I think it is perfectly healthy! And that it has enough light. It hasn't elongated - that would involve a greater space between each leaf as it sought the sun. It has just grown tall in its natural habit. The lower leaves are older and naturally shivel away.
No need to chop it ! If you cut off the top parts and plant them you will be starting new plants from cuttings and discarding a healthy plant.
No reason not to do that, if that is what you want, for the sake of an appearence you prefer. But I would keep the plant just as it is!

Close up attached

i googled it online (now I know what it is) and see red can mean too much sun and it likes partial shade - I have had it in direct sun so that is perhaps part of the issue.

it’s about 8 years old

I’m afraid I have to disagree with your ID, Mere! I think this is a form of Aloe aristata known as “Cosmo”, but I it does look superficially like a Haworthia. Agree with previous comments on propagating it, but very unlikely to root from leaf cuttings as Aloes don’t propagate that way. Cutting the healthy top growth off, and callusing for a week or two, then setting it on a very gritty potting mix is usually quite successful.

Is there anything that makes one or the other id clearer?

@NanTheWiser is right. I’d forgotten Aloe aristata. I knew the one I pictured wasn’t yours, but I forgot its non-identical twin was an Aloe. Growth habit is the same

I wish mine looked like that!

Ok so I have done this to it - should I cut the stem shorter? It’s about 6cm. Or just leave to dry for a week or so and plant again?

@Bruisername i would trim another cm or two, leave for a couple of weeks, then pot in a gritty mixture and keep shaded, and slightly moist. Hopefully it will root and show signs of growth shortly after.

Thanks!!

I admit I thought it was a Haworthia (Haworthioid? Im sure id read there'd been a schizm). Can aloe be propagated from leaves?

@IcakethereforeIam it does look very like a Haworthia, but is one of several forms/cultivars of Aloe aristata. Aloes don’t root from leaves unfortunately, but some Haworthias can, depending on species. (Some Haworthias can also be propagated by root cuttings too, mainly those with very thick fleshy roots, such as H. truncata or H. maughanii, which are not usually available commercially, only for enthusiasts!

Thank you. It does look different especially in the pictures taken below, though I can't put my finger on what precisely. Bird watchers have this word 'jizz', that encompasses the intangibles of behaviour, posture and the like that can distinguish almost identical species. Perhaps something similar? Although, I probably still wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been flagged.

Thought I’d update with a photo of them in their new home doing well!!