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Please see pics below. I'm assuming (possibly shouldn't assume) that this succulent was in poor light before I brought it home because of all the spreading. What's the proper thing to do with it? I'm wanting to re-pot it because the pot can't stand on it's own, without putting something under each of the two main spreads. All clippings and pups are rooted in, and when I went to remove, to re-pot everything came out in one chunk. Is it safe to clip the roots, or will the plant suffer? When I re-pot it, should they all be separated, or should I put it in a pot wide enough that the spreads are also touching soil, so they can root down?

Top View, full plant

Side view left spread

Side view right spread

close up of pup roots

Close up of additional pups

UPDATE: Voila! What do you think? (PIC BELOW) I don't like answering my own questions, and received much help from @Bamboo comments. I've included a pic of what I did with it from the advice. I layered the bottom of this pot with large aquarium gravel then topped off with my own mixed: mixed bird grit, playground sand, cactus soil and regular potting soil together. I potted the "clump" from old pot and filled loosely with the mix. The spreads are gently resting on top of the soil mix, and I lightly sprinkled some of the mix on top of the exposed roots. I only lost 2 roots, and one leaf (clipping shown in right bottom corner), that I placed on top of the soil. This pot has two large drainage holes, and is about 2" deep. Cross your fingers this works okay!

I also have cactus liquid fertilizer, but am unsure if I should use it yet.

Solution Pic, too view

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  • I'm not sure what this is, looks like some kind of Crassula, but those long growths are clearly desperate to root somewhere else. The trouble is, because of where the roots are, it would mean immersing part of the stem into a separate pot full of potting soil whilst still attached to the mother plant, and that might cause rot. You can try that if you like, but it's probably easier to just cut off those two growths, repot the whole thing into a wider pot in good, free draining potting soil, give it good light (not sun, not sure it'll cope with that) and see how it does.
    – Bamboo
    Oct 10, 2017 at 12:56
  • I have cactus potting soil, would it still rot in that, it's SUPER dry and most of the water drains out of it when I put water to it
    – Christy B.
    Oct 10, 2017 at 16:52
  • Not sure - fact is, the roots need water, but the stems don't, so getting the balance right will be difficult. The other problem is, it does need repotting, and doing that with dangling outgrowths won't be easy, but if you manage it, you can certainly try pushing the dangling growths into two more pots with potting soil in,then, if they take,separate them from the mother later.
    – Bamboo
    Oct 10, 2017 at 16:58
  • Can I rest them on top of soil, like you would clippings? Moving and handling this plant is more difficult than I originally posted, I'm afraid all of the side weight is going to snap off, plus I knocked a few roots off when I moved it from the window when trying to get pics for the post
    – Christy B.
    Oct 10, 2017 at 18:01
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    See whatcha think @Bamboo. Updated question to include solution pic and explanation. If you turn your advice/comments into an answer, I'll vote and check it as accepted, as you've been the only user to help with this question thus far. Thanks for the help
    – Christy B.
    Oct 10, 2017 at 19:47

1 Answer 1

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Well, as I said in comments, not sure what this plant is, but it looks some kind of Crassula maybe. Looks much better now it's repotted, I just hope there's a drainage hole or two in the bottom! Now you've decided to give the offshoots and their roots a chance by resting them on soil, just keep an eye on them - if you notice any rot developing on their stems, remove them immediately. You should not be afraid to do this if necessary - so long as the central part of the plant, where the main rootball is, remains healthy, it will produce more shoots and growth even if you do have to cut some off. And well done for managing to do it - it must have been a delicate and rather fiddly task.

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  • Two large drainage holes; I stated in the update. You were a great help
    – Christy B.
    Oct 10, 2017 at 20:56
  • So you did, sorry, missed that bit...
    – Bamboo
    Oct 10, 2017 at 21:06

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