When my leaves become soft, wrinkled, or deflated, I am not being dramatic; I am communicating a fundamental need. As a Crassula, my plump, juicy leaves are my water storage units. They are designed to be firm and turgid when my water reserves are full. Softness and wrinkling are the primary signals that these reserves are critically low. I am essentially tapping into my internal emergency supply to sustain my core functions. This is my most direct way of indicating a significant imbalance between water uptake and loss. The key is to determine why this dehydration is happening.
The most straightforward reason for my distress is a simple lack of water. If my caretaker has been overly cautious, fearing root rot, my soil may have become completely hydrophobic. When the growing medium is bone dry for too long, it can actually repel water, causing it to run straight down the sides of the pot without ever reaching my root system. Even if you water me, I cannot drink. My fine roots, responsible for absorption, may have dried out and died. Therefore, a thorough, deep watering is needed—ideally by bottom-watering, where my pot is placed in a tray of water and allowed to soak moisture up through the drainage hole, fully rehydrating the soil and my desperate roots.
Paradoxically, my leaves can also become soft and mushy, sometimes even turning yellow or black, from too much water. This is a far more dangerous situation. When I am left sitting in saturated soil, my roots are starved of oxygen and begin to suffocate and decay. This root rot is a silent assassin; it destroys my ability to absorb water and nutrients at all. So, even though the soil is wet, I am dying of thirst because my plumbing system has been destroyed. The softness from rot is often a darker, more translucent, and unpleasant mushiness compared to the dry, papery softness of thirst.
Sometimes, the watering may seem consistent, but external factors have increased my water consumption drastically. A sudden heatwave, a move to a sunnier location, or the active growing season can cause me to metabolize water much faster. My soil dries out quicker than usual, leading to unexpected wrinkling. Conversely, a lack of adequate light can weaken my overall system, making me less efficient at using the water I am given. Furthermore, if I have become pot-bound, with a dense root ball that fills my container, there is not enough soil to hold sufficient moisture to sustain me between waterings, causing me to dehydrate rapidly.
To diagnose my problem, you must check my soil and roots. If the soil is dust-dry and my roots are brittle, I need a deep, thorough drink and a re-evaluation of your watering schedule. If the soil is wet and my stems or roots are brown, mushy, and smell bad, you must act fast. Unpot me, gently wash my roots, and use a sterile tool to cut away all rot. Let my bare roots and stem callous over for a few days before repotting me into fresh, dry, well-draining soil. Do not water immediately; allow me a week or two to recover and grow new roots. Please listen to what my leaves are telling you; they are my only voice.
