If you love succulents as much as I do then you most certainly keep an eye on your plants, probably more than you should but oh well.
With that attention to detail, assuming the reason why you are here is because you have noticed your succulent leaves curling down, curling up or just curling at all.
While succulent leaves curling up is usually a good sign, especially for plants like Echeveria, succulent leaves curling down or inwards towards the base is a sign that something is not right.
So with that said, here are several reasons why you have noticed your succulent leaves began curling and what you can do about it now or to prevent it in the future.
Reason 1 Overwatering
You already know that overwatering succulents is a bad idea and can cause serious problems for your succulent in the short and long term, but this is also a very common cause for succulent leaves curling down.
Overwatering may seem like a good idea to ensure your succulent gets adequate amounts of hydration, but like the saying goes, too much of anything can be a bad thing.
Overwatering your succulent can cause the roots to not be able to function properly after some time which can certainly cause the leaves to start curling down or inwards.
Other signs or symptoms caused by overwatering can include the following.
- Leaves turning yellow
- Leaves turning brown or brown tips
- Succulent turning black or mushy
- Standing water in the soil
- Drooping or wilting leaves
- Stunted growth
This can also cause rot if it goes on long enough.
Solution: so when you see this happening you need to immediately stop watering your succulent for some time until the soil has dried out entirely before even thinking about giving it another drink.
With that said, don’t starve your plant of water just because you were previously over watering, just get back to a more consistent type of watering schedule before it’s too late.
If you catch this problem early enough, there is a chance that the leaves on your succulent will begin to perk back up, but it’s not a sure thing, depending on how long it went on and how far they curled.
Reason 2 Underwatering
Although overwatering is more of a problem, underwatering your succulent can also be the cause for it’s leaves curling down.
It does it’s damage in sort of the same way as the former, by not allowing your roots to get enough water or nutrients this causes weak growth and eventually leaves that want to curl.
Thankfully if you have been underwatering, you don’t have as much work to do as it’s much better to underwater succulents than it is to overwater.
Solution: Go ahead and give your succulent a drink and keep an optimal, consistent schedule by watering fully but only when the soil has become completely dry to the touch.
Odds are you will see the leaves perk back up to how they were before or how they were when you first started growing.
Reason 3 Lack of light
A very common reason why succulent leaves curl down can be attributed to lack of light.
Lack of light will cause weak growth and also not allow your succulent to absorb nutrients efficiently.
Most succulents want at least 4 hours of bright light daily, some need more and some need less depending on the succulent you are growing so keep that in mind.
Just like some succulents prefer direct light and other direct light, you will have to find out what your individual succulent needs in term of lighting and make sure it gets the minimum of both.
Most of the time inadequate amounts of light is caused by growing succulents indoors with poor lighting.
Try using a South facing window for best results if your growing situation allows it.
If all else fails, you should get a quality indoor grow light to fix this issue.
Solution: Move your succulent to a spot where sunlight or indoor light is plenty or consider using a grow light if natural light can’t be introduced properly.
Once this is sorted out you should see your leaves begin to return to normal, at least if it hasn’t gone on for too long this will be the case.
Lack of light is also one of the causes for a succulent turning white by the way.
Reason 4 Acclimation
Although you really want your succulent to get a lot of light daily, if you just put your succulent outdoors in extreme light or heat then you will get curled leaves.
This has to do with your succulent not being properly acclimated.
By going from little light to intense light or heat suddenly, you run the chance of your plant being stressed by the sun which can cause sunburn and curled leaves at the very least.
This is especially true when you are growing a brand new succulent that hasn’t had time to fully develop or adapt to different temperatures and environments.
You wouldn’t just go and sit outside is the baking hot sun all day for weeks if you have been indoors for a very long time, so don’t do the same for your succulent.
Solution: Slowly introduce light for your succulent by gradually increasing the daily amount of light by an hour or two every week until it can get fully adjusted to the new location.
Reason 5 Transplant stress
Another cause for succulent leaves curling can be caused by transplant stress or repotting issues.
This can happen if you damage the roots when changing pots, not using the correct soil or using completely different soil than your succulent is used to.
Going up too many pot sizes can also cause different sorts of problems, let along curling succulent leaves.
Solution: Only go up one pot size each time you repot your succulent to prevent there being too much space which causes bad nutrient uptake. Try not to damage your roots when doing this process either or use the wrong soil entirely.
If you’re looking for good quality succulent soil then I recommend this soil by the way.
Reason 6 Pot Size
Now that you know going too big in pot size when transplanting can be bad, you also have to take a look at your current container size.
Having curly succulent leaves can also certainly be caused by having too small of a container when growing your succulent.
This will cause crowding, bad nutrient uptake and overall a not happy succulent that doesn’t have the space it needs to grow strong and well.
Solution: Like mentioned before, only go up one pot size at a time and use either the same soil you were before or just use some quality succulent soil this time.
You should see the leaves begin to return to normal, but it is still not a sure thing depending on how long it’s been like this.
Reason 7 Pests
As you probably already know, pests can cause all sorts of problems not only for succulents but all type of plants when they become out of control.
Or even if there is just a few present.
Certain pests such as aphids can drain the nutrients from your succulent leaves causing them to curl at the very least and can do even more damage when left on their own untreated.
Solution: Use some high quality neem oil spray at least once a week on your succulent until there are no more pests on this plant.
You may have to spray more than once a week depending on your situation but do this until the pests are gone for good.