Can succulents die when moved from one place to another

This is a question, or rather a statement I hear often. When I sell at the markets many people confess to succulent murder by moving and often wonder why that may be.

The simple answer to this question is ‘Yes’. Succulents can die if they are moved. But, in my experience, most of the time you’d have to make some drastic changes to their environment for them to pop their clogs without warning.  

The only exceptions are when they are moved about indoors or to an extreme such as super strong sun in summer, shade that is way too dark for that particular plant or frost.

But it’s certainly possible for them to not like a new spot if the conditions change too much.  In this article we’ll have a look at different ways you could kill succulents by moving them.

Moving succulents about indoors

As a grower there is a certain way I feel about growing succulents indoors. I know they look like the perfect indoor plant and fit so well in any space indoors but, the truth is, most of them belong out in loads of light.

However, there are succulents that will somewhat tolerate being grown indoors, though, even they can struggle if they’re not in a close proximity to a window.

The thing about indoors is that light quality rapidly declines as you move away from the light source. And simple things like the position of the windows, blinds, curtains or a patio roof can make huge difference to how much light a succulent gets and this can affect growth.

Indoors, even a small move can cause a succulent to die. For instance, moving a pot from the windowsill to the kitchen table just a meter or so away may be enough. Or changing rooms where the new room is oriented in the opposite direction and receives less light.

Moving from indoors outdoors

This next scenario is quite common. You’ve bought a succulent, it’s struggling indoors as it doesn’t have enough light and, in order to save it, you either start ‘giving’ it sunlight every now and again or permanently move it outdoors.

The problem is that you may be doing it more harm than good, especially if the sun is way too hot and strong.

When succulents that prefer the sun are placed indoors their leaves may grow wider, more spaced out and, those that have the natural sun protection called the farina, will grow less of it. What they’re doing is trying to photosynthesize the light that’s available to them but, in the end it’s just not enough. Basically, many will put away their defenses against strong sun in an attempt to process the little light they get.

And when they’re suddenly moved back into the sun, they can easily suffer sunburn or completely die from the shock.

You are likely to get away with it during the cooler months when the UV is not as intense but in summer or, when it’s unseasonaly hot, there’s a good chance the succulent will not react well.

There is a better way to reintroduce indoor succulents back to life in the sun. It may be a bit of a pain but it should prevent the plant burning or dying.

In a nutshell, you’ll gradually increase the amount of sun over a longer period.

Morning sun is usually quite gentle so, for the first week or two place your succulent in a spot outdoors that gets early morning sun. In summer it can get quite hot pretty quick, so be mindful of that.

As the succulent gets more and more sun, it will rebuild its natural defenses against the UV.

There is a faster way though but, you’ll need to get a 30-50% shadecloth which will reflect the harmful UV back but let enough light in to harden up the succulent against the sun.

Bringing succulents indoors

I guess this one is quite obvious. Bringing a succulent indoors can be a shock to some as their natural source of growing energy diminishes drastically.

Many succulents have evolved in open spaces where they receive a lot of direct sun. The sun, through the process of photosynthesis, provides plants with growing energy.

Those that have evolved in sunny spots will need lots of good light to grow well. But succulents that have developed in a more shaded environments have adapted to photosynthesize in shade.

If you move the former into a complete shade indoors, the chances of it eventually dying are quite high.

As I’ve just discussed, sunlovers that get moved to the shade tend to struggle. Outdoors it tends to be somewhat more tolerable as the quality of light is better than indoors but succulents that need the sun to survive can still eventually die when moved to the shade.

Outdoors, shaded spots can also be a bit more humid which can attract fungal disease such as rot or mildew. Both have the ability to kill succulents, especially when they’re smaller.

Change in temperature

A sudden change in temperature can have negative effects on succulents. Many are extremely hardy and will handle large temperature fluctuations, but there are also quite a few that need a very gentle treatment.

As an example, I sometimes get stock plants from other nurseries. I grow these plants on and propagate them. The majority of large nurseries raise and grow their succulents in greenhouses that have heating, cooling and fans to deal with humidity. The conditions are optimal and you won’t be able to find happier succulents than those that get to live in these cozy greenhouses.

The problem is these succulents then go on to be sold to general public who don’t have greenhouses. And for some succulents, the change is just too much to bear.

In my case, I move these succulents into my greenhouse which has fans but no heating or cooling and then gradually introduce them to a life outdoors. This may seem like being overly cautious but I’ve seen many succulents fold when they just get moved straight into the open.

A similar reaction can happen if you move succulents from a sheltered position in winter out into the open. Frost often doesn’t settle when mild enough and where trees are present. It also doesn’t quite reach under covered patios but can affect plants in open spaces. So, if you move a succulent from, say a patio, out into the garden during a frosty spell, you may see it get burned by the frost and even die.

Another scenario may be moving succulents from a position that gets bright filtered light or afternoon shade into all day full sun. The perceived temperature difference between shade and full sun can be huge due to solar radiation which can make succulents feel much hotter. Temperature can also increase near dark, paved surfaces that store solar radiation and may increase the perceived temperature by a few degrees which makes a massive difference when it’s already pretty toasty.

This could make a difference to how succulents react during heatwaves. If they are in a spot with some morning sun, followed by afternoon shade and then they’re suddenly moved into full sun next to a dark driveway, it may be enough for them to die.

Last thing to consider is pot colour. Dark pots will heat up a lot faster and even a small move to more sun could put a lot of stress on the roots due to the pot getting unbearably hot.

Over longer term the water will evaporate faster, which can cause hydrophobic potting mix and a succulent could, pretty much, just dry out.

Moving certain types of succulents

Some succulent types are more prone to having a negative reaction to sudden moving around than others.

I find some new Echeveria hybrids and cultivars are most likely to have a reaction to getting moved into different conditions. For example, Echeveria Romeo can be a drama king and likes it best in a cozy greenhouse.

White or cream variegated succulents may not be too happy about being moved to more sun as the variegated parts can burn easily.

In my experience, the common, hardy succulents such as Crassula ovata or Graptopetalum paraguayense will live through almost anything and are not likely to kick up a fuss even when the conditions change a lot.

Sometimes moving a succulent may coincide with another change. For example, you could have repotted a succulent from plastic to terracotta during a hot summer and moved it into a slightly different place. Now, 2 other changes can aid the death in this scenario. Firstly, terracotta is porous and dries out super fast in summer. This can dry the potting mix out extremely fast, which, in turn, could kill your succulent.

The second thing is the new potting mix. There could be a problem with the pH, nitrogen content or consistency. In my opinion, some succulent mixes are way too gritty and when coupled with a terracotta pot and extreme hot weather, they may help kill the plant.

To conclude, moving can kill a succulent if you change it’s environment or growing conditions too much. The death is likely to be gradual and happen over a period of time. In most instances there will be warning signs such as leggy, stretched out growth, constant leaf loss or rotting leaves.

In a small amount of cases, the death can be sudden- usually when succulents are moved into spots where they experience the full force of extremes such as direct sun during heatwaves or frost and snow.