Most people assume a dying succulent needs more water. It's almost always the opposite.

Succulents store water in their leaves for a reason — they evolved for drought, not daily sips. When you water on a schedule (every Sunday, say) instead of watering based on actual soil dryness, you're slowly suffocating the roots. Root rot doesn't show up as "too wet" — it shows up as mushy, yellowing, or translucent leaves that look confusingly similar to underwatering. So people water more. And the plant dies faster.

The fix is the soak-and-dry method:

• Let the soil go completely dry before watering again (stick a finger in — if there's ANY moisture 2 inches down, wait).

• When you do water, soak it thoroughly until water runs out the drainage hole — don't just mist or sprinkle.

• Then walk away and don't touch it until it's bone dry again.

In winter/low light, this might mean watering every 3-4 weeks, not every week. Light matters too — a succulent stretching upward and getting "leggy" is begging for more direct sun, not more water.

If your succulent's leaves are shriveled AND soil is dry → underwatered, water it.

If leaves are mushy/translucent AND soil is damp → overwatered, stop watering, let it dry out fully, and check for root rot.

Hope this saves someone's plant today.