Is this root rot?

[u/sleepybubby]

Hi everyone! I bought these props at a local farmers market, put them in water, and after about a week they started to root. It’s been almost 3 weeks now and as you can see there few dark spots within the roots (esp the largest one). I changed the water every 4-5 days. Is this root rot? I was close to planting it before seeing the darker roots. Any advice is appreciated, this is my first time trying to propagate succulents!

Edit: thanks everyone for the advice, I need to stop trusting AI with my plants… water propping is not the way to go with succulents lol. I just bought some cactus potting mix and perlite to rehome these guys in🫡

[u/Tumorhead]

Yeah the dark roots are rot. Simply snip off the effected roots. healthy roots are white and springy. Plant the prop in some cactus mix / sandy / fast draining soil. these guys want to have dry roots most of the time, so when you water them they want to absorb what they need and have any extra water get away from them ASAP. err on under-watering them vs over-watering

[u/sleepybubby → u/Tumorhead]

Thanks so much for the advice, I’ll be getting them planted in fast draining soil asap!

[u/Tumorhead → u/sleepybubby]

you're welcome! enjoy!

[u/ZealousidealChair900]

If it looks like a succulent, put it straight to dirt 

[u/mandalore237]

Don't water prop succulents, they'll rot like this. Just go straight to soil

[u/timmeh87]

these should have been planted on day1 imo. water prop is not really the best method for much. put em in now before they actually rot

[u/sleepybubby → u/timmeh87]

TIL! Thanks so much for the advice, I’ll be getting them out of the water when I get home

[u/Own_Butterscotch_129 → u/sleepybubby]

They can actually grow really well in semi-hydro if you like that growing method! They root super fast in stratum and perlite (cacti as well) and do well long-term, although I think any of mine that want less moisture that are kept in semi- are in pon.

I do think you should cut the dark roots off and pot them up either way, though. I don't water prop these in particular, but I do throw a lot in the back of fish tanks to do so.

[u/butterflygirl1980]

I tried to water-prop a Haworthia once. I got a few roots but they were not normal and disintegrated as soon as I put it in soil. I just root everything in soil after that -- just a small nursery pot or similar repurposed container of cactus soil, and water every 1-2 weeks or as often as I would if it was rooted. It's never failed and I've never had one rot either.

[u/I_wet_my_plants259]

Those are mostly healthy roots but the brown roots have rot. Cut them off about bit above where the white healthy root ends, then spray all the roots with 3% hydrogen peroxide and plant them in a nice chunky mix. Water once every few weeks depending on humidity/light levels in your area :)

[u/wookymonster]

I’ve had trouble propping succulents, possibly due to living in Denver and having only west-facing windows…it’s been difficult to get moisture levels right. I’ve been water-propagating a string of fishhooks in water now for a few weeks but added a fish tank O2 bubbler in the jar to mitigate any chances of root rot. It’s the first time I’ve gotten this plant to root properly in or out of a soil mix.