Whether we’re talking about new plants you just brought home or one of your favorite plants starting to look sickly, a good safety measure can be to quarantine succulents.

quar·an·tine
kwôrənˌtēn/ noun
a state, period, or place of isolation in which people, plants, or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infections or contagions are placed.

New plants

So here’s the thing, pests and other problems can spread quickly among a close population, and big store shelves full of plants make excellent breeding grounds for them. When you bring home some new little succulent or cactus, you don’t really know what else you might be bringing in with them. Surely you’ve inspected the plant before buying it, just to make sure it’s in good health, but there could potentially be pests, insect eggs, fungus, or bacteria in the soil that you won’t see. That’s why I recommend quarantining your new plants for a short while to make sure there are no unwelcome guests.