HelpfulGardener.com

Hello friends!

My grandmother recently went into hospice care, so I took charge of her apartment's houseplants. She had a few cuttings rooting in water, including one I'm not certain about. Before I pot it up in soil, I figured it'd be good to know what plant it is!

It looks somewhat like a crawling, pale-green variety of jade plant. The leaf-tips have an interesting shape. I'm not even positive it's a succulent, though...but I think so? The leaves are thick, stiff, and rubbery-feeling. But on the other hand, it's rooting in *water*, and I always thought that was a decent way to kill succulents quickly. So I'm uncertain.

Her cuttings hadn't had the water changed in ~4 weeks by the time I got there, and the water in this cup was yucky-green with little chunks of algae. So, it wouldn't be remotely surprising if this little plant's roots aren't very healthy (those almost-black threads, which may or may not have mildew, holding the clusters of root-fibers...?)

Any help would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance for helping me identify (and hopefully rescue) my grandma's plants

Looks like a Kalanchoe, probably Kalanchoe blossfeldiana? Grandma got it from a potted plant that was already attenuated from less then prime growing conditions. Could be wrong but that's the only thing I come up with.

Some succulents can root in water. It's actually a different sort of root tissue that will grow in water, but serves to show the cutting is viable, and stabilizes the cutting a bit when planted. Then the normal roots will grow.

So your Gran is in a Hospice Care center or some other facility? Good on you for being helpful and supportive.

K. fedtschenkoi.