Succulent stretched tall — the light fix that worked in 3 weeks
My Echeveria started stretching — tall, leggy, leaves spaced out like a broccoli stalk. Classic etiolation. I thought succulents were supposed to be low-light plants. Turns out that's a myth.
I had it on a north-facing shelf, 8 feet from the nearest window. The plant was getting maybe 50-100 foot-candles for 4 hours a day. Succulents need 200-400 foot-candles for 6-8 hours minimum to stay compact.
Moved it to a south-facing windowsill, 2 feet from the glass. Also added a cheap grow light bulb ($12 on Amazon) on a 12-hour timer. Three weeks later, new growth is tight and compact. The stretched part will never go back, but propagation is easy — just behead the rosette, let it callus, and replant.
Lesson: etiolation is almost always a light issue, not a watering one. Don't blame yourself for overwatering when your succulent is just reaching for the sun.