Overwatering and root damage

What's happening

It's a confusing one: rotting roots can't deliver water, so the leaves wrinkle and soften exactly as if the plant were dry — but the soil stays wet. Reaching for the watering can here makes it worse. The leaves feel squishy or collapse rather than staying firm, the giveaway that this is damage, not drought.

How to fix it

Hold off on watering and check the roots. Unpot the plant, trim away any brown, mushy roots with sterilized scissors, and repot the firm, pale roots into fresh, fast-draining mix in a pot with drainage. Water sparingly while it recovers and let the soil dry out fully between drinks from now on. If much of the root system is gone, root a healthy vine cutting as a backup.

This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.