I have been making a rock garden,i think that's public knowledge by now
I am having a blast making it especially moving the big rocks around!!
"move that big one over there dear" "no dear it doesn't work there" "put that one by the upright sedums" hubby answer's "the what,where??"
enough picking on him, my hubby is a trooper.

I have noticed that in most pictures of succulents,there are small pebbles in the pots or around the plants in beds.
Is this for looks,keeping so much soil from getting on the plants during rains,does it help[ prevent rot? Do i need to go ahead and put pebbles around my semp's.I also have Sedum 'reflexum' in my rock garden,i used pebbles in the soil in the area of that plant to be sure the drainage was good enough for that part of the bed.I would try to explain what i'm trying to accomplish but it's hard to explain a vision in my head when i'm having a hard enough time putting it in the ground.

Also one of the semp's in the group seems to be dying anyone have any advice as to what caused it or if there's anything i can do etc...

Did it bloom Jelinda? It either bloomed or the middle section was damaged. I see lots of healthy base leaved though.

I use chicken grit, pea gravel, etc, under and around the semps to keep the leaves from contact with the soil. We have so much rain here in the winter and spring. It really helps to keep them from rotting.

I am so excited about your rock garden, and what a great hubby you have to help you with your project.

Dig, Clean, Dry, Cut, Dry, Plant. DCDCDP for semps when they have problems like the one shown in the pic.

Gently cut away the dead upper growth, being sure to maintain the lower leaves and lower stem of the rosette. Once replanted, it should reward you multiple offsets or sprouts from the base of the plant during its next growth spurt. DCDCDP are the steps to follow so that you avoid rot on damaged plants..

Our plant doctor has arrived.

Yes, there's also the aesthetic reason for use of rock; I used to notice that some potted cactus (and succulents) in retail stores covered the soil surface with small rocks, pebbles, sand, gravel etc to give the plant a more dressed look. Nowadays I don't notice that practice as much . Sometimes I will pot up a lone succulent with a contrasting colored rock like bits of charcoal so that the succulent can become more of a focal point. You can use red lava rock or pea gravel or aquarium gravel to dress up individual specimens.

All great ideas Bev.

Thanks to you all for the great advice.

I alseo wanted to explain that yes i may be a little ditsy but when i was writing this thread my electricity went out and then it took a while for everything to reset and of course cable went first which you don't realize for a minute or 2 and then everything else.Well during all this the title got lost and when it came back i couldn't figure out how to add one???

I should separate them all from each other they are attached underneath there and then replace the one i am doing surgery on?

Just to make sure i didn't miss anything (my grandboys are visiting me, I'm bed bound and they are in rare form.Not sure what all i just read going to reread it in morning.But small rock do or don't help the semp's with rot?? I am going to add some just wondering if the hubby should go on & do it before any rain comes??

THANKS SO VERY MUCH!!! i can't wait until i can retain half the knowledge you all have !!!!!

Jelinda, I gave your thread a name. Let me know if you want it to be different from what I put.

Pebbles/gravel/chicken grit/etc. are very good for them. It keeps the leaves up off of the soil during wet weather, this will help to keep them from rotting.

I wanted to show everyone especially Twitcher (who gave me the great surgical notes) what happened to the semp that looked so bad at the beginning of this thread.

I also wanted to say thank you all i couldn't have done it without you!!
As for the pebbles,i am going to have to wait until spring to complete that project,the leaves are falling faster than i work.For anyone who like me has trouble with your hands,i managed to get pea pebbles under the semp's very easily using a small funnel it worked great.The pebbles were just big enough not to come pouring out and just small enough to come out when i put my finger on the funnel hole & pushed up.


and now

Wow Jelinda - what a beautiful semp! You did a great job.

Jelinda, twit is going to be so proud of you. He has been so patient in teaching us methods of surgery on our beloved semps.
Another gold star on twits refrigerator. And one for you to Jelinda for doing such a great work of surgery.

What a beautiful semp it is, when were the newest photos taken. If recent that is sure lovely color for this time of year. Do you know the name of it?

Very nice!! That's why we like semps! They seem to recover from damage easily! (when we know what to do!)
I want to thank you Jelinda and others for creating this thread, because I'm slowly redoing my semp beds and putting an inch layer of pea gravel about 8 inches down, and then mixing pea gravel in with the soil that I'm putting in the beds (its making a huge difference!)

I bought it at Lowes and it was labeled Sempervivum rubellum 'Mahogany'.I don't know what the 4 single ones are called someone simply pulled them off her plant & gave them to me.

I do know that i can't wait to see them grow little ones!!!!

Again thanks to all you lovely people!!

Well they are all beauties, no matter what the name.

Some how i manage to skip a post & i was just looking at the new post & went up a few.I read the post written by Greg,i can't believe i didn't see it before now,I am not sure about the names to the different size & types of rock.I think the rock i am using is pea gravel.I was wondering if the way i done it was good or not.Greg spoke of doing about the same as what i have done.Maybe i can get an opinion or 2,maybe some advice!!

I started my rock garden on a slope,which is what my whole yard is.That's one point towards drainage,Our land being a slope,the ground has been wind blown & the ground is hard and has no good soil or most places in the front don't.So we put purchased a load of forest compost to put down.There's a place that the slope drops off & i put leaves over it to decay and then reuse.I mixed some of them into the compost,another point for drainage i thought.I planted upright sedums behind my semps.i put pea gravel down as i planted,the gravel has ended up mixed into the soil.There isn't any way to have to fast of a drainage? I figured in the spring when the sedum's start to get some height to them i will put down more pea gravel but i didn't know how much to use??

The pea gravel seemed to big around the semp's,i bought a 25 pound bag of gravel in the pet section with the fish supplies and thats what i put under (to avoid rot from touching wet soil) & around the semp's.I can use pea gravel up as close to the semps as possible without damaging them.

Any advice or opinions or even criticism.Did i do something that's isn't making a good environment for them to grow in??

It all looks good Jelinda, even what you put around the semp. You can even tuck the gravel up under the semp leaves to keep the off the soil. The gravel eventually does mix into the soil, I feel that is a good thing for these types of plants, it just helps with moving water away from the crown of the semps.
Most sedum can handle more water so it's not quite as crucial having the gravel.
The gravel will help to keep the soil cooler and retain moisture in your hot Georgia summers. Just be sure you don't give the semps to much water during the hot weather, you could steam cook them.