webesemps said:JoJoe, the sand is to help with drainage and the larger the grain the better. I, sometimes, look in Aquarium stores for larger grain sand and some nurseries have bigger sand. Not sure about vermiculite but it is supposed to help with aeration but drainage is more the issue with succulents. Other small rock would also do about the same as sand but I think bag of small rock is more expensive. This is why when I dismantle a container of plants with rock dressing, I always save the rock dressing 'cause you never know when you might have use for it.

Not sure if you mean pumice or perlite.Both are volcanic rock. Pumice is what is found in our everyday scrubbing stones for dry skin. Perlite is used in planting mix to lighten the mix and help with drainage. Only drawback to perlite is that it floats to the top when container is watered and you get it all concentrated and white at top of container.

Don't know whether your plantlets will grow "faster" but given the right conditions they can grow healthy. I wouldn't expose plantlets to full sun exposure until they get bigger, but partial sun in mornng is a good start till they get more established in the right well draining soil. Wasn't sure whether your plants are inside or out but better to keep inside if your climate is cold now. In the future, definitely good light is important to keeping your echeverias (was it?) compact and in good aesthetic form and health.

JoJOe, here's that spiel on pumice and perlite...

Arif, your fingers and most probably that mind of yours going a mile a minute is much faster than mine...!!

Isn't that something,i couldn't figure out what post he was talking about and you two cross posted each other (did that make sense) to tell me what post i couldn't remember.

Arif,now that i know exactly what your saying & why thanks a ton!!

I live very close to a very large lake with many,many marina's,swimming area's,camping area's,parks, some national parks etc... it's big. My point being there's a lot of rocks.My driveway for instance i could sit down & pick up a pot full of rock smaller than pea gravel,little bigger or same size as aquarium rock. So i could use these in my succulent mix? As long as a strong cleaner doesn't make it fizz. I'm all for saving money & i have a 5 year old grandson that would pick up rocks for a dollar!!!

Am i on the right track here??

Jo, Arif and I would make a good team, if I could comprehend half the stuff he comes up with.
I guess if your driveway was filled with gravel from a bulk rock place and not made up of salty rocks from the marina I would think it would be OK. I'm all for saving money; I save the rock from all the rock dressing that's on top of cactus or succulet plantings, etc. I then separate all by color and size and put in Baskin Robbins Ice cream containers (they used to have their 2 quarts for $5 sale) and label them. You never know when you might want Brown-Pink small rock mix to finish off a gift planter, right?

I don't live near the ocean so the rock around here from teeny tiny to boulder size shouldn't be salty.But are we talking about putting these little rocks in potting medium or as a dressing on top of the pot.

This started out as a question of amending soil.I know sometimes i get side tracked and i babble so people probably end up not knowing what i'm talking about,been working on asking straight up questions!!

Bev, did you see the other thread it is called getting succulents ready for outside after overwintering!pork & beans,ghosty. Or something like that.

JoJoe, I am just talking about small rocks for your soil medium to increase/help drainage. That's the important concept here.
Sorry I switched subjects by talking about how to save money...I too am guilty of babbling but sometimes it's because my mind
is connecting to other stuff while conversation is still going on.
I'll look for that other thread...My sucs aren't going anywhere. I force them to be outside all winter to toughen them up and if they don't make it, well, se la vie. I baby the semps sometimes because they are my favorites...

Most succulents do better without the babying, needless to say, its taken me several plant deaths to realize I just need to ignore them, enjoy them but don't fuss over them too much

Greg,that's good to hear because i'm slow at everything.When i first started growing christmas cactus i found the same to be true as well as my Hoya's get their environment right and they will be happy oh and feed um a little in the summer.

I have thought about something i do without thinking that i may need to stop during the winter.I use super thrive and someone from another site before i started using this one,told me it wasn't fertilizer it was vitamins,minerals etc... to use it with fertilizer & every watering.I looked it up & she was correct about what it was,i read that if you use only super thrive your plants would end up needing the things in fertilizer.When i started using it my plants started growing like crazy,i actually cut back on how often i used it because my plants doubled their size in a year or less.

This picture was taken when i got the plant last January the pictures are dated

This is now,is this normal growth.I have had this kind of growth with all of my hanging baskets.

Sorry to get off topic but a show & tell to make my point.If i am using water with super thrive even though i have only watered them a few times this winter,i need to be sure if i water them again before they go outside not to use super thrive water correct. I felt kinda dumb when i thought about it.Why in the dickens didn't i think bout this before now.Think i let some southern redneck language slip. Grandbaby is standing here crying for me so i am typing without thinking & my southern accent came out.oops

OMG, JoJoe, I...shhh!...use super thrive too. Been using for almost upteen years. You are the only one in all these hundreds and hundreds of posts in all these succulent forums that have mentioned super thrive. Ok, but I won't get on that subject...

Yes Jojoe - your very sweet accent just came out!!
And yes I wouldn't use any nutrients and hardly any water during the winter for the plants that aren't under the grow lights.