I'm going to go find the chicken grit as soon as I can. I'm interested to know though what potting soil do you use for your succulents?

I just use regular Miracle Grow, with 25-30% chicken grit mixed in.

Just a heads up, don't get the Miracle Grow with moisture retaining beads in it.
I have tried different cactus/succulent mixed and didn't have very good luck with them. And they are so expensive compared to Miracle Grow.

Hey y'all!!!! I am sooooo glad I found this forum. I am obsessed with Succulents, cactus, bamboo and pretty much all things green. I recently "rescued "three pots of hens and chicks. I have already taken them out of the old pots and pulled the dying leaves off of the bottom. They are in well draining pots and are on my screened in porch. I live in Charleston, SC where it is pretty hot and almost always sunny. I am noticing that the leaves at the bottom are starting to push down. I have tried to read up on the threads about what to do but I can't seem to find an answer. I use a gritty mix with a tiny bit of soil in my pots. What am I doing wrong?

Hey Cutiekayleigh-

There are much more experience members here than me so take my comments with a grain of chicken grit.

Sounds like you're on the right track with re-potting in a gritty mix and pulling off the dying leaves. I think they just need more sun. I would find a spot with good morning sun/part sun and afternoon shade outside. When you need to water, try to do it in the evening when the sun goes down. I found this summer that watering in the morning leads to rot. These are alpine plants so SC might be a bit difficult, but I am sure you can find some tough varieties that will be happy in the right spot.

Glad you found your way over here! We have a lot of fun discussing these little plants!

Jesse

I would say increase the sun, but don't over-do that. They also might be stressed from transplanting. So, I would increase the sun/light like Jesse says, water but don't swamp, and give it a bit more time to adjust to its new home.

Hi Cutiekayleigh. Welcome to NGA, glad you found your way here.

I agree with Christie and Jesse. Needs more light. Bright filtered light should work in you part of the country. Like under a tree canopy that lets light through, not an evergreen type. I would only water it when the top of the soil is dry, and only in the cool of evening. You don't want water on the leaves or surface of the soil during the hot part of the day. Also semps won't take up water if they get to hot. Great to see that you have lots of gravel under the leaves.

Keep us updated.

Hey everyone- also a newbie here, and so happy I found this thread. I'm having the same problem with my semp leaves curling under into a tiny ball. I've been keeping it by a cold window, but it's warm inside and I suspect I've been overwatering. Definitely love all the advice here- just have one more question for those who have more experience than me! I'm living in Missouri, and I have a balcony outside my apartment. I could put my semp plant outside, but its going to be a cold winter and I'm worried about frost and my plant freezing over. Should I take the plant out of soil to dry it out first, then put it outside in new soil? Or should I report and stick with the windowsill until spring arrives? Thanks everyone in advance!!!

Hi KSteacher. Welcome to the Sempervivum Forum here at NGA.
So nice to meet you. Can you show us a photo of your semp? Is there a cool place in your house? What is your weather like right now? I think you are one of the states that has the big winter event moving in?
What kind of potting soil are you using?
I would replant it in clean dry soil and leave it to dry for about a week, then just mist the top of the soil. Mist, don't water/soak the soil. Also, place chicken grit, or another small type of sharp gravel into your potting mix and on top of the soil as a top dressing, with the grit place under the leaves so they have no contact with the soil.

twitcher said:Semps need to be outdoors. If indoors for the winter, stick them in a cold garage and don't water them, unless you have a cold window with very bright light. These are very tough plants that thrive on neglect and perish when you fuss with them too much.

Keeping it cool during the winter is important.

goldfinch4 said:I just use regular Miracle Grow, with 25-30% chicken grit mixed in.

I have used the Miracle Grow potting mix as Chris does. I have found that the cactus/succulent potting mixes hold way to much water, are expensive and just don't work for me.

I'm afraid your semp hasn't had time to acclimate to cooling temps leading to winter in your area. In the spring you can place it out on your balcony and it should be very happy spending winter out there next year.
Look forward to seeing photos of your semp baby.

Hey @valleylynn, thanks so much for the warm welcome! Here is a pic of my semp. The top looks fine but the bottom leaves are getting sucked into a tight ball. I live in Missouri so it's been off-and-on cold- we've had both snow and higher temps in the past few weeks- but getting colder. My apartment is cool during the day when I'm at work but gets warmer at night, and I keep my semp in a window with lots of sun access. Unfortunately I don't have a garage- the only options are inside or out.

After reading your response I'm almost certain I've overwatered- definitely need to invest in a mister rather than soaking the soil. The soil is a regular potting mix, but I will certainly invest in some chicken grit for the top. Until next spring, would you recommend repotting or removing the plant from the soil to dry out?

All the new leaf growth comes from the center. Your semp actually is not looking all that bad as far as health. The curling leaves is from not enough sun, also the pale color is from not enough sun. Is the soil wet from top to bottom? You can take the rosette out of the soil and check the roots for rot and what condition the soil is in. When you do water just water the soil, not the leaves. When you take it up take a photo of the roots for us.

Hi KS I've had really bad experiences with semps indoors, they grow longer, weaker leaves and seem more prone to disease.
If your outdoor temps are in the 30's at night I'd risk putting them outside
Especially if your deck gets a lot of sun light!!
If you have something light to cover them on nights when colder/frost that will help. In pots they are more vulnerable to freezing, but even an old towel around the pots can help with that. Good luck

@Cutiekayleigh

I thought this would be a good thread/discussion to show just how much outdoor light means to our semps.

I had part of this colony blocked from sunlight with potted bulbs, some rosettes were even laying under the bulb pots.
Poor babies. You can see in the photo the further away from the pots, the more light they get the darker the color and improved rosette shape.


Bad me. The up side is that they will improve quickly with the pots of bulbs moved away from them.

I noticed that some youtubers that have tech channels use some succulent plants on their desk.
Probably they try to emulate the big shows that feature succulents, like Ellen, but those are not real plants, they look the same for years now. But it is common now to see a bouquet of succulent in certain shows on the table.

And I often see some sempervivum on the table being etiolated and curled back from all that indoor sitting. But I do not know how much they etiolated in their studios or actually they got them partially etiolated from the stores ( I do not mean nurseries, just stores, like even grocery stores sell sempervivum, random cut flower shops, etc), because I see stores selling them etiolated already.

Paleo, I think they confuse them with the tender type succulents, some of which can be grown indoors. It makes me sad when I see sempervivum used as house plants.

valleylynn said:Paleo, I think they confuse them with the tender type succulents, some of which can be grown indoors. It makes me sad when I see sempervivum used as house plants.

Yeah, you are right.

But I still believe those big shows like Ellen and other shows just do not use real plants, they seems to have some plastic echeveria and plastic sedum because they simply look the same forever, same shape, same leaves, same orientation, etc.

I haven't watched those shows. If I do I will certainly be looking at the succulents.

A guy from my succulent and cactus club brought in a 'brag plant' to show and tell
and he was saying "also it has kept this great shape and size after several years, it is so slow growing!" Someone looking at the plant let the man know "Um yes you don't have to continue watering this, it is plastic!" They look so real now a days!

Greg, thank you for my laugh for the day.

We had something very similar happen at work. When the new cafeteria people took over, they watered the plastic succulent plants for almost 2 months before the realized they were fake.