Yep, we just have to keep trying
desert gardening is no fun! My one dream is a lush green garden and every year almost everything looks half-dead
At the nursery by my aunt's house they water more often too. The temperature there goes into the 90s quite often and it is always humid, yuck. Our humidity is usually only 5-10% during the day so anything higher than that and I feel like I am in a tropical place
the semps and echeverias I have bought there often have black, rotting leaves on the plant or in the pot that I have to remove, so I always have to check each one carefully before taking it home.
One thing that works really well here is planting succulents in terra cotta pots. I avoided using them for years because they dry out so quickly, but the day after you water them the pot is moist and cool on the outside from the water being able to move through it. When the wind blows, the pot feels like it has been in front of an air conditioner. I think it helps the root zone to stay cooler and helps them to survive. You can also just spray the outside of the pot with a hose and the wind blowing and evaporating the water does the same thing I have found!
