It's almost universally accepted that your succulents need to dry out between waterings, yet I water mine on the same schedule as I do plants like coleus, streptocarpella, and impatiens, and they're all wonderfully healthy. Most would consider my not waiting until my succulents are dry to water to be apostasy, with the added sin of watering on a set schedule to be certain sealing of my plants' fate. Even in winter when my plants are under lights, I water the succulents on the same schedule as all the rest of my plants. Maybe we should look at WHY I can water my succulents when there is still plenty of moisture left in the soil. The reason is, I use a medium that doesn't support a layer of saturated soil at the bottom of the pot. That's the key. Succulents suffer drought stress just as a coleus or impatiens might. They might tolerate drought a little better, and the signals that indicate they are suffering from a lack of water might not be as readily visible in succulents as in more herbaceous plants, but they DO suffer drought stress. Because we know that with certainty, it's logical to think that the plant would rather NOT dry out before it gets its next drink. So why is it so commonly thought they (succulents)SHOULD dry out between waterings? The reason is, most growers use soils that are so extremely water-retentive that extreme measures need to be taken to guard against that water retention. PROBABILITY dictates that unless you allow water-retentive soils to become nearly completely dry before watering plants in them, that over-watering and its accompanying problems will result. IOW, it's better to allow the soil to become drier than the plant would like and allow the influence of some drought stress to come to play, than it is to take a chance that you might be watering too soon, and in doing so ensuring the plant will suffer the impaired root function associated with over-watering - or perhaps even a case of root rot. We can see that the idea you need to allow succulents to dry down to completely dry, or nearly so, is based on the supposition that your soil choice automatically makes watering before your plant absolutely NEEDS water a risky undertaking; but what if you're using a soil that remains well-aerated from the top of the pot to the bottom, no matter how often you water? Wouldn't THAT stand the idea that succulents need to dry out between waterings on its head? It does; and because I use a soil that doesn't support perched water (no part of the soil, even at the bottom of the container, is ever saturated) I can water succulents as often as I like without concern that root function will be diminished or fear I'm setting the stage for root rot. Al

tasymo - Thanks that's exactly what I wanted...to look like he just plopped down..lol. He is sitting on an old metal chair. I didn't want the chair to show so I surrounded it with some old pieces of wood we chopped up from a tree that fell in our yard during a storm. Mine is wired together & wired to the chair. The moss helps hide the wires & you never even notice them unless you are REALLY looking. It was quite a job, those pots get heavy when they are wired together....but I love my "potman". Thanks. luna ilena feliz- Thanks...I tried! I wondered what to do with him during winter since he is way to heavy to move...so during the Christmas holiday season last year I put a Santa hat on him...I thought it was pretty cute! Maybe i'll make him a Santa suit this year...lol

Wow, rubrifolia, you get around. Last we heard from you, you were in NYC hunting for authors and planning a fir hedge. How'd you get on down to Puerto Rico? You have described my soil to a T. Always thought it was caused by the nearby river. Here's what I do. You are never going to fix the whole place. Plant grass. It does not mind the clay. When you want a rose hole, dig out a hole 1.5 deep by 1.5 feet wide and long. Here, we only have 8 inches of topsoil, then you hit sandstone and other nasty stuff. So you drag your son off his computer and get him out there with a pickaxe. After all the grumbling, he gets into it. Whack! Whack, whack, whack! These darn kids these days. Why do they brush their teeth at the breakfast table? My husband made me a dirt strainer. It is a rectangle built out of 2 by 2's with wire screen tacked on. Okay we work with a garden cart hooked to a lawn mower and a wheelbarrow. We shovel some dirt on top of the dirt strainer. Rub and work the dirt through the strainer into the lawn cart. It looks like nice dirt when you're done, but it's deceptive. The rocks get dumped into the wheelbarrow. Then add one half manure to this strained dirt. I have horse manure, which is pretty weak fertilizer. Then dump it back into the hole and plant your rose. I had this old recipe that I got out of an old rose book written by a famous rosarian back in the 60's. He called for one third peat moss, one third horse manure, and one third dirt. He claimed roses liked a little clay and to throw some bones if you had them in the hole. He said to make your hole two feet deep. I cheat. I also have my doubts about the peat moss, since straight clay is already acidic. My ph is 7. This soil plays out quickly so you have to resort to chemical intervention. Did you ever read about how cotton destroyed the clay soils in the South and George Washington Carver convinced them to grow peanuts? So everybody grew peanuts but couldn't sell them so he invented peanut butter? Went to Congress and told them all about peanut butter? Well, that's everything I can think of about naturally occurring concrete. Until tomorrow. So................how about a picture of your place in Puerto Rico?

Here are a few websites for making different things out of clay pots which I thought was neat. I don't know if you were just interested in making people or different things but thought i would send it anyways.http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/applecrafts/l/blcpapple.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/beecrafts/l/blcpbee.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/catcrafts/l/blcpcat1.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/farmanimalcrafts/l/blcpcow1.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/claypotcrafts/l/blcpfrank1.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/frogcrafts/l/blcpfrog1.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/ladybugcrafts/l/blcpladyb.htm http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/snowpeople/l/blcpsnowm.htm You may have to copy and paste them as I can't get them right. Enjoy Patricia