It sounds like your plant is rotting. A very water retentive soil can work during the summer when it dries out quickly, but will hold too much water for too long during the winter. I would repot all healthy segments in a more porous mix like the one shown in the link below. I use a very similar mix on my Sedum morganianum which sits in a cold window (60 degrees, probably lower at night). I water this plant every week or two until water runs out the bottom and it doesn't rot because the soil has plenty of air space even when saturated. It grows almost imperceptibly now with the cold and reduced light, but grew considerably last summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: succulent soil mix

What is a Sedum burrito? Does anyone have a picture? Toni

Come on Toni, pls. do a search & see for yourself. (I don't mean to be severe - but I just saw her asking this somewhere else the very last thread I read).

Hankeat,

Could you possibly go speak to the neighbor whose thriving plant you're admiring? Perhaps they could share w/ you info. on how they care for it w/ such nice result.

Karen, are you saying I asked what a Sedum Burrito was in another thread? I never heard of this plant, so if you are referring to me, you're mistaken. Toni

Thanks, jefe12234 for the link. The mix looks complicated. I'll study it. I mix my soil self too. Sand and normal flower soil 1:1. Probably I shouldn't air my room in winter short after I water the plant.
Thanks pirate_girl. Probably it looks normal, when a lady knock their door and ask for the tips. As a young guy I feel a little bit weird. Probably I ask someone to ask for me.:-)
Toni, of course I would like to show you my plant. Please see it at the link below. One photo is taken in last Summer and another today. The right part was rotten and I removed it and planted in a rooted cutting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sedum burrito

Toni,

"What is a Sedum burrito? Does anyone have a picture? Toni"

No, not that you'd asked for pic of that particular plant, but that you'd just asked someone to post a pic of another plant in question, when I'm certain you know how to search for plant pix as long as you have the botanical name, but to do the search yourself rather than ask others repeatedly to provide a pic.

Hank, sorry I forget to comment to you, I understand your relectance as a young man to knock on her door. Perhaps, you might write her a note, introduce yourself & explain you've admired the plant thru the window & are looking to learn tips on its care & then provide your phone number to her?

I've written notes to leave under people's door asking permission to photograph their gardens when they've been of interest to me, folks have responded well, tho' yes, I am a woman, not a man.

I don't grow this plant anymore, but from what I recall, it needs fast draining soil, careful watering & best light & most sun possible.

Good luck w/ it!

Truly pirate girl, you are by far the most impolite person on these boards.

Hank, are your plants indoors or out? If indoors, I would water them very sparingly during the winter. In fact, I'd say that "donkey tail" should be able to survive an entire Zone 7 winter without water, provided it was watered before the cold weather set it. If you're worried about rot, then don't water the plants at all until the leaves begin to shrivel up a bit.

If the plants are outside, then it's possible that low temperatures might be doing some damage. It depends on how cold it gets in your climate.

Another thing, plants in hanging baskets tend to drain and dry out faster than those in other kinds of pots. So maybe that's why your neighbor's plants are doing so well.

blutarski,

She did say PLEASE do a search. And she has a point, there's no need to ask people to post pictures for you when a simple search will turn up plenty. A lot of people seem to forget that they can search for easy answers, and there are a lot of needless posts because of it. Hopefully no one takes offense to that, it's just meant to help.

hankeat,

Even if you can't find all the ingredients, just using a couple of coarse ingredients will be MUCH better than peat and sand. I have plants that grow very well in just pine bark and Turface (which can also be found as Schultz aquatic plant soil). Granite grit or even small pea stone could be substituted for Turface if you water a bit more often. Once you eliminate the very small particles, watering becomes much less problematic.

Thanks for the useful tips, pirate_girl. Probably I'll do it in summer.

ltecato, my plant is outdoor in summer (June - October) and indoor in winter. Another thing I noticed is airing my living room. My neighbor's plant is hanged at the window (actually glass wall) that never open. Mine (in a wall planter) is hanged near my glass door that I open wide thrice daily to air my room. Every time I open it for 5 minutes. It could be the problem, as now the temperature outside is -7C. Some aloes that I put at the same place were died (collapsed), it could be due to the sudden cold. Another thing I noticed was, when I removed the rotten plant, ( I did it before starting this message) the root was OK, the rotten part was the stem above soil. It could be that some water was till there, when I aired my room. Now I reduce the time to 1 - 2 minutes.

jefe12234, thanks for the advice. I'll do it in summer. Now after the whole action. It's looks OK. So I won't touch it till spring.