Go to the Aloe FAQ for tips on rerooting.

The L. s. looks like too much watering and not enough heat/light - they like lots of both (but not consistently 80-90 - they are bulbs, after all). And the bulbs should be buried most of the time (at least when they're as young as yours is). The leaves look longer than they should be, which to me says 'etiolation, you're taking me down'.

Hi CC,

Sorry, I don't recall your name. Perhaps you should read some books w/ general care for succulents, cause something is not right in this story.

to quote you: "I've been misting the top of the soil twice a week instead of soaking"

Don't know where you would have gotten the idea that soaking was the way to go.

I suggest you stop doing this, you're killing the plants. I wouldn't even mist them. Don't know why you seem to keep insisting they need this water, they don't.

Succulents are characterized by their ability to store water in their fat & fleshy leaves (therefore they need much less water from people than non-succulents).

I grow (indoors only) both Haworthias & Gasterias & neither get water every week. My Gasteria gets watered MAYBE once every 3/4 weeks & it's fine. My Haworthias I water maybe every other week.

Haworthias are know to often lose their roots, even for folks who have experience growing them. So this is not uncommon, even for experienced growers, that makes it more important to not water unnecessarily. I grow these particular kinds of plants in unglazed clay pots. Until you learn the watering for these 2 types of plants you'd probably do best growing these in clay pots rather than plastic (you haven't said).

Sorry, I didn't succeed w/ Ledeborias (Scilla or Squill) either.

Just so you know, easy is a relative term. Some folks just can't grow certain things even if they are know as easy. I have trouble w/ African Violets. I can propagate them great & give them away for others to bloom, but I can't bloom them myself, or even keep them going very well. Some folks can't grow Pothos, which many folks consider indestructible. So pls. don't beat yourself up about this, it happens to many of us, they're some things we just can't grow.

As to your Crassula, I'm guessing yes, you are being impatient, they need time & neglect. For these plants, often the less fuss the better, you need to start practicing ignoring them & leaving them alone. Sorry, but that is really what they need.

I echo pirate girl. Not everything will grow for everyone. I do not buy aoniums (sp) or some crassulas. Jades are short lived here and ice plant, grows all over California, not here. I learned what works for me and go with that. It was not always fun but I learned what to grow for where I was living now.

Go to Lowe's and look in the concrete section. It is called 'All Purpose Gravel'. The bag is 50 lb so bring hubby. It will cost I think I payed under $5. I rinse this off and add it to my mix. I also add pine fines. I get this from Walmart or Ace. I just use potting soil but after the gravel, fines and perlite are added I get good drainage.

Let rooting babies root. I messed with my babies so much I messed up rootings just to see what is going on. It is good to check but give them time. We are going into fall and many plants will be moving much slower in the next couple of months. Oh heck so will I. Relax and have fun. Paula

Did you initially have the bulbs buried? If so, that's probably what rotted it out. Also, I'd recommend not burying the bulbs to ANY extent. They really need to be sitting on *top* of the soil, not halfway down like an Amaryllis or something.

Besides that I would recommend a heavy watering maybe once a week, or however long it takes for the potting media to dry out (what you described should be dried out enough in about a week). Or you could wait till the bulbs start showing some wrinkles. They're not really THAT succulent, so really light watering isn't going to do them any good.

If the bulbs were buried and you were misting, basically only the bulbs and very top part of the soil would be getting moisture, but NOT the roots. This is bad.

Otherwise, your potting media sounds fine, and they don't really need a lot of light. I wouldn't say they're exactly shade-loving, but they'll grow and flower quite nicely on a north-facing windowsill.

Awesome advice guys! My husband is running out to the base right now to pick up some metals he needs for his uniform (we're going to the Navy Ball for the first time). I already had him running to Lowe's to pick me up pine straw because we got our first frost last night (just a light one)and I just text him and asked him to pick me up the all purpose concrete too while he's there. I read up as much as I can on the plants that I have, to understand how to care for them. Most of my plants are in unglazed terra cotta pots but a few are in the regular, plastic pots plants come in. I don't throw them away, I try to reuse them. As more pots start to go on sale around here I'll be picking up more to re-pot the ones not in a clay pot. The type of soil I use is MG Cactus soil amended with perlite. I make the mix a 25/75 the majority being perlite. With my husband picking up the 'all purpose concrete' what should the mix be? I know many of you don't like MG products but until I learn my area better that's pretty much what I have to work with. I'm new to Florida and Panama City so I don't know where all the neat garden places are yet. I only know the box stores. Be patient with me. I'm learning as much as I can and you all have been so helpful if I can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for. Thank you so much for being so generous with your knowledge. It's not wasted on me!

As for the MG Mix, if that's all you've got & you're using 75% perlite that sounds fine.

I'm sorry, I must have missed something

"all purpose concrete"

OK, I've read this post 3 times, looking for mention of concrete. Please read it again Corpsman, there's no mention of concrete except for the 'Concrete Section' of the store, where it was suggested you buy "All Purpose Gravel", NOT concrete, big difference here, pls. be careful.

Have fun at the Navy Ball (am guessing it's something like a fancier prom)!

Howdy!

Be patient! At least the 'tricolor' Jade isn't rotting ;-)
Remember, in humid areas like Florida, the ambient moisture may slow the rooting process.
You might be waiting months before the growth really takes off.

I don't mist soil or plants, personally. And I don't recommend it to anyone else.
Where I live, it simply isn't necessary....and in many locales, it can do more harm than good.

Josh

Pirate girl - sorry about the concrete. Hubby got the all purpose gravel. I guess I had concrete on the brain because it was said to be found in the concrete section lol oh well at least I ended up with the right stuff. So, what's a good mix now. I have perlite, cactus soil and the all purpose gravel. I will probably be fixing up a batch tomorrow.

PS Yes the Navy Ball is a fancier form of prom. Every year on or around the United States Navy's "Birthday" most Navy Bases celebrate with a Navy Ball. This is our first one even though we've both been in for almost 5 years. We were both in training for the first one. The second one I was pregnant. Number 3 I was in Africa on a humanitarian and number 4 I was pregnant again LOL. I'm excited. I haven't gotten all dolled up like this since my prom almost 12 years ago (oops did I just date myself lol)

I also have that squill plant and mine is very healthy.Like the OP's said,i think you were giving it too much water.I keep mine outside on the patio year round,then again i'm in S.Calif,along the coast.

Here's a picture of mine,plastic pot and all.
Kathi

{{gwi:643592}}

I'm a newbie and read books, talked to nurseries, and accumulated whatever info I could along the way. I will have to say that while all the info is great and helpful, an awful lot simply depends on your own particular situation. I'm still killing off leaf cuttings. I am getting some to survive now and actually see little plants, but I've been working at it for 6 months now. I go outside every day to make sure that they are still alive!

I'm sure my husband thinks I'm nuts. So, even when we do our best, and do what the best advice says to do, plants die. It's so annoying when that happens.

So keep working at it and hopefully all will grow and shine for you!

Oh, I should mention that two leaves that produced plants were in the bottom of a trash container for a couple of months, and I had thrown them away, and I spied them when I went to empty that container. sigh.

Actually I'm pretty sure where you get the plant matters too. I mean, if you buy a cactus from Walmart, there's a pretty good chance it has SOMETHING wrong with it that'll cause it to die within a year, no matter what you do.