Unless there are specific questions or something needs further explaining, I think most of what you need to know about the practical side of what drives cold-hardiness is in my longer post upthread. Mike - it doesn't matter if roots freeze/thaw a hundred times over the winter, It's not the freeze/thaw cycle that kills roots, it's that single trip to temperatures below those the plant is genetically programmed to tolerate that kills the plant (or tissues). IOW, it's killing lows, not freeze/thaws. As long as water inside of cells does not freeze, the rest of the water in the plant (water between cells and in the soil) can freeze solid with no ill effects. During the winter I used to cut all the firewood to heat my home. I usually picked the coldest days, so the wood would be frozen so solid it split with remarkable ease. It would be full of ice you could see, and the ice crystals would just glisten in the cold sun, but all the trees left standing just picked up in spring where they left off in fall ...... Roots aren't as cold-tolerant as shoots, but you get the picture. Freeze thaw cycles CAN heave newly transplanted plants out of the ground before roots are well-established where they can be damaged or killed by the effects of dessication, but that is much more common in in-ground plantings. Al

Sounds like you're on the right track already, lovely arrangement! The substrate sounds good but with that mix you do have to water more often, and with that temperature I'd say you're pretty close with twice a week watering, or every 4-5 days, but still observe your plants and see if they're happy with it. Make sure you protect them from too much direct sun, although most of the plants there love full sun so they should be okay

Hi! The weird color spots are from touching them. They have a powdery substance on them to protect them. Not all succulents do, but those definitely do. It'll grow new leaves and eventually you won't see the spots anymore (unless you touch them). I think you'll be fine with the new bulb. Like Rina, I also use a 100w CFL bulb. I have a grow light too that I got from Amazon. Also, if they are shriveling a bit they may just be responding to the repot. Give it time. And, finally, like Rina, I strongly suggest a mending that soil with perlite- sooner the better. At least 50% perlite in that mix. I know it says it's fast draining and made for C&S - but it's all lies! Also, when you repot don't water for at least a week. Two would be better. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Whether Joe's claim about who speaks against grit has any merit or not, I do use gritty mixes, and in various formulas. Making it "wrong" is one problem with it because the "right" way depends on your climate, plant, watering habits, size of your pot, etc. Al tells people all the time that his 1-1-1 gritty mix recipe can be altered to hold more or less water. Few people know what the right ratios are for them BEFORE they ever mix it, which means one might have to adjust the ratios after the plant has been growing a while. Personally, I don't want to have to repot a plant after a few months to adjust its mix and experiment. $10-$15 for a bag of Turface, $2-$15 for bark, $10 for granite, plus screens in 3 sizes, Foliage Pro fertilizer or calcium and magnesium to mix into the grit, and probably containers to store your grit and/or grit constituents, all seem like a lot of money to me for just one cutting, but everyone is different. People who try grit but aren't successful with it often switch back to soil, leave GardenWeb, or stop posting about because posting anything that isn't in favor of the mix can lead to attacks and accusations from some of its almost cult-like followers, but a Google domain search of this site using "failure to thrive in gritty mix," "problems with gritty mix," "plants dying in gritty mix" and the like brings up plenty of posts by people who have problems with it, and people who gave up on it. I'm not sure why some people refuse to see both the pros and cons of the mix, but it is definitely a point of contention on this forum, which can lead to more problems because it then becomes difficult to get unbiased help with it when a problem does arise. That said, many people do like it, and are successful, but be warned that it can be difficult to adjust to. One issue I find frustrating is watering densely planted pots. Water pours right through grit, so you have to water the entire surface rather than watering at an edge and letting the water flow over the surface and under the foliage like you can do with most soils. To keep rosettes dry, for example, I was dunking some pots for a while, but that meant a lot of wasted fertilizer, and it was a pain. I now use a laboratory squirt bottle to get into all the spaces under and between rosettes, but it still isn't a good method for some plants. I'll post a photo of my water bottle, and some photos of plants that are especially difficult to water in grit, just so you have an idea of that particular challenge.