Were they left in the rain? The soil still looks wet. At the very least the soil should be mixed with 50% perlite. I think it looks like rot. Humid conditions arent good after watering bcuz it makes the soil stay wetter longer. they NEED excellent drainage. Good luck with them, i hope youre able to save whats left. Also if you notice black stems etc. You should cut them, let them callus, and then replant. No roots, no water. Once tgeres new growth youll know they have roots again. If you do have to cut rot off of any, youll want to sterilze your blade in between cuts making sure that you get all the black parts. im sure some others will chime in with help good luck

I grow both cacti and succulents but mostly cacti. Succulent illness are easy to predict. You seem to have an overwatering problem through out all dead or rotted plants and remove dead leaves or rotten roots replant in new soil good luck!

Noah

Most of them the leave are just turning dark and not rotting. They were never in the rain although I did give them a good watering but there is drainage. Is it possible that after a watering and humid conditions in greenhouse that ALL 15 containers would be affected? I am just so devastated. I have been so careful not to over water. Have you ruled out fungus?

I think that is a great idea marguerite only problem is the squirrels. They eat them and dig them up. It is unbelievable how much they love them. They even dug under the greenhouse when we first got it to get to them. My husband had to dig a trench and put down steel mesh to keep them out. It has been quite an ordeal keeping these things alive. Now to have this happen is just devastating to me.

Im sorry but to me it looks like rot. When watering, i would avoid gettind it on the rosette. In your last pic, in the bottom left and the upper left (more in the upper left,only onr white spot in the bottom left) is it possible for you to take a close up pic of the white stuff?

I will try and take a picture. I have already thrown them out but I think I can retrieve some. I would agree that it is rot from water but the roots and stem are still intact. Well, the ones that are obviously smush are not but the ones that are black and brown and leaves falling off like crazy are. It is so weird. I have already removed from pots and in the process of putting back in. I purchased cactus soil. Now to replace the 40 to 50 percent that I lost. I am so sad

Thank you for all your help! Here is another thought. There was some cactus in each one of the pots. The cactus was not affected at all.

So let me ask...why did you buy these plants so far in advance of the wedding in the first place?

Christopher

@kaktuskris - Well, I was new to the succulent world so I wanted to make sure I could do it first off, then add to it through out the months, propagate, growth, save money, etc, etc, etc. Mostly, I wanted to buy small plants and let them grow. I have lost very few over the past year and have learned so much. Just not enough... Following picture is one a few months ago before the ???? I guess, looking back I have wasted time and money since I have to replace so many. I have hundreds of leaves growing but don't think they will mature enough before big event. After starting over today and replacing soil and replanting, it would be safe to say that I have lost 50% of the plants. Part of me really wants to say it is not over watering, but in reality I hope that it is because if there is disease or fungus and this starts over after redoing it all....... UGH

Not sure why they rotated like that. I can't figure out how to turn them.... My husband has made a wrought iron stand for these to sit on half of the tables. You can get the idea I hope.

Unfortunatley mixed pots are hard to care for bcuz they can have different needs and diffetent growing seasons especially for someone just starting out. Trust me i have made the same mistake, im sure there are a lot of us who have. I hope the ones you just replanted are in soil mixed with atleast 50 percent perlite. If not you need to consider doing so or you could be facing more losses. Good luck i hope it all works out for you

LilBit7765 I used a potting soil for cactus and it said well draining. Not sure if it is 50% perlite though. I hope it will work. Any advice other than not to over water to keep them healthy and alive until end of September.

Unfortunatley, they throw a name on a bag to get you to buy it. just alone it will hold WAY TOO MUCH water. You can buy perlite at big box stores. Rinse b4 you add it, but add ATLEAST 50% perlite to the pot, i myself would go closer to 75%. Dont water after yo replant for a week. And if tge plant has no roots, dont water until you see new growth. And only wayer when the soil is completely dry. You can use a pencil or a scewer. Hope this helps

Some of those plants look sunburned to me.. Good luck!

Thank you LilBit for all your help, I hope I am not driving you crazy but one more thing? What do I do with the succulents I have cut away from the roots if I can't water them. After callusing I usually just stuck them back into the soil and forgot about them. No problem for over a year until now.

Breton2, I wondered if they got sunburned the day I put them out for a few hours. I would be convinced that was the case but a few of them were developing dark spots before the sun day. Should I treat them with a fungicide? I am so confused

Does anyone have any recommendations on what succulents I should use and ones I should NOT? Remember I live in South Texas and the weather gets crazy here. It is really humid right now. I want some that will get big and dramatic, not necessarily tall just big and some of various sizes???? I have lost most of my big ones some. Started with the black leaves and leaves just starting falling off. Roots seemed okay. It was really strange to me

After reading your post, I was to suggest they probably got sunburned. After you put them back to warm & humid GH. Maybe that's why they 'turn to mush'. Sunburn is not fungus, so fungicide will not help. If some leaves started getting black spots before they were put into full sun, I would say they were over watered.

LilBit gave you very good advice - buy bag of perlite, rinse and add lots of it to your soil. I would add some gravel too, to improve drainage.

I would suggest to pot up plants into individual pots. That way, in case you overwater some, you may have only few casualties. If you have so many in one pot - all of them would go at the same time.

After cutting callused, yes, stick them into soil. Do not water right away, they need to develop roots first. And don't keep them in strongest sun and humid GH. I think they would be better off outside, where there would be good air circulation. If you have to keep them in GH, I would seriously consider few fans to move the air.
Rina

Thank you so very much for your advice everyone. Does anybody have a recommended plant or plants that can be recommended to replace the ones I lost

Recommendations for new plants? Anyone?

Judging by the pattern of necrosis, especially on the bottom photo of that first post, some plants are sunburned. You can see the stark line between live and dead tissue, and even picture the how parts of the plant were shaded. It also looks to me like the soil might be a bit rich and damp, but it's hard to be sure, and during the growing season, many succulents are quite tolerant of damp media, and one can't be sure how long the medium has been wet. If you just watered them, of course it'll be damp.

Sunburn can take several days to become noticeable. When you put them out to get fresh air, did you set them in more sun than they get in the greenhouse? Or, since the sunnier days of spring have arrived for much of the country, is the greenhouse shelf where they're kept suddenly exposed to much more sun than it was over the winter?

Like others have suggested, I'd root salvageable leaves, discard plants with "melted" stems, and remove any leaves that are damaged at the base. I would not remove leaves that are only damaged at the tips or edges because those leaves can still photosynthesize and feed the plant. Removing them will just slow the plant's recovery. I'd also check soil and root systems to be sure nothing is too wet, too dry, or mushy. Prolific roots will mean the medium and watering regimen are ok. Reduced root systems coukd indicate over-, or under-watering in some species. I'm told that some species' roots die back naturally during dormancy, but I haven't read any studies in it, so I'm not sure whether it's true or just Internet rumor.

Echeveria are summer growers and come in a fabulous array of colors, sizes and shapes. Sempervivums are similar, also summer growers, and very hardy. Graptosedums grow quickly and easily from leaves, are available in many amazing colors, and are very hardy (I'm in a very different climate here). If blues and pinks are in the wedding palate, those should give you plenty of choices. You'll also find brown, black, red, burgundy, and of course, many shades of green.

Thank you very much for your response kwie2011. I have already thrown out very sick plants even with some good leaves. I was afraid of fungus. It does look like the soil is wet in the pictures but I don't think that it was. Shadows maybe. I have since repotted with new soil using a cactus blend with added perlite. My trays look bare. I watered for the first time after a week yesterday as instructed by another responder. They are still in greenhouse but with exhaust fan running constantly. We are having lots of rain in Texas so don't want let them out just yet. I worry about the humidity though. Orange, cactus green, and brown are wedding colors so I think any succulent will go with it.

Southeast Texas. I've been potting mine in 50% potter's mix and 50% construction sand and water them once a week. I've had no problems with this mix as far as rot has gone. It's just the rain that's been a major problem.

I am having the same problem. I've bought at least 100 succulents since Feb mainly from Home Depot and Lowes in different states and 99% of them have this. Most of them came from CactusCollection (Altman plants) I am convinced it's not root rot from overwatering. On mine, the problem starts with a bottom leaf turning black (like in your photos) and moves up the plant. The roots and base of plant initially appear fine (when leaves first turn black) then plants basically collapses and dies. I have taken cuttings from several plants hoping to save them but no success so far.

I sent a message to Altman's inquiring as to what the problem is.

This disease/fungus had a distinct odor...

Lizzy, what you describe is classic stem rot from too much water or poor drainage. What factors convince you that the plants aren't too wet? Growing medium, size and type of pot, and drainage make an enormous difference, and many things that most growers don't think about can actually factor into that. For example, mixing media, such as when you pull a plant from a grower's pot, soil and all, and pot it into new mix, can spell disaster because grower's mixes are often absorbent peat, so when you water the cactus mix (or any mix that's less absorbent than the grower's mix), the peat sucks all the moisture into the root ball and drowns your plant even as the rest of the soil APPEARS dry. If you'll post some photos and descriptions, I think we can help you sort out your problem. There is a lot of combined exfience on this forum.

I have left the plants in the small containers they were in when I bought them. The reason I think it's a systemic problem from the growers is because I've shopped at numerous Lowes and Home Depots and have watched their supply of succulents die. Some gradually-some eventually. If you go in the succulent area it's obvious something's not right. Further, Unfortunately, I've had root rot before and this isn't it. Most of the plants have been on my back porch with no water for weeks,--I did this to observe whether this would stop them from dying. But it didn't. So I've plants that are dry as a bone developing this disease.

I don't use regular potting soil with my succulents but a gritty mix. Thanks for you reply. I have throw the latest affected plants away but will post when I've pictures.

lizzy

I am not sure I would blame the grower (in this case Altman). I have bought their plants here in Canada and didn't have problems you are describing. Of course, maybe I was just lucky.

I find that it is the sellers that cause biggest problems. Plants are usually stuck on shelves wherever they fit - light, no light; air, no air circulation. Heaven for any disease to spread. Very often all mixed up together. And biggest problem is "THE WATERING DAY" - everything is sprayed with a hose, without any regards for type of plant (it's water needs). That's how they get mold-fungus-rot-bugs...

If you happen to be in store day or just after they received shipment, plants are probably in reasonable shape. But aftercare is seldom even close to appropriate.

These stores don't have experienced ppl taking care of plants, and just try/hope to sell plants quickly. They are not their main merchandise. They always have much more in spring when annuals and perennials for outdoor planting are in demand.

My biggest beef is Wallmart - few of them I visited had the worst plants ('indoor plants') I have seen. I am sure others may have different experience...Rina

Lizzy, I agree with Rina. Every home improvement store I'vebeen to uses that same watering method. Plants are alternately over- and under-watered. The result is root death, and then rot. Lack of light and spring temperatures that are too low for growing add to the problem.

Grit can be very tricky. It is as easy, or probably easier, to under-water grit as it is over-water potting soil. Often grower's are just trading one issue for another.

Another issue with grit is rinsing all the grower's soil from the roots. Just a little bit left behind can lead to rot, but washing clean the roots of abused box store plants can also lead to trouble. The plants are often already in poor health, and washing damages fine roots, removes pretty much all root hairs, and can break roots- which opens an avenue for infection in already-sickly plants. My feeling about rescued plants is that it is often better to let them recover in the original pot until they're strong enough for transplanting. That depends largely on the condition of the plant, the roots, and the potting medium though. Each has to be assessed separately.

Allowing an over-watered plant to dry out after rot has already begun won't stop the rot. The infection has already entered the plant. In my experience, little can be done at that point except to salvage unaffected parts for rooting. Those have to be severed from the plant before the infection reaches those tissues or they are also doomed.

Dry as a bone is never good for a plant. It kills root systems, but doesn't kill bacteria or fungi that have already entered the succulent leaf and stem tissues. Without viable roots, the plant has to pull its stores of energy from leaves and stems in order to grow more roots when/if water becomes available. Meanwhile, it can't absorb water, so when it does get watered, it just sits in it and rots. That's the box store problem with alternately over- and under-watering.

There are so many variables. We haven't even touched on types of succulents, dormancy, temperature, lighting, or acclimation. Hopefully we'll no more when you have photos.