I am living in Canada and it is currently winter here, inside my place is an avg of 18 degrees celsius

Tyler - I think your Aloe roots are dying/mostly dead because the soil mix is too water retentive.

Since the roots are not healthy, they have difficulty bringing water to the leaves.

A better soil mix should help your aloe and other succulents. =)

Tyler

It looks like all your succulents are in very wet soil. Some nice plants there, would be shame to loose them - pls. consider more gritty and mostly inorganic mix.

Btw, quite a few members here are from Canada (like Kevin above, and me).

I use miraclegro mix for cactus and succulents. It's perfect.

Wow thank you everyone for the responses. I had just watered them before taking the picture, I was getting worried that the plant was using its own juices to stay alive. I am guessing it would be best if I make the soil myself? What ratio of sand, grit/perlite and earth would you recommend? Thank you for the compliment, I really do not want to lose any of them.

Tyler

No sand.

Personally, I would not use any bagged soil - JMO.

Grit, perlite, some small bark, turface, pumice, scoria - any of these will work. Sand only if it is horticultural sand - very coarse.

Depends on what you can easily get in your area.

Succulents are safer if under-watered rather than over-watered.

Thank you so much Rina. I think that may a problem as I was using soil that you buy in bags before I came here. Now I will go to a horticulture store and see what I can get from what you have listed. I'm not sure what is easily obtainable here, I am in Montreal so it's hard to find good horticulture stores. I just hope the one I have in mind will have something like that. Unless I try and see if Canadian tire or Home Depot carry it.

Tyler

I buy grit in farm supply store - chicken grit (if you find it, get grower size, #2; others are either too small or too large). Perlite is available in many stores - CT, Rona, Wallmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, any garden center. I have hard time to find appropriate bark, so I don't use it. Turface is used on golf courses, try googling supplier for it (Turface MVP soil conditioner). The rest is more difficult to find - maybe hydroponic stores (they also carry large perlite that is good). I buy these in bulk - 50lb bags. Perlite is very light, large bags are about 10kg. It is much less expensive this way.

Mix I use for succulents is made of grit+perlite+turface in approx. 1-1-1 ratio. Post any further questions you may have.

Rina

ps: I believe there is Plant Products (where I get turface from); call them to find out. They should carry perlite too.

Laval, QC
3370 Boulevard Le Corbusier
Laval, QC, Canada H7L 4S8
Phone : 450 682-6110

Rina,

Thank you again for your help. I am off to buy the things I need. I have another question to ask you. What would be the coldest degree of temperature my aloes and cacti can handle? Where they are currently lacks in the sun department but it is warm. On the other hand my back room hovers around 10-12 degrees Celsius but it has at least 6-7 hours of direct sunlight. I feel like this situation is somewhat like the expression "out of the fire and into the frying pan". I'm worried the cold temperature will freeze them, but I am tempted because of the amount of sunlight they will receive

Tyler

II wouldn't be afraid to keep them in the back room at all, it is great if you can get that much sunlight. If they suffer from lack of light, they become leggy - etiolated. That can't be reversed. So give them all the sunlight you can.

I over-winter succulents in temps as low as 8*C. Just make sure they are not over-watered - and potting them in grittier mix you are planning on making will make that much less possible.

I go by this rule: colder it is, less watering; since it takes longer for potting mix to dry out. But with better sun you can give them, it probably won't take very long. Check for moisture with a bamboo skewer, inserted 1/2 - 2/3rds into the pot. If it comes out dry - time to water. If it feels damp and you see small particles sticking to it - there is still enough moisture and don't water for a day or few. You can also check by how heavy pot is: right after watering, lift the pot and try to remember how heavy it feels. Do the same in few days - as it dries out, it becomes lighter. After few tries you'll be able to tell.

I take all my plants outdoors as soon as night time temps are consistent 10*C - I would perhaps do it even sooner, but don't want to watch for a sudden drop in temps and drag them all indoors again.

Rina

Hey Rina,

Just wanted to give you an update. I am on the second day and It may be too soon to judge but it seems as if the process has reversed and that some of the leaves are regaining their firmness. When I emptied the pot it was interesting how the top 1/3 was dry a little moist, but the bottom 2/3 was soaked. Way too much moisture. I washed the roots and then repotted all of my plants including the cactus as well.. Last night I checked the temperature of my back room and it can get to about 7-8 degrees on a cold night I would say. You think there is a minimum above 0 that I should not let my succulents endure? It Will never go below 6 dégrées in the but I wonder if 6 is too low. I feel like they should be able to endure it if they get the direct sunlight in the afternpon but im worried to try.ntoo be honest the position they are in right now i get the impression they are talking to me and beg going for more light lol. I can see the way they lean towards the Windows in the afternoon.

Tyler

According anything I read, Aloe vera will survive 0*C. So if your back room doesn't get colder than 6*C, they should be just fine. Many plants actually like cooler nights than days.

I am glad you had chance to see how much wet soil was in that pot - referred to as 'wet feet', roots in that kind of soil will start rotting sooner or later. And they can't breath either.

When watering, you should be able to see water draining out of the pot freely. Make sure that pot doesn't sit in saucer full of water - empty it after about 15min after watering. Check with bamboo skewer before watering again (as I described in previous post).

What other plants do you have?

Rina