Welcome newcomer! I am also a nut about desert plants, probably because I live in Southern California. Anyway, I have always found the watering schedules for mesembs to be quite confusing. This post helped me out a lot http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10071. I was in fact doing some things incorrectly, and was able to correct my mistakes in time to save the plant. I hope this helps. Keep in mind that he grows his plants outside in Southern California, so there may need to be some adjustment to suite your plants needs in your area. I suggest simply talking on forums with people growing mesembs in a roughly similar climate as your own, e.g. rainfall schedule, etc. Good luck!

I'd bet your potting mix has a fair amount of peat in it. When the peat dries out, the roots die. Then, when you water again, the plant rots because it is sitting in wet soil. If you eliminate the peat, the roots will not die and you can water safely because there will be roots to absorb the water. In the ground, the roots are alive and well. That's why it is healthy despite less water. Also, in a pot the roots heat up quickly and can cook. That doesn't happen in the ground. Try to find a spot where the pots are shaded. You can try lining up the pots right next to each other to block out sun, and place a brick along the south side to shade the exposed surfaces. Mesembs like cool soil conditions. In nature, they grow in cracks and under quartz where the soil is cooler than the air. Try using fine gravel, Turface, pumice and/ or perlite in high concentrations, mixed with a little garden soil or topsoil. Avoid peat and those pre-packaged cactus mixes in a bag.

endi - I'm with Rina on this one, judging from the pictures, the soil does looks really dense and peaty. What type of cactus mix do you use? Most commercial cactus/succulent mixes contains peat soil and are detrimental to the well being of these plants in the long term. Unless you can make variations like what Rina suggested, adding purlite/grits into your soil. Wilting leaves are usually signs of the roots not being able to effectively take in water, and on the other hand, when you overwater, the roots are prone to rotting instead of taking the water in. IMO, your immediate choice is to repot them in the best medium you can find possible to minimize any of those risk. If you ever watered well-draining soil like most of the people in the forum here uses (gritty mix), water almost sips out the pot in less than a second, that's why its defined as "fast draining soil". As for Sun, this needs a little more care, because every plant has different preference to sunlight needs. I try to slowly acclimatize my new plants to more sun during the weekends, but during weekdays as I work in the daytime, I leave those who prefer lesser sun on spots away from the window with occasional sun. 1) Babytoes - depending on the season, their sunlight needs varies; since they started turning pale when you gave them full; you might want to slowly start them with just 1-2 hours per day for a good week, and make slow increments weekly. http://www.cactusjungle.com/plant_pages/fenestraria_aurantiaca.htm 2) Devil's tongue - Ferocactus Latispinus - It doesn't seem like rot, but usually rot starts from places that accumulate water for a prolonged period of time, and from the structure of your cactus, there is no way water can cause rot on the crown of your plant, so you might want to check the the roots of the plant as that is the most common way it spreads. If it's sunburnt, you might want to slowly increase its sun exposure as describe above, but from the link posted below suggests full sun. http://www.cactusjungle.com/plant_pages/ferocactus_latispinus.html 3) Aloe Juvenna - I don't have much experience growing Aloes, but I'm pretty sure you will be fine following the tips provided by Rina and Crenda above. As well as the link below about Juvenna http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1801018/aloe-juvenna-just-boughtwhat-do-i-do-with-this Best of luck with your plant rescue! Bernard

Erica - It's not a Pleiospillos or split rock, but rather an Argyroderma. Not sure which species, but the keeled leaf is quite distinctive and may help you identify it further. These are super cool! Yes, it is like Lithops that you should not water until the old leaves are totally absorbed. I can't tell if yours is growing a second head or just have many pairs of extra leaves from generous watering. Be very careful because when overwatered the leaves can get too bloated and split/scar. They require as much sun/light as possible (maybe a little bit of shade in the summer if kept outside). If you decide to repot, going very mineral rich/gritty is recommend. =)