Melissa, I'm not familiar with the commercial gritty mix you're using. When you water it, does the water run straight through like it does with Al's gritty mix, or through straight grit, pumice, perlite, gravel, etc.? If you can photograph a handful of it, that would be very helpful.

How recent did you move the plants to the gritty mix, and did you rinse the roots of all previous mix first?

assuming you did rinse the roots, and the plants have been in the mix less than 2 years, and the mix is comparable to Al's formula (lots of assumptions), my hypothesis is that they are all severely dehydrated. Gritty mix (like Al's) dry so rapidly that roots often have trouble colonizing the pot initially, and tend to die back if not watered every day, or even several times per day, depending on climate and so on. If you moved your plants to such a mix, and didn't baby them for the first couple seasons before switching to your current watering g schedule, they likely don't have enough roots for the way you water.

if any of my assumptions are wrong, I'll need to rethink things, but that's my guess with the info I have (oh, and the living bits of string of pearls are the parts that rooted before they died).

Oops, and the proper name for 'moonglow' I believe is 'a grim one.' That's the registered name of a similar plant, anyway. Altman seems to use 'Moonglow.' You can check that against the database at http://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel?akID=63&aaID=2&aiID=A&aID=153

Melissa

Why do you think it is not Senecio rowleyanus?

I have my plant in hanging pot, and in very gritty mix (grit, perlite and small amount of turface) + about 10-15% of coir - I was short on gritty mix, so put in handful of what I had at the time of repotting. The plant has about 3.5' long strands. I water it approx. every 2 weeks, very thoroughly. It is outside, in about 5hrs of sun - I would give it even more, but that's where the hook is :) If it gets too dry, leaves will start shrivelling. Some info on net says water 1/mo, but I find that too long.

There is definitely a 'learning curve' with using mix that is different. Underwatering seems to be one of them. If there are no roots, or very poor root system - plants will not thrive.

I use very gritty mix (no soil at all) and find it great. Plants are outdoors, exposed to any rain we may get. I was away for 3weeks this June, and they all survived (over 200 succulents) except 1 cactus - it was in original 'soil'. They got 'watered' by rain; sitting in the middle of garden with no protection of any kind. Temps were in thirties (that is C).

If you live in hot climate, you may need to water more often in gritty mix than someone living in cooler region. Constant humidity presents other problems.

While there are many ppl that have 'problems' with gritty mix, make sure - when reading their post - that you read the posts carefully. Many make 'gritty' mix from ingredients that are not best in size (for example: mixing in gravel that is too large doesn't help), or combine them in proportions that are skewed. I only opened quickly first 2 threads - this seems to be a problem with #2 (E. PvN - mix of 40% soil+10% cocopeat+50%gravel...)

Others leave too much caked-on peat on the root ball...I am not going to name all of the problems as there are many; and while some have negative experience - pls. just read carefully to understand what their real problem was/is. There are many ppl that use gritty mix and grow fantastic, healthy plants. There are others, that use much more (or only) 'soil' and also do.

I second what Rina says above,. I would also take the statement that gritty mix is for people who "overwater their plants to death" and is "not much use otherwise" with a bushel of salt. Aside from being an overgeneralization, this statement is not true. Of course, it has use outside of these very narrow perimeters. And that use is as a potting medium. There are many people who use the gritty mix successfully for a wide range of plants.

there is, as Rina points out, a learning curve with the gritty mix. And this doubly so when you are new to it and attempting to use it for plants with an immature root system. It took me some time and patience to figure out how to work with it. I think people are surprised to find that using gritty mix can be challenging at first because it seems, in theory, so simple.

I experiment with different types of media. And it is a good way to get to know my plants better. I wouldn't discourage someone from trying new things, including the gritty mix, just because it didn't work out for me. Clearly, it has worked for many people, so maybe the problem rests with the user. Either way, I would suggest trying it for yourself and making your own assessment. I've found the gritty mix to be very good for my plants and the frequent watering to be something they love.

Lauren, referring to your quotes, "I wouldn't discourage someone from trying ... gritty mix just because it didn't work out for me," and "Clearly, it [gritty mix] has worked for many people, so maybe the problem rests with the user. Either way, I would suggest trying it for yourself and making your own assessment."

OP's failing plants ARE in gritty mix. Look up Bonsai Jack's gritty mix. It is the same ingredients, ratios, and particle sizes as Al's. Her other plants improved when moved out of gritty mix and back into a soil mix.

KWie, that doesn't change the fact that you made a very general statement about the use value of gritty mix, nor does it change my response. I said that there is a learning curve with gritty mix that may throw users for a loop. Rina pointed out the numerous other factors they may lead to an unsuccessful result.

I was simply adding some nuance to your very narrow representation of the use value of gritty mix. You said it is good for Aloes and not much else. Obviously that is not the case because plenty of people use it for other types of plants.

And, I maintain that the user plays perhaps the largest part in this equation. The fact that you can't use it and others can is proof of that.

So, I really don't see where your problem with my comment is. At the least, I tried to complicate your remarkably simplistic and overly broad statements.

I just pointed out that the OP is already using gritty mix, Lauren. If someone has a problem with your post, it isn't me.

And I was just pointing out that she shouldn't be discouraged by such a broad statement as yours. I don't mean to sound snarky, but I cannot think of another way to say that.

I apologize for taking so long to respond back to you all. I really appreciate all the advice provided.

kwie2011 - these String of Pearls started out with roots but during the process of trying to get them healthy again, I thought I should cut off where the old mushy and wrinkled parts were and plant just the ends with the new buds. I planted these strands without roots into the Bonsai Jack mix. Like Rina mentioned, if there are no roots the plant will not survive in the gritty mix. This is the problem...in fact, a few weeks ago I moved some unhealthy Firesticks from gritty mix to soil and had growth right away. They were cuttings so they had no roots.

Rina - Since owning succulents I have come to find I am one of those prone to underwatering. Where I live my temps average 70 degrees everyday, very little rain and humidity isn't a problem but I live near the beach and experience a marine layer coming in during the night and leaves my plants covered in mist. I don't know if that seeps enough into the soil to reach the roots...I wouldn't have any problem with peat on the root ball because I wash off the roots before replanting. Is that a bad thing to do?

Lauren - I have learned a lot so far from experimenting with the gritty mix. I agree that there is definitely a learning curve. I thought I could put all my succulents in gritty mix and I'd have no problems but it isn't that easy, as I have come to find! That is the fun part about all this though.

I am going to move my String of Pearls to soil for now but I will not give up on gritty mix ;-)

Thanks again for all the help guys!

Melissa

Washing off all old peat from roots is the best way. It's a bit more work but pays off in the long term.

There are some plants and cuttings that I have quite a bit of difficulty starting off in my usual gritty mix. It's just too dry (or something) and they don't get anywhere! For these picky pieces, I use perlite or gritty with much more pumice or small turface at the top/around the cutting/tiny roots. Once they are doing well, I'll move them over and things go much better.

Gritty mix does have a bit of a learning curve to it - my first batch was a disaster. After potting and unpotting so many plants of different species in it since then, it's almost second nature.

If I suspect the mix I put a plant in isn't working very well, after a couple weeks or month I'll just take it out and try a different mix ratio. Usually the roots and overall plant health give enough clues to what I'm doing wrong. =)

Mellisa

Just a bit of confusion: ..."Like Rina mentioned, if there are no roots the plant will not survive in the gritty mix"... I re-read my post and it is bit confusing the way I wrote it: ...There is definitely a 'learning curve' with using mix that is different. Underwatering seems to be one of them. If there are no roots, or very poor root system - plants will not thrive... If you misunderstood, it is my fault and I am sorry about that. I was not trying to say they will not thrive in gritty mix only - but it reads that way. I grow and also root many succulents in very gritty mix without any soil. Some ppl claim that gritty doesn't work for them (roots or no roots). I have opposite experience and also have many non-succulent plants potted in gritty mix. What I do say it succulents without roots should not be watered for a while as there are no roots to take water in. All succulents suffer if they sit in wet soil/mix for too long even with roots.

If you tend to underwater, I understand that your plants may be thirsty since gritty mix may dry up much faster. It can be adjusted by using slightly more of the ingredient that holds more water - in my case it is turface (and I use less of it). I still use the same ingredients because I like how the mix drains - and more importantly, succulents like it - just in slightly different ratio.

Many succulents come from areas with little rain but with mist and/or fog as you have. That is the moisture they use and store. So it is not a problem. I do not know if it is enough or not (I would think they still need some watering), and since I never lived in that kind of climate, I do not have personal experience.

If you washed peat off the roots, that is the best thing to do. Many ppl don't, just plop it into gritty mix, and surprisingly - plant has problems as before. Peat will either keep them too wet or if it totally dried up and became hydrophobic, they get very little, if any water, regardless how much and how often they are watered.

I have lost just few plants when I first repotted into gritty mix. I started adjusting it little, and found out it works very well. There are many ingredients that can be used - but the principle of it is what works: fast draining off of the excess water. I would keep all my plants in it - but some would be way too heavy as they are huge (non-succulent plants, like my 8' tall ficus Benjamina...).

Rina, how much rainfall do you get during the months your plants are outside? I'm not surprised that potted succulents exposed to rain would do better in gritty mix. I would think that gritty mix would be absolutely necessary. Do you have Sempervivums outside in gritty mix all year?

kwie

Plants go outside toward end of May and come back beginning of October, usually - I brought them in about 10 days ago since we had few nights of below freezing. So as you can see, they spend little more time indoors than outdoors - unfortunately...I can only give you rain averages listed for my area based on records for years 2000-2011 - May: 3.25"; June: 2.35"; July: 2.75"; Aug: 2.15"; Sept: 2.75".

Last few years we had less rain and higher temps, I do not have exact data but temp-wise we broke records about 42 (can't remember exactly) years old...Last year (2015) I had a sheet of plastic rolled up above the shelves holding my succulents in case of lots of rain - I unrolled it and covered them on, IIRC, 4 occasions since we had 4 consecutive days of heavy rain 1 time, and rain+very strong wind on few other occasions. This year I did not even set it up and only opened sun umbrella for most 'sensitive' succulents 2x (doesn't cover them completely, and doesn't protect many plants as you can imagine).

I keep all my semps outdoors, many in containers (those are in gritty mix), some in ground. I have been growing semps for about 27years, never kept them indoors.