No need to use any alcohol, it looks like sunburn. If you put it into stronger sunlight suddenly, it would burn. All plants should be acclimatized to better light. Some spots could be also mechanical damage.

If you don't mind, I would suggest potting it into a hanging-type pot on it's own: once it takes off and start growing, the pot will fill up fast. They are not so easy to handle when big and need repotting - as you found out, leaves fall off easily. Any fallen leaves will sprout and most will grow into new plants, just toss them on surface and let them be.

Yan,

Thank you for responding so quickly! I dabbed the alcohol the first time about a month ago, and then again about a week or so ago, and then maybe again yesterday I think. I tried to keep it out of the sun after I did it, but based on your and Rina's comments I'm thinking it probably is sunburn that either was there when I bought it (and I just didn't know/realize/care) or happened within the first few days I had the plant (before I realized you need to gradually get plants used to bright light/heat).

I have recently learned that I should be quarantining new plants -- definitely haven't been doing that! I just get so excited and impatient! :-) I also didn't know I should be rinsing the roots completely clean before repotting until recently ... :-( Now I know this, but I still don't know what "healthy" roots look like (versus unhealthy roots). I suppose I will learn over time! :-)

Thank you so much for clarifying that it's a burrito's tail -- I couldn't quite tell from pictures online.

Rina,

Thanks so much for responding! I am relieved to learn it's likely sunburn (I think there may be mechanical damage, or maybe where a cutting was taken, in one spot).

Since I've looked up pictures of this plant since buying it, I've noticed most people have them in hanging baskets! I will definitely have to get one for mine as it gets bigger. Hopefully it will be ok where it is for a little while? I can take out the other plants in that pot and it can take over the whole thing until I can get a hanging basket.

It's funny you mention the leaves -- a leaf off it just so happens to be my first and only (nearly) successful propagation attempt -- and it was accidental and already "sprouting" when I found it! :-) None of the other leaves that have fallen from it seem to have started growing yet.

Well healthy roots are usually white-hot or yellow, bad roots can either look black and mushy or black and shriveled. You'll learn in time, inevitably you will have plants that come with root Rot or have that happen and you will see for yourself.

Glad you're learning so much here. Make sure let the roots dry after you rinse them. And if you have broken off any large root stems, let it callous over for a few days.

Leaving it as is fine. What's the current soil mix?

That is really helpful about the roots -- thank you! (I mean I figured black and mushy was bad, but I really had no clue what "good" was! :-) ) So far all my plants except my aloe and an Easter cactus are pretty small so their roots are tiny. (Except my Haworthias...they all have seriously thick root systems going on, and look root bound as soon as I buy them -- so I'm thinking this must just be the nature of their roots.) I need to be ok with losing a few roots when I repot; I'm just so worried about protecting their tiny hairlike roots that I've been hesitant to give them a good wash. I'll pick a couple and give it a try and see how it goes! Thanks for the tip to let the roots dry before repotting -- will do!

Current soil mix is a mix of Black and Gold C&S soil and some pumice. I was aiming for a roughly 60/40 mix (the Black and Gold C&S mix has a lot of pumice in it, which is why I wasn't going for an even 50-50 -- worried I'd have too much pumice) but it might be closer to 70/30? (I'm toying with the idea of doing a soil-less gritty mix, but haven't yet committed -- or found all necessary ingredients at feasible prices and accessibility. :-) I'll probably be asking some questions about that before long...)

I've just learned in another thread that I might be UNDER watering one of my other small-leafed ground-covering like sedums! Do you happen to know if burrito's tail requires a little more water than my other low maintenance succulents? My burrito's tail seems to be doing ok in terms of water, I think...

Hmm I've no experience raising those because my was rotting when i bought it. Only today I potted the cutting. But I read that they require a more water than others in summer but also need very well draining soil since they rot when overly moist.

Well underwatering is easier to fix than over watering so that's good. Just beware that overwatering symptoms look very much like underwatering, but you can tell the difference by the black rot or how fast the symptoms progress, with overwatering killing your plant in days where as underwatering take much much longer.

I'd say you have a good mix for now. More pumice just means it'll drain better. Mineral mix aka gritty mix aka soiless mix would be the most ideal, since it is much more controllable and best suited for them.

Yeah, I'm really itching to try the soilless/gritty mix...if I can get small quantities of all the ingredients I'll go ahead and try it out on a few pots to see how I like it. I've just had trouble tracking them down.

I don't live in the US but I've heard only good things about General Pumice Products. Apparently its free shipping too?

You could check them out.

http://www.generalpumiceproducts.com

Pumice is the ONE ingredient I'm able to get locally :-) -- I think the granite grit I will need to drive a little ways to find, but the big problem is the turface that I really have no clue where to get.

I will check out the link and see if it's cheaper to order pumice through them instead of getting it locally, since it's free shipping! Thanks!

You don't need Pumice AND Turface strictly speaking. Both serve the same purpose. They absorb water and release it slowly. And technically speaking Pumice is superior since it will last longer. You can just add varying amounts of Pumice to grit to vary how wet it stays.

Grit should be available at any local hardware store or even aquarium gravel works too(bit expensive tho) . Try chicken grit, that should be easier to locate and cheaper. The point of this is a material that doesn't retain moisture and grit is best for that.

The most important part is uniform particle size, you can use a kitchen strainer of adequate pore size or if you locate some strainer of any kind is good.

Then, if you want to only, experiment by using the mix in empty pots, no need to put your plants at risk. See how long each mix would take to dry thoroughly. Oh yeah don't forget to get some wooden skewers.

Oh, wow! That is excellent info -- just what I've been wondering. I wasn't sure if pumice by itself retains enough water. I think I can come up with a pumice and grit mix from stuff I can find around here. I have seen the small, expensive bags of grit at my local hardware store, but I'm hoping to find larger quantities more cheaply at a farm supply store a couple of towns over. Would you suggest starting with a 50/50 pumice and grit mix, and then do the plant-less pot test with wooden skewers like you say?

I guess this test tells me how often I would need to water in that mixture, correct? So for example if it was totally dry in 4 days, I should water every 5 days or so? Or should I be aiming for something that stays wet for even less time?

Adding strainer and wooden skewers to shopping list! Thanks!

Yes it would tell you a lot of things. How moisture retaining it is, how well it drains(don't forget drainage holes). And according to that data you know how you can adjust to each plant. For example most zebra plants don't mind being a bit more moist, and Aloe even more so. Then there's Echeveria that prefer no wetness because they Rot easily. And then there's mesembs(lithops), split rocks, those little butts might need 100% grit. But people grow them in 100% Pumice too, so idk, it depends on your climate.

Also it would be good to do a little rinse/wash on the materials you buy to get rid of any dust within it and to sift out the very fine particles.

ETA: oh yeah, if it turns out they dry out too quickly, then maybe you need Turface but I highly doubt you would need it. Pumice is just that great. If it dries too quickly you just need to water more often, whenever long it takes to dry. But that's still gonna be like once a week at most. Just depends on your preferences and climate.

Happy testing!

Should you get turface (or other products that perform same as Dry stall or Napa 8822), you do not need C&S soil IMO - those products drain well, have bigger (better than soil) particle size but they hold some water internally = that is good. Using both (soil and one of these) could make your mix too water retaining (soil will do that mostly).

For this plant, you could use mix of 60/40 C&S soil+sifted perlite, or even 50/50. Do not worry about too much perlite. If you eventually put it into a hanging basket, adding grit could make it too heavy. These plants will be OK with less inorganic mix comparing to most other succulents. And you don't need to rush with repotting or taking plants out right away - just letting you know what is coming down the road (as plant gets more vigorous growth). My is older, I have taken many, many cuttings, have 2 large hanging baskets that I keep cutting as there is never enough space for overwintering...they also stay outside whole summer until late fall, and I keep them in sunny spot (sunrise 'till about 2pm) - but they have to be very well acclimatize. Plants with 'juicy' leaves like that usually burn easier.

I would not use pumice - but you have plenty of it. I would save it for other plants. Do as you wish tho.

I get chicken grit from farm supply store and is least expensive of ingredients $10/50lb bags. Make sure to get grit without any added crushed shells. Small bags sold in stores are way too expensive & suitable to buy if you have only very few plants and no way of getting grit in bulk. That goes for pretty well anything - more you buy, better the price :)

Ewing Irrigation carries the Turface MVP. Call the place nearest you to see if they have it in stock. (ok, that's the mom in me telling you to call first. lol)

https://www.ewingirrigation.com/locations

Yan,

Glad to hear aloe is ok being a little wet...I've got an aloe x spinosissima that was nearly dead after being neglected for a year outside. I repotted it in some Miracle Gro C&S (before I knew to mix it) in a glazed pot. I want to repot it now that I'm slightly wiser about best soil substrates because I'm worried about the soil being too wet, but it has pups coming off of it every which way and seems to be doing just excellent, so I'm reluctant to uproot it before this winter.

I'm really glad to hear you think pumice will be ok with turface and that pumice is great -- I had it in my head that it doesn't hold any water at all, so I was a little concerned since my climate has very low humidity in the summer. But sounds like I can adapt by maybe a twice a week watering schedule or something. Thanks!

Rina,

Right -- if I switch to a gritty mix, I'll abandon the C&S soil altogether. For now, I'm doing a mix, but ideally I'd like to use no soil at all. I just don't really want to buy a huge thing of turface (plus having to drive a bit to do it). I called a few farm supply stores about Dry Stall -- no luck, but one did have Stall Dry, which I was about to purchase before finding a comment (in these forums I think?) that it's actually not the same as Dry Stall, so I'm not sure now. I checked a couple of oil absorbents at Ace Hardware, but the ingredients just said "clay" and I wasn't sure if that was ok. I will try to go to Napa today or tomorrow and check for 8822 -- thanks! I won't repot it right away, so I have some time to seek out ingredients.

I didn't think about grit making the hanging basket too heavy -- makes sense!

I have 3 small pieces of the burrito's tail now -- 2 are in 1 container and the other is alone. I guess they are probably acclimatized to the sun by now since the sunburns don't seem to be getting worse.

The only chicken grit I could find at my local store was in a small bag (3 or 5 pounds?) and was nearly $10. :-) I passed, and will have to check stores in other towns for this super cheap grit I keep reading about!

Crenda,

Looks like there's one of those about a 30 minute drive from me -- so thanks for the advice, I will DEFINITELY call before driving out there to check! :-)

Tuface is clay, but it has been 'baked' at high temps after mining. So anything similarly treated will work. Even some kitty litters...but not a lumping one (and no to scented), and not all perform well - so you would be taking chance with it. Dry stall and Stall dry are 2 different things from what I read too - never used either so can't speak from personal experience.

Maybe you should read here - click me about cat litter, and some other substrates. There is a freeze - thaw test that can be done with any substrate, I believe there is description of test in the linked article.

I do not (and never had) use C&S soil or any soil. But you are in warmer climate and should make a mix that suits your conditions. Turface holds more water than pumice and/or perlite, grit practically none.