The above succulents I've had for many months now, and I didn't repot them because they all seemed to be doing so well. If any of them look like they need help, let me know!

I've had this one the longest, and it's never grown except for those spindly outshoots with all the aerial roots. So today I pulled off three of them and planted them in the tray from the previous post. It's not in very good light, but I'm not sure what it's trying to do. I left the mother in the original ceramic pot, which seems to have a peaty/sandy soil.

(continued in next post)

These next few are from a preplanted ceramic pot I bought from Kroger that I've had outside. They've grown really well even though they're packed in a really peaty soil. I really like the arrangement so I kind of don't want to break it up... However, I will need to bring them in for the winter.

This was right after a big thunderstorm with hail... which happened after I had watered the pot this morning. :/ Hopefully it won't be too waterlogged with temperatures back in the 80s tomorrow!

Do you think I ID'd them all right? I know some of them look pretty beat up, but hopefully on the road to recovery in new ceramic pots? Is it bad that I watered them after repotting? :(

Thanks for any feedback!

I think #23 looks like my Portulacaria afra variegata but since I'm far from an expert I could definitely be wrong. On #7 my Crassula ovata gets mineral deposits or buildup from my water in the little pores sometimes so it could be that too. Also the edges of my Kalanchoe tomentosa are smoother than it looks to me in your picture?

#23 I think you're right! The leaves are round like the Portulacaria afra. Corrected!

#7 The Crassula ovata white residue was cottony. :( I also only watered it from the bottom, so the leaves were never wet... but again didn't see any bugs! Hoping that it's the end rather than the start of an infestation, or something innocuous.

#5 Hmm, I'm not sure what else that one could be. Maybe it's just natural variation? Google may have failed me...

See how the edges of the leaves look different? For all I know I could be the one with the ID wrong though haha, good luck!

Hmm, OK - thank you this advice, Rina! How about this:

1. Use 50/50 alcohol mix on q-tip to wipe off white residue from Jade

2. Behead mystery succulents, set out heads and leaves to dry for a couple of days, place on soil (rocks?) and wait for roots before watering

3. The plants in the community pot have already doubled in size since I got them. Even with rains the pot seems to dry out relatively quick (or at least appears to, plants are too dense to check deeper down). The Senecio wilts sometimes at midday, whether it's sunny or overcast, watered or dry. So not sure what that's about, but it always seems to perk back up.
   
   I have a ceramic pot that I could transfer them to when they get too big. Are there signs I should look for, or a time of the year/temperature? Is gritty mix OK? (I've noticed lots of folks here with their succulents in pure rock)

4. Should I take out the ones I potted in gritty mix, wash off any soil, let them dry for a period and then replant? They weren't caked but they weren't completely soil-free either. What kind of light should they be in once replanted?

Hope you don't mind all the questions. I appreciate the guidance! I'm guessing the mystery succulent probably can't be ID'd until it grows properly?

If you are just using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol to remove the white sticky meallybug residue you can just dip the q-tip in pure rubbing alcohol. No need to dilute. The plant will be fine. Just keep out of direct sun for a couple days. If you don't get rid of that sticky stuff the whole meallybugs process can start, and nobody wants or needs that;).

I'd say your mystery succulent is a highly etiolated graptoveria. Maybe Douglas Huth - it will change colour in better light and show us what it is

13 looks more like Sedum clavatum to me...

The plant with white cottony stuff, move it away from all your other plants. Check and treat daily until you no longer see the white.

You can place calloused cuttings in gritty mix and keep in the shade. No water until roots form.

As for the community pot, you can check to see if it needs water by using a wooden skewer inserted into the mix. If it comes out dry you can water or even still wait a couple of days if nothing is wilting. If damp, do not water.

I agree with Rina about the double potting.

As for your number 4 question above, I would leave the plants for now. You could keep them in bright shade for a few days and then transition back into brighter light over time.

Regarding rubbing alcohol, its quite dilute. It'll say on the bottle. I've searched for stronger to work with shellac and its difficult to find.

As to double potting, its a problem if you water and there is a pool in the bottom, but otherwise I disagree. Look at plants in commercial settings. Its common there. Commercial growers often provide plants in containers anticipating double potting.

Kara - Done, thank you!

nik - Should I put it in good light now and see what happens or would it be best to make cuttings and grow from there?

breton - if you mean #14, that seems like it could be right. Darn, I was looking forward to trails of donkey tails! I think #13 actually might be Echeveria "Dusty Rose"... or one of a whole bunch of Echeveria that look nearly identical to me (E. domingo, E. peacockii, E. "Lola", E. lilacina...)

socks - Right now they're in dark shade in my kitchen. I'll be able to move to bright indirect light in the next few days when I get shelves set up. But I'm thinking maybe I should keep these indoors instead of moving them outside this season since they'll have to be moved back in within a month or so.

Pete - The little windowsill succulents seemed to have done really well in what they're in (so far anyway... unless they look stressed to anyone?). I water them infrequently and make sure to pour out any excess at the bottom of the cup, but usually I don't even water them enough to have more than a splash at the bottom. There's also quite a bit of air in there (though not necessarily circulation, since the plastic pot is half the height of the little mug, so if there was water, at least it wouldn't be sitting in it.

I'd really like to keep them where they are for the time being, because those little shotglass mugs fit perfectly on the windowsill and keep them away from my cats.

What do signs of rotting look like (vs. signs of thirst)?

Oops, yes I meant 14! 13 is an Echeveria for sure, but certainly not 'Lola' or E. lilacina... sorry I can't help more... too many species and varieties!

Why is it definitely not those? (Just for my information/curiosity)

Might as well make cuttings. Your light situation isn't about to get better. Let it root before it gets too cold and growth really slows

#13 could possibly be a slightly etoliated E. lilacina. I am looking at mine right now and with the thicker farina and whitish translucency of the edges, they are very similar. Yours may need more light which is why the outer leaves are flattened out. You can see the new center growth the leaves are cupped on your plant. The leaves on my plant are all that shape and color.

mar

Answers given pretty well cover what you were asking about. I agree with what socks said. As for taking plants that were repotted into gritty, you could leave them, just in the future remember to take old soil out. I would worry if it was hydrophobic peat left on the roots - but from what you said it likely isn't. And I use 90% rubbing alcohol most often without diluting it; it is always available in drugstores, even Wallmart and Costco and so on...

I am not sure what commercial setting is Pete referring to, but whatever is common there, I wouldn't really practise at home on my plants. Commercial settings are made for "looks" and often without any regard to what is best for plants. Even displays in GH and garden centers are quite often. (And so are many "how to" one would find on pinterest or some blogs). They may be changed often and if any plant is suffering - it is tossed and replaced. I grow plants for long term and not for temporary decor - even if I keep many around the house in some way for that, but always give them best possible care - look of the pot is usually secondary to me, same as would be location where I would like plant but is too dark or otherwise unsuitable for it. BUT that is JMO and I do not expect anybody to agree with me :)

Badly etiolated plant should be beheaded: what is the point to grow it the way it looks? It will likely etiolate some more during winter (unless you can supply excellent light). But even so - there is no need for having inches of week and wobbly/skinny stem and then all of sudden nice rosette on top. It will become top heavy, flop over and it will need to be beheaded then...Again, JMO...

Voila! Mystery plant drawn, quartered, and then some.

As for the little windowsill mugs... what if I kept them in the same plastic pot inside the mug, but changed the soil to gritty mix?

Steph - would E. lilacina's be sold in Trader Joe's? That's where I got the windowsill succulents.

E. lilacina is fairly common in my area, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had it. But then again, I haven't been to a Trader Joe's for a while... :)

Those short pieces of stems look pretty short to me, I would have kept them longer. But try anyway - I would lay few on the surface, they may start sending roots along into media. And I would stick few into mix and hope they will root. I leave leaves on the surface, just touching media with the stem end. Some ppl burry them, but I have great success without so don't bother. After that, I just 'ignore' them - they will do what they want to do :) Checking them often will only make it feel like it's taking forever.

Any mix will sweat in tight-fitting/enclosed space. (There is a thread about LechuzaPon mix - ppl find that it gets moist and even smelly in the closed container. Not exactly same situation, but somewhat similar.) I feel you really want to keep the glass mugs, so do as you like. You may be lucky and have no problems - it does happen...

Thanks, I'll do that and see what happens with the stems. They each have multiple little leaf nubs on them, which is why I thought this length was okay. What's the benefit of longer stems? And are the rooted stems too short as well?

Longer ones are bit easier to handle, and more important - just in case the end rots off (it could and does happen) there is more stem after cutting bad part off...

I would have left stems with roots bit longer too - after you pot them up, there will be hardly anything above the mix level. Not really a disaster, just bit easier and maybe little 'insurance' :)

Do not keep them in strong sun to begin with, just good and bright spot. Once you see sign of any growth, they should be moved slowly to best light possible.

Some plants will start growing many pups from stems, and some are not so prolific. You'll find out soon. Hope you post a follow up regardless which way it turns out - great way to learn for all of us! Good luck.

Thank you! I'm excited to watch them progress! I'll definitely post an update in a month or two. :)

Update: Some of the succulents I planted into gritty mix have been shriveling, which I thought was thirst, but watering didn't help... so I realized they're probably rotting. The tall sticks (which I thought were "Minima" Jades but after seeing a lookaIike at Home Depot, I think are actually Portulacaria afra) are definitely rotting away from the tips and new shoots down. :(

So I think I need to pull these out, wash the old soil off the roots, remove any rotten parts, and let dry. I have a few questions:

1) if the stem is rotting, what does that look like, and how much stem/leaves should I remove?

2) Can I leave any roots if they look OK, and does drying them out kill them anyway? Or is this essentially like making a cutting and letting it callous and make new roots?

3) Once they dry can I just replant them where they were in the gritty mix?

On a more fun note, I went to Home Depot yesterday intending to buy zero succulents and instead spent an hour taking pictures and purchasing 7 new ones! And to my delight, all but one had an actual species ID!

1. Kalanchoe marnieriana
2. Crassula rupestris
3. Crassula "Candy Cane" (with a warning that propagation is prohibited... how would they stop you?)
4. Sedum rubrotinctum "Pork and Beans"
5. Crassula ovata "Ogre Ears"
6. Sedum rubrotinctum "Aurora"
7. ???? that was on clearance with a bunch of very sick and damaged succulents, but it looks healthy enough to me!

Here's a closeup of it - anyone know what it is?

The Ogre Ears had mealy bugs so I doused all of them with 50% rubbing alcohol last night. I also watered them because their soil all seemed bone dry, which I'm learning maybe I really shouldn't need to do? :/ I want to transplant them to gritty mix today (and do it right this time! Wash off all the soil and let dry).

Also at Home Depot, I think I was able to better ID some of my current succulents, like the Crassula ovata "Minima" (#8) actually being a Portulacaria afra.

The original mystery plant could possibly be Sedeveria "Sorrento"? Though the leaves look bigger/fatter on this one than they were on mine:

#3 Could actually be Graptosedum "Blue Giant"? A very similar-looking succulent was labeled this at HD, but I can't find photos to confirm it online. Maybe it's actually Sedeveria "Blue Giant"?

#6 I thought looked like a plant labeled Sedeveria "Harry Butterfield," but looking online, it doesn't look right to me...

#18 Senecio vitalis (Narrow-Leaf Chalksticks)
#19 Graptopetalum pentandrum - EDIT: Actually more likely G. superbum
#22 Sedum adolphii (Golden Sedum), instead of Coppertone Sedum?

Looking forward to anyone's feedback about replanting and ID'ing these! Thanks!

Check this thread for a short explanation on the prohibition of propagating Crassula 'Candy Cane'.

#7 looks like Senecio crassissimus.

Thanks! That's interesting about the Candy Cane... mine also has brown spots and looks rather fragile and unhealthy. I was hoping I could revive it, but we'll see. It doesn't look like something that would be easy to propagate regardless.

Well, the succulents I thought were rotting actually didn't seem to be rotting, except for the tall Portulacarias. So I guess the wrinklyness and yellowing/dropping leaves is actually thirst? They just didn't seem to be perking up with water.

The ones I was worried about were the Topsy Turvy, whose biggest leaves were yellowing, drying out, and dropping; the Portulacaria afras, whose apexes and leaf tips were turning brown and dying, and the Pachyphytum compactum, which was wrinkly and staying that way.

I took them all out of their gritty mix, washed their roots completely of any old soil, patted the roots and plants dry with a paper towel, and let them dry on the counter for an hour. Then I replanted them back in the gritty mix, which was dry.

Only the Portulacarias seemed to have a problem - it's hard for me to tell due to the woody stems, but the based of the plants where the roots come out was dark colored compared to the rest of the plant, and the apexes seem to be wrinkling up and rotting off section by section. One of the newer shoots on one also turned brown and rotten, the stem before the leaves. That one now has zero growth on it. I replanted them, but not sure if they're going to make it?