Aeoniums may not be best example - they do not like too much heat and humidity and do not do well at all during summer. They look worse even in my climate. Everyone in your climate reports best growth - and the 'looks' of them - as it coos down.

I live in a genuine Mediterranean climate, and grow mostly Mexican desert cacti. I water once a week in the hot summer, after which interval they are completely dry. In winter they go into cold frames and are kept totally dry for 3 months. They do well on it - this Lophophora williamsii clump has grow from a 1" baby in the 16 years it has been here.

Sorry about that summer rot. Make sure the plants are getting plenty of light but probably not hours of the hottest afternoon sun. Don't over-pot and be sure water drains freely out the bottom, no sitting in water. The mix in oversized pots can hold a lot of moisture in the bottom. Be sure to use the skewer trick before watering. I find clay pots or plastic work best, ceramic seems very slow to dry out, so be extra careful if you are using ceramic.

As Rina said, the aeoniums (which have probably sulked all summer) are just waking up. Probably many of your other plants are resting.

Here in So. CA we have little rain, but last winter I was a slave to my plants moving them in and out so they didn't get too wet with what rain we had. I don't want to do that this winter, so maybe I'll just cover with plastic when rain comes. Haven't quite decided yet.

There are warm season growers and cool season growers. Watering during a plant's off season can lead to rot.

Here is a dormancy chart.

http://www.succulents.us/dormancy.html

Our CA summer heat can be quite lethal... especially IF the succulents have not become accustomed to high temps. Regardless, I like to be extra careful during the summer by using a shade cloth. I highly recommend it for the for summer!s

Also, can you provide ingredients for your gritty mix? Sometimes people here will say they have gritty mix, but it will actually contain water retentive ingredients. Best to rule your mix out first as the source of the issue. :)

Rain ??? WTF is that ??

Plants are much more likely to rot in summer than in winter. Remember that many of the pathogens that are at the heart of root rot require warm soils to live and breed. Typically, you won't have to worry about root rot in cold temps, even with rain-saturated soil. The real danger is excess water paired with warm soils.

The keys to proper watering for succulents are FAST draining soil, a good gritty succulent mix, and to water only when the soil is dry or nearly dry. Pay attention to your plants - they will guide you when to water and when to leave them alone.

I wrote a detailed post on watering succulents along with pictures of the clues to over-watered and under-watered plants that might help: http://thesucculenteclectic.com/how-to-water-succulents-succulent-care/

Lol tell that to all the plants I've had rot due to cold and wet conditions.

Succulents are like Goldilocks. Not too hot, not to cold, unless you want a swift DEATH.

DO worry about rot in cold seasons.

Sorry if I did not express myself well! :) This is my first day here, and I suppose I am a bit nervous!
What I was trying to say is that the pathogens responsible for genuine root ROT, need warm soils in which to live and breed. This in no way means you cannot kill a plant in the winter by simply drowning it, making it impossible for the roots to access oxygen in the soil.

It might seem like dead is dead, especially when it results from too much water in the soil.

However, you have much more time to react and to rescue a plant in saturated soil if the temps are cool, and no pathogens are at work. In the case of genuine rot, the deterioration occurs much more quickly. And that happens in warm soils.

I was hoping to address the confusion the original question highlighted - why water in the summer seemed so much more dangerous than water in the winter.

Drowning plants is rightly a concern in any weather.

Have a terrific evening!

@socks, how long are you leaving the skewer in the pot before taking out to feel for moisture?

My frustration is that many of these plants seem to have very particular climate needs and rain/temperature tolerance. Aside from just learning the hard way, keeping up with that when you have 20 or more varieties is a hassle. It is the part of growing these plants I like the least. I don't want to be running plants back and forth to different areas.

@Nil13 Thanks for that dormancy chart!

@Christina I am mixing gritty as 4 parts filtered turface, 3 parts filtered fir bark, and 2 parts stone. True gritty mix would be 3 parts of each but I really like the characteristics of the turface so increase its percentage a little in the mix.

I'm sure some of the plants love that and some of the plants hate that, and figuring out the details is probably a lot of non-trivial experience.

Westes

You asked this question of socks - sorry for barging in...I used skewer test a lot and still do occasionally (eventually, one gets to know his/hers plants :). Few minutes is all that is needed. Just make sure whatever implement you use, it is wood, not plastic. Skewer, chopstick, thin wooden dowel with sharpened end or even pencil work very well. Many ppl test by sticking their finger in - but thin and longer stick is much better (IMO :)!

Using 4pts of turface seems to be a lot - turface holds lots of water comparing to other substrates. Turface = approx. 52% comparing to perlite = 28%; pumice = approx. 25% and 1/4" fir bark = approx. 23% (from excellent thread by ewwmayo: here - click me pls )

I am sure you need more water retention in your climate comparing to colder zones - but maybe it would be good idea to make some mix in different ratios (less turface) and test it. I do not think there is problem with substrates you use otherwise. My mix is equal amounts of grit and sifted perlite (pumice would be good instead if one doesn't like perlite) + smaller amount of turface. I use turface in only between 15-25% of total volume; it is generally smaller than I would like and I found that mixes were staying too wet for too long when using it in 1:1:1 ratio.

@rina turface draws water *out* of the other components of the soil and then releases it very slowly over time. At least my experience with some testing I did on rhododendrons comparing fir bark versus fir bark + turface was that the turface mix was drier to the touch a few days after watering but held onto the water longer. So I got less free water but longer duration until full evaporation.

I am totally open to changes, but I would like to see some actual plant tests with different mixtures rather than water retention and evaporation studies. Given how fussy some of these plants are, my guess is that some of these plants will thrive in a higher amount of turface and others will do worse. Figuring all of that out is more work than I can do.

Of this much I am sure: whether your gritty mix is 4-3-2 or 3-3-3, either of those is miles ahead of any commercial cactus mix. I have many plants thriving in various combinations of ingredients in a gritty-mix type of mixture. They all seem to do pretty well with succulents.

@rina so what is the objective with the skewer test? Let's say I put the skewer into the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot. I leave it there for N minutes. Then when I remove what am I checking for to make it okay to water again?

Am I testing just the moisture at the very bottom of the pot, and do not water again until the bottom of the pot is mostly dry?

Sorry Kat, but winter dormant plants planted in pure pumice don't drown. There are plenty of pathogenic fungal species that grow at cool season temps.

Westes

If mix is dry enough and plant needs watering, skewer will come out dry and clean. If there is still plenty of moisture, skewer will feel damp (or cold) when you touch top of your hand or your cheek - or just with your fingers. It may have tiny particles sticking to it since they are still moist.

Inserting skewer deep into pot - about 3/4 deep - is the best, because that is where extra moisture will 'sit'. You know plants do not like if their roots are being wet for too long = wet feet. Checking just a top inch or two may be misleading since that dries first and usually fast.

@rina what I have noticed in my gritty mix pots is that there is about a three inch section near the very bottom that tends to stay moist for quite a while, even when the top section of the pot is quite dry. So I should be waiting for that bottom three inches to totally dry out before watering again?

Westes

That is where the water collects. Did you have chance to read any of the posts by AL (tapla) explaining perched water table? Here is just bit from one of his posts ( from this thread ): Each individual soil formulation will retain a specific height of perched water unique to THAT soil. No matter what the shape or size of the container - height, width, round, square - the height of the PWT (perched water table) will be the same

Here is the post that is worth reading (maybe you already did) - long, but it will explain very well how water is retained in container soils: click me please

I water when stick feels dry. Depending on the mix, it may be much sooner for someone in hot climate. In my case, during warm weather, it may be about every 5-7 days. I potted some succulents in a mix of only grit + turface, some in a mix of perlite + turface and some in a mix of grit + perlite to see if it makes difference. Adding various amounts of turface will make it more or less water retaining. And yes, you are correct that turface will hold water internally and slowly release it to the roots. You just do not want to water so often that it never dries out = releases all the water.

@rina, so to reduce this to the shortest possible wisdom, we should wait until the perched water table at the bottom of the pot is totally dry before watering again?

Yes :)

I usually say: do not water until mix is almost completely dry = when stick comes out clean and dry.

I believe that there may be tiny bit of moisture still left in substrate (pumice, turface...), that's why I say almost completely dry. But such tiny amount is not going to get the stick wet and is not dangerous to the roots. Perched water table would be gone by then.

It may be good idea to start getting the 'feel' of the heft of the pot/plant in question:

After watering thoroughly and letting excess water to drain, lift the pot to feel how heavy it is. Do the stick test after few days. When it comes out dry & clean, lift the pot again to feel how heavy it is when dry. After doing this few times, you'll get pretty good feel and will be able to judge when it needs watering again just by lifting it.

Some ppl wait until plant show thirst by wrinkling etc. That may or may be OK on occasion, but I think that if one does it all the times, it could be stressing plant too much. Of course, some argue that's how it is in their habitat - but pot/container growing is bit different from PIG (planted in ground).

Sorry - I am rambling on again...my answer/post should have bee just the first word! :)

I was prompted to google perched water table having read the expression here. But it is clear that is has no relevance whatever to what might happen in a small pot. I do know that in summer my terra cotta pots are totally dry in a week, which is how often I water them. In winter (December to Feb - so starting next week) my desert cacti go into cold frames for 3 months where they will be kept totally dry - doing my best to simulate habitat.

No relevance? If not in a pot, where would that happen - in ground??? May I ask you to link us to where it is explained please.

What you doing is just fine. It may be a problem thou for ppl that have to keep plants indoors, in quite warm temps. Outdoors or out, that makes a difference. What are your winter temps like - in the spot/are where you keep your plants?

@spanishfly the point of perched water is that it can be bone dry at the top of the pot while the bottom can be a swamp where roots drown. You can't guess about the conditions at the bottom based on eyeing anything outside the pot. Just because the pot is terra cotta doesn't mean you escape the consequences of using a soil mixture that retains too much water.

Why wouldn't you just test for water at the bottom of the pot with a skewer? It's so cheap to buy a pack of 100 skewers that they are basically free.

The biggest impact I ever had on growing cactus and succulents was switching over to gritty mix. I would say the ability for the soil to drain - and minimize perched water - is everything to these kinds of plants. I couldn't disagree more strongly that this has no relevance in a small pot.

You might be side-stepping this issue if you under-water, which cactus generally love. If you have a soil mixture that retains too much water you might not have a long-term problem because so much time is passing between waterings that even a soil mixture that retains too much water would dry out. But that is just a kind of learned compensation for whatever water retention characteristics your particular soil mixture has.