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...).

Yes, you need a better potting mix. Most here recommend commercial cactus/succulent mix combined with perlite or pumice, 50/50. When repotting, if you find the root system is a lot smaller than the pot size, you could think about a smaller pot.

If I could give any advice it would be to water more then every 10 days and give this plant really good air circulation. Your mix looks fine. String of Pearls need so much more water than many other succulents, and because of this they need good drainage and air circulation. This is one plant that if it rains 4 days straight I don’t worry about them. Keep in mind my plants are outside. If inside I definitely would not water 4 days in a row;). If my plant above didn’t get good air circulation the middle would just rot. Another thing I’ve noticed when trying to root cuttings I get better results if I take the strand and just lay them down on the mix. Roots will come out all over the stem. Instead of taking a one inch piece and sticking that little piece in the mix. We always see these hanging, but they actually are ground cover in their native habitat. This is another reason why I personally think they root better when more of the stem is touching the mix. Similar to how stolons work. From Dave's Garden. Ground cover;).

So I have two string of pearls. Pics 1-3 are one plant in a hanging pot and pic 4 and the pic in comment is a much smaller 4 inch pot. The person and the plant for two months (I went home due to COVID) but she’s actually a plant person and has many thriving string of pearls so I think she clearly knows how to take care of them. But I’m mostly concerned about the string of pearls in the hanging pot. There appears to be growth at top, shriveled or dried up in the middle, and then growth at the bottom. My room is usually around 70 F and 50% humidity according to the Dyson app I have. The lady who had it told me to water it by feeling if it’s dry or wet with my finger one inch down but I’m just super insecure about my watering abilities so I want to make sure I’m doing okay. The soil came with The plant when I bought it so not too sure on the specifics. It was dry when I first bought it though. The pics in the post are after I watered them. Should I cut off the parts that are dried up? also how often do you usually water them?