I squirt the old soil off with a blast of the hose. Just turn it on and put my thumb over the end, getting off as much as possible which is usually most of it. I then pot up in either 100% pumice or about a 70/30ish to 60/40ish mix of pumice to C&S mix. I don't water for a week and put where it can get bright, indirect light. No direct sun while its acclimating, if it's a plant that is supposed to be in direct sun.

Some people may cringe at my method but it works for me. Maybe I can get away with it because of the climate here.

Tyler

@SoCal Stewart that is more or less the procedure I think I should follow. What I think might be happening is that the process of stripping the nursery soil damages the roots a bit, and they need that dry week in the new soil to callous over.

Washing old soil off is OK if it doesn't crumble off. If very wet, I leave plant on some paper towels to soak off any excessive moisture - but Tyler and you are in much warmer climate, so may not be needed.

Some damage to the roots is likely unavoidable, and new roots will grow easily in better conditions. Not watering for a day or few is better if some roots needed to be pruned off or were broken off, to heal the cuts.

Tyler described pretty well what many do.

I try not to repot in the coldest months like Dec-Jan, but sometimes it happens;). I do the hose thing too;). The trick is to keep the plant warm and dry after. If you can't keep it warm and dry, it might be best to hold off on repotting till the weather warms up. Unless it's an emergency of course;). I will bring my plant that I just repotted inside and put next to a heater vent. This dries everything out fairly quickly. Once dry I put the plant back outside. I repotted my Agavoides crest about 3 days ago and it's sitting right next to a heater vent. The mix is completely dry.

Like everybody above has stated don't water right after. Wait at least a week. You could probably wait longer in the winter.

I try to disturb the roots as little as possible, and surround the existing rootball (if there is one) with fresh gritty mix that the roots will grow into. And try to do it when the plant is in active growth - although I did repot one of my larger guys this month.

@spanishfly, I find that preserving the existing soil really holds back the plants ultimate growth. The main part of the root mass is drowning and only the roots that grow out from that end up getting the benefits of gritty mix.

@westes - sorry - not my experience at all. The existing roots are enjoying my well draining gritty mix anyway (roots drowning - ¿Qué?). I am giving them more of the same and they seem to do well on it. All we can do is advise what works best for us - and as I am advised thus by my guru John Pilbeam - who has probably written more books on cacti cultivation than anyone else, it is sure going to be what I do.

If it works for you great. But common sense tells you that the amount of water that is right for gritty mix will hold much more water in a nursery soil. My own experience is that if the nursery soil isn't good enough to be used in the entire pot, then why would I want it to be around the most developed roots? If gritty mix is better for the new roots, why isn't gritty mix also better for the existing roots?

A lot of sins of bad soil can be hidden by good watering habits. So it might also be the case that you are just very expert with these plants, and you do not over water them. One of the advantages of gritty mix is that it "rescues" plants from overwatering by allowing very little standing water to develop. It might be your watering habit is so proficient that the plants do not need any "rescue". I leave a lot of plants outside in the rain and in general I cannot control how much water they receive. So for my case gritty mix has been a blessing.

Simply put, rain that you can't control or at least protect the plants from is likely to be a problem growing succulents.

Don't mean to be negative, but that is just fact. At least some overhead protection would be in order if there's a lot of rain.

Seems like Kara would be your best guide, given that you & she are in the same place, climate, etc.

@Karen, yes but in zone 9b many (not all) succulents can survive a wet winter, since we rarely get down below freezing. I wouldn't personally want to raise a succulent outdoors in anything but gritty mix. I think that at least minimizes the impact of overwatering.

I don't have a greenhouse, and I don't have room inside my house, so if I want a lot of succulents I am stuck trying to find a way to make them survive outside. It's challenging.

A lot of sins of bad soil can be hidden by good watering habits. So it
might also be the case that you are just very expert with these plants,
and you do not over water them.

One thing some people here (on this board) need to realize is that peat moss doesn't cause roots to rot, overwatering does. Being new here, I can't count the number of times I've read, "Don't use peat, it will rot the roots." I used commercial peat moss based potting mix with some extra Perlite for decades, and I didn't get a rotted plant except for a couple of mesembs. I probably underwatered though much of that time.

I'm not saying that peat moss is as good as other soil mix ingredients. I've completely changed what I use--for now. I've been removing old peat moss from a lot of plants' roots lately and I can see what it does over time. Regular repotting could have helped with that, like what African Violet growers do.

Anyway, not many will read this, but I just wanted to spout off. I might make a new thread of it if I get frustrated enough. I can be as retentive as anyone else.

@westes - you talk about nursery soil - my newly bought plants arrive via courier bare root from the nursery in (usually) Germany or Holland. They go into my gritty mix from day one - and don´t get watered for a month or so, It is watering damaged roots too soon that caused the OP´s problem, IMHO.

One I repotted recently - Trichocereus pachanoi var. cristata. It arrived with actually very little root, got put into my usual gritty mix, but after 15 months had totally filled its pot with roots and had overgrown it completely above ground. I had to smash the pot to get it out without risking damage to an exceptional plant.

The root ball was kept intact, which helped me handle this heavy plant, and placed in a substantially larger pot, where I surrounded it with my usual mix - I look forward to seeing the growth from this vigorous plant as the roots grow into the fresh soil.

@spanishfly, if you get the plants bare root there is no difference between our approaches, in the end. Where I got confused is that you said that you "...surround the existing rootball (if there is one) with fresh gritty mix that the roots will grow into." So I thought you meant by that there was a possible soil/root combination that you were leaving untouched.

Your plants look great.

Thanks, glad you like them - sorry if I was confusing. I will post some better pics when they come out of their winter quarters in March.

Jeff

Regarding what you said about peat: it is very widely used by growers and works well. They specialize in growing plants, it is their full time job, and very often have automatized watering systems, controls of temps and light. BUT - most hobbyists have problem keeping it just right as the moisture goes. If properly watered, it is OK. If overwatered (most often) - it stays wet for way too long. If left dry for too long - it becomes hydrophobic, as hard as brick, very difficult to rewet. It isn't easy to find that right balance.

Most pre-mixed bagged 'soils' usually contain lots of peat; it is cheep and light. If one has knowledge and time to devote to careful watering (as one learns it will become habit), it will work well. But most ppl do not and they mange to kill their plants, most often with kindness :) = soil that stays wet for long time.

Peat will not rot the roots. Not sure if that is what the message is. Any water-logged/water-retaining 'soil' will. Peat is very easy to overwater and stay wet for too long, and probably that's why it takes 'beating'. You said it yourself. Unless one has perfect climate for particular species and can supply perfect condition, it is just too many things to consider: we grow plants in locations very unlike their natural habitat, so anything that makes it 'better' and 'easier' should be considered. I am not aware of succulents growing in very peaty soils (in heir natural habitat) - if there are any, pls. post, anyone! - obviously, I have not researched it. Vast majority grow in quite rocky, sometimes sandy, mainly inorganic and quite 'lean' substrates. Would it be advisable to grow a bog plant in dry rocky substrate?

I am not posting this to start a 'war' - just as MO (which probably doesn't matter anyway :) and reaction to your post, and because you expected that ..."not many will read this"... Good discussion, exchanging experiences, knowledge, even personal opinions helps to learn.

Are members of the family ‘Drosera’, the carnivorous sundews classed as a succulent plant? Probably not, but they do grow specifically in the waterlogged peat bogs here in the UK? Just a thought!

Gill

Rina, I don't disagree with anything you wrote. That comment of mine certainly is deserving of a rebuttal.

Because I wrote so much already, I didn't include that I understand that most newbies use peat and also tend to water succulents like they do tropical houseplants. But sometimes people see a little bit of peat somewhere, like in some of mine, and I've seen them literally write, peat causes the roots to rot. Which I'm saying isn't true, especially if repotting every few years at least. Sometimes assumptions are made. I've also grown plants in 'pots' without a drainage hole. With peat this can be done, very carefully. But with a gritty mix that would be near impossible. Meaning, some who use a gritty mix and are used to that, and see someone using peat (which causes root rot) using a pot with no drainage hole means it must be drowning in water.

I know I'm writing about a small percentage of people, but again, we shouldn't be too quick to assume, even if it's just 5% of people. I don't mean to sound snippy. I'm a curmudgeon, but a nice one. :) It's hard to see people's tone, and I should realize that too when reading others. I also don't often explain things well enough.

..."It's hard to see people's tone"...

Absolutely!!! often, best meaning comment - remark - tip, is misunderstood, sometimes taken as criticism. Occasionally, ppl felt offended by perfectly great comments. I also agree that ppl who know what they are doing grow some succulents in drain-less containers, and also in sand - which I never recommend unless one has know-how. But those ppl do not need help, lol :)

@rina many carnivorous plants grow in peat bogs, mainly because they like a water-drenched soil. Those plants have strange adaptations to the lack of oxygen in their soil, so they are unique.

@rina if you actually take the time to put a stick into the soil and assess how moist conditions are throughout, my guess is you can make almost any soil work for succulents. Even a soil that drowns the roots will probably work as long as you allow the soil to really dry out. The problem with water-retentive soils is when people start to water every N days, and the soil actually never dries.

The beauty of gritty mix is it does a better job of protecting from overwatering even when you are not checking that.

Gritty mix won't protect you from not watering a plant that won't tolerate any water in cold weather. And I still manage to lose plants after transplanting into gritty mix. So it's not a miracle.

I did use the stick (bamboo skewer or chopstick) all the time at he beginning and 'preach' using it all the time, lol. I hardly use it anymore, as I use mix that is very well draining and got to know many of my plants watering needs. Just like you, there are times that I loose plant. Not because of mix itself but my mistake...

We all lose one occasionally - sometimes for no obvious reason at all. Last winter I lost a Geohintonia mexicana - didn´t obviously rot but just shrivelled up and died. But in the same cold frame next to it was another specimen - in the same soil, same type of pot - which thrived and went on to flower profusely soon after.

Isn't it hard to get a stick to go through Pumice? Especially in a small pot.

@jeffo if you get a thick skewer, I have no problem forcing that down two feet into a large pot. You have to push hard and occasionally you have to tease it around an obstacle, but in gritty mix I can do it. I think pumice would not be harder to navigate.

I like a bamboo skewer; it is thin and easy to insert. Bamboo chopsticks work too, and so will pencil. One can buy a wooden dowels (available in many diameters); sharpen one end and use that. Any will work easily in gritty mix. These are also good in helping to get soil off the roots when repotting plants from not-so-good soils, or teasing apart roots.

If it is difficult to push sticks in, the media being checked is most likely very compacted.