These are planted on an island out front which is mostly sand and gravel. It has about a 2 to 2 1/2 foot rise to the top. They are near the top and drain well. I also made sure to add perlite when I planted them. So no, I did not protect from rain this summer and we got about 45 inches. I think you got more. It worried me, but they seemed to do well. We had a surprisingly mild winter last year. No days when I had to cover up the plants, but I do keep an eye on the temp.

Id say your soil is too moisture retentive. A quick fix would be adding 50% perlite with 50% cacti and succulent soil. Depending on how much time and effort you want to invest into your plants, you could also search "Al's gritty mix" in the search tool bar. He explains about water retention and how it effects container growing on the container growing forum. Also almost forgot, you should check the roots on your succulents to make sure the roots are not black and slimy, which would be from overwatering in the soil you are using.

Thank you for your input on these, it was a variety that I was considering for next year. There are so many "black" varieties that are very similar-Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Paul Robeson, ect. that look exactly the same and really don't have that much different taste. I have had great success with Black Krim & Cherokee Purple and will probably stick to them. I had the same issue with my Amazon Purple's this year. They were one of the first ones to produce and had fairly good yields on the bottom tier, but no foliage on the bottom and the top doesn't seem to developing more tomatoes. The CP, planted next to it are flourishing.

...and as luck would have it, the first evening I leave mine not under the umbrella so that it could get last night's & this morning's early gentle rays of sun, what should happen but some unexpected sprinkles late night/early morning! CRAP!!! My rosette is ALL WET! ...and of course, I watered yesterday morning! GREAT! Well, there is a slight breeze so it's getting plenty of air moving around. I'm hoping that the sun comes out for a few hours to dry things up before rot sets in. Tyler