Depends on the succulent - those that go dormant during cool winters do not need supplemental light. Cool temps are much more important than light to maintain healthy plants. My winter dormant succulents are pretty much in the dark in my garage during the winter. I've been doing it for many years. Yes it is tricky growing some species outdoors where it rains. A lengthy discussion would result if I started to elaborate. But it can be done with the right species and the right potting mix.

g'day barb_tom, not sure mate could be lots of variables? some pic's may help. but for indoor plants yes watch the watering but most importantly is light level they need good light and what we percieve by eye is not the same thing, also no direct sun through glass. we used to just add some slow release fertiliser about once a year (buyt the long lasting stuff), so not sure what it is that she has sold you? could also be that the older leaves are going to be lost as the plant adapts to its new conditions. if you have white walls or using a say an a4 size piece of paper held flat on the wall you can do a light test. hold your open hand app' 10"s away from the wall and see how well or not the shadow of you hand is defined, the sharper the shadow the better the light and the fuzzier the shadow the worse the light, the ideal a nice sharp shadow. and the other enemy of indoor plants air conditioning and central heating. along with the normal dry humidity of indoors humidity can be increased by the addition of say a fish tank or just have some buckets of water around like 1 per room, also spray mist the foliage say every second day, or stand the potted plant on a tray filled with little stones and water added. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

I hope other more experienced growers can give some advice on what exactly to do with the plant, but there's one thing that you have to be aware of-sunburn. "so I placed the plant on my balcony 2 days ago to really give it some heavy direct sunlight throughout the day." If you just took the plant and plopped it out in direct sun with no prior acclimation I'm pretty sure a couple leaves will sunburn. If you want to put the plant outside then I would first leave it in an area that recieves ambient light from the sky with no direct sun. After a week passes, leave the plant out in brighter light for an hour, then the next day for two hours, etc. until the plant is left in direct sun for the entire day. "He said the plant could survive with no drainage... just water it once a week with 2 cups of water and provide it with lots of sunlight." Definitely untrue-I'm pretty certain that no plant can grow properly in a pot with no drainage. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure of this. Transferring the plant to a pot with drainage will definitely make both your life and the plant's life easier. Where approximately do you live?

I thought the self watering pot would solve my concern with knowing if i was watering enough or not. I guess this wasnt the best (uneducated) decision. I have attempted to cancel the order. I have moved the plant into a position where it will get more light (this is not an ideal place so hopefully when winter is over i can move it back). The self watering pot is basically a pot with an irrigation system to its inner pot where the plant is, to give it the water it requires as and when it wants it. I am going to buy an inner pot and repot it with fresh soil and some grit the best idea i have is natural fish tank stones as i dont need to buy the amount of gardeners grit you can buy. I want to sit this inside a planter on a bed of the same fish tank stones to allow drainage. Please let me know what you think to this idea? thought i should ask before i commit this time!