Yeah, I got the plant in early, early spring 2012 from a clearance rack after a freeze. It was partially damaged but lots of "good" left in the hanging basket. Brought it home, cleaned it up, and had it hanging under a large oak. It started to thrive and grow and then I noticed that the squirrels were getting into it and chewing on it! So I moved it to its current spot. It is now inside a west-facing screened-in porch. It hangs at the outermost edge inside the screen. It gets shaded by a large magnolia tree for a good part of the afternoon but does get some direct sun through the screen during parts of the afternoon. It has hung there since probably May or June 2012, including through this past winter. So yes, on those two separate nights of 25.7 F and 25.8 F, one in February 2013 and one in March 2013, it was hanging just inside the screen on the screened-in porch. I will get some photos sometime this week and post. I will also post rooting instructions in a separate post for someone who emailed me and wanted them. I water it whenever the surface appears to be dry. That is frequent in summer, and only occasional in winter. I do not deep water it like I do my other plants. With my other plants (tropicals, begonias, etc, not succulents), I water until water freely drains out of the bottom. With this, I use the sprinkle nozzle side of my watering can (rather than the large hole) and water until I think it is probably wet about 1" down. During growing season, I fertilize by using Fish Emulsion (5-1-1) in all of my waterings of all my plants (1 Tablespoon per gallon). I use plain water during the sparse waterings in winter. When I plant a new hanging basket, I fill the bottom half or 2/3 of the basket with pure shredded pine bark (pine fines). That is so it will be fast-draining. You could use perlite or something else, but I like the pine bark because it is cheap and light - and much cheaper than perlite. I use the purple bag sold at Walmart. (See this thread, third post down for a photo of the bag: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flgard/msg0613161715275.html ). Then the top half is a fast-draining potting mix. Good luck with your plant - you are going to love it! It is a lot of fun and always gets great comments. Carol

Hi Paul, yours is such a nice looking plant. Do you mist the strands? From your picture, I see you are keeping it indoor. Nope, never have misted the strands -- not even during the winter months when my humidity reaches a "high" of 33% (and that's with TWO humidifiers running). Yes, it is kept indoors year round -- I live in an apt so hanging it outside has never been an option. I think I have just the right (plastic) pot for it that is wide (10cm) but shallow. Coralred, if you do choose to go that route, then I should probably mention the following: 1) I did drill/melt a series of drainage holes in the bottom of the container. 2) Under the pot, there is another container, a "saucer" if you will, of roughly the same dimensions -- perhaps a tad larger -- to catch any water that drains through the holes in the pot. The pot does not touch the bottom of the 'saucer' but rather has about 1-2cm of clearance. A wick was inserted through a hole at one end of the pot, laid across the bottom of the pot in an "S" shape, and emerged from the other end of the pot. Both ends of the wick dangled into the 'saucer'/cache basin. After two years, it would not surprise me to find that the wick had disintegrated and the roots of the plant had entered the saucer/basin. (However, I have not had any desire to disturb the plant to check. I have this happen with other plants though, so ........)

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...).

IMO, the weight of strings should not pull them out as long as the root system is healthy. But if damaged by over- or under-watering, or possibly some disease, the roots will be weak and not able to support the plant as they should. Succulents store lots of water in their stems and/or leaves, they are programmed to do so. The new growth signals that the roots has grown. Some ppl would advise to mist or spray the soil after a while, or just watering sparingly and not often (maybe after couple of weeks or so), trying to avoid wetting it too much and also avoiding the plants stems (as much as possible). If the leaves ('pearls') start shrivelling, that would be time to do it. Growers of plants use mix that usually contains lots of peat. It is light (great for shipping), inexpensive, and under conditions they can supply (the growers) performs well especially for young plants, grown from seeds or cuttings. But to replicate those conditions at home is usually difficult. Peat retains too much water, if left to dry up - it becomes hydrophobic. So unless the balance of correct amount of water+temperatures+light are right on, there are many problems. Growers also keep the plants for a short period of time - they are shipped to be sold, and problems may not show that fast. Many of us in colder climate use supplemental lights to give plants some more light. It could be just a simple light fixture hanging over a plant. It is best to use either CFL or LED lightbulbs, since they do not emit much heat and are much more economical to use. More elaborate 'grow lighting system' would be needed if there are many plants, and very low natural lighting.