Raybo, That is the same stuff I tried to grow in and make the 511 mix with last year. When I bought the stuff I asked for the oldest bags they had. Plus I let it age for another month or two. I think that this stuff has too much 'sap wood' in it if you will to be effective as a main ingredient in the 511. I called Earth Gro a few days ago and they couldn't tell me exactly what was in the Earth Grow bark fines stuff. However I'm pretty excited about some stuff that I found at Summer Winds thats called bark mulch made by Redi Grow who is out of Sacra-tomato. They were able to confirm when I talked to them a few days ago that it is 100% fir bark which is as good as pine bark. The only set back about this product is that it is 1/4"+ in size. I opened a couple bags yesterday and it seems to be very close to the size of the stuff from Earth Gro. Anyway I'm gonna give a few bags of this stuff a go in some pots and go from there. Wish me luck! Damon

A pic could help for an with an over all view and the soil discription as you can best discribe. For now the browning and discoloration sounds like the crown of your Aloe had gotten to wet. It sits just under a soil line and could rot if left in a soil thats to wet for to long. Uncertain if it is crown rot and or white fly or fungus (all unknown) would prompt me to remove what ever plant is left from the pot and bare root it leaving crown and roots exposed on news paper or in a cardbord box while composing a different soil.

hi there - so i've been lurking to wait for more info and pics of your plants. actually, they seem to look pretty good, what are the indicators that they're not doing well - the fact that they're not growing quickly? generally succulents will be slow growers, especially if they're not getting a lot of sunlight. your herbs are growing quickly because a) herbs (and it seems lots of leafy plants) grow quickly in general and b) they're outside getting a lot of sun. just reiterating what everyone else has said, but i definitely would not water them at the same rate as the herbs. Also, the burrito tail, and any succulent that has particularly fat and juicy leaves will need less water than other succulents (elephant snack) because they are retaining a lot more water in those plump leaves. finally, in general, while the container size might not seem large, I think people are just wondering about the soil ratio - basically, if there is too much soil (due to not enough of a gritty mix, or due to a too-large pot and etc), then water stays in there longer than it takes for the roots to take them in, which then causes root rot. One thing about the pots (which are super cute btw) is that even though the pots have drainage holes, the way they are constructed (tall with a smaller opening) means less top surface area, which means slower rate of moisture evaporation, and so the soil will stay wetter for longer. anyway, all this just to say: water them a little less, like maybe just once every 2 weeks, and the watering doesn't have to be a total drench. if water is not coming out of the hole, that's ok! definitely if you can "let them out" and sit in the sun sometimes, i am sure they'd appreciate that. see how that goes before you go crazy trying to mix up the soil and disturb your plants. definitely if you figure out how to create your gritty mix then by all means do, but for now, yeah, less water and a some more sun. also, sorry for being wordy - not trying to be too technical, but i just tend to like understanding reasons for why things work the way they do.

Hannah If you plan on repotting, consider making a fast-draining mix. I use mix of grit, perlite and turface only for all my succulents. If you have source of pumice, it is great instead of perlite (not so easy to find for me). This will make gravely-gritty mix, that is well draining and also has great aeration. In a mix like that, plant can be watered about 1x every 4-5 days (depends on how warm it is). It is best to water succulents thoroughly, and then let the potting mix dry up. In fast-draining mix, all excess water will run out. Particulates that make the mix will hold enough water for the plant, without it sitting in saturated soil, with 'wet feet'. If you can't get the ingredients, or do not want to bother, mixing about 50% (could be more) of perlite (or pumice) with soil will do. Or you can look for LECHUZA-PON. Great mix, from Germany, you probably can get it easily in Europe: -Lechuza-Pon - click me-