Welcome to the forum! I bought a similar pot. No drainage hole, either? Yes, the plants are set up for failure, but never fear. You can get them out of there. You have some pretty plants.

Some people have gotten the rocks wet and removed them. I used a butter knife at the edge and pried the rocks loose. After you get them started they can crumble or come off in chunks. Be careful not to damage your plant stems when doing this. It's not as difficult as it looks, but it does take some patience. I washed the rocks and reused them as top dressing after repotting.

You can separate your plants into different pots. There are plenty of suggestions on this forum for soil mixes to use. You can search this forum and do ask questions. People are willing to help guide you.

The 2 with long leaves are Gasteria, possibly "Little Warty." There are some smart cookies on this forum who will help you with the names.

First, welcome to the forum. No such thing as a "bad choice". You have from the top: an Aloe, maybe a Crassula, Echeveria and lastly two Gasteria. You can google them and see their care. Others may get more specific as to species... I'm just not smart enough to know all of that. Good growing!

@Crenda: You are correct. There isn't a drainage hole, but I hope to drill a few in when I try repotting.

As for the soil mixes you mentioned... does that mean regular potting soil won't work?

Hey shelblev,

I agree no such thing as a bad choice. Your plants look great, very healthy. You should definitely be able to keep them that way.

I saw some of these at our local lowes, and almost almost bought one. We got a single jade(Crassula) instead.

Regular potting soil will work, but with these being succulents they will be very susceptible to rot due to how much moisture potting soil or even "cactus" potting soil holds. And also how long it takes for these kinds of soils to dry. Succulents are adapted to dry environments and hold all there water inside and don't let go of much of it. So lots of water inside+too much water outside=rot.

There are many ways you can go to avoid this. I would say a drainage hole is a must. Start there. If you use normal potting soil, water in small small sips,and try not to saturate the soil. It may be better for you and the plant if you could either:

1) Mix perlite(white "airy" styrofoam like expanded rocks available near the potting soil at lowes or other stores) with potting soil in the order of 1-2 parts perlite and 1 part potting soil. 2 parts perlite/1 part potting soil would be better. The perlite will reduce the amount of water in the soil, and increase the amount of air. It will also help it dry faster.

2) If you're feeling more adventurous, you could research things like "gritty mix" or "5-1-1 mix" here on the forums. They are more advanced soil mixes with sometimes harder to fine ingredients.

These options would provide less risk of rot, and you wouldn't have to be *as* careful not to overwater. You would still want to pay attention closely with the perlite/potting soil mix to be sure it doesn't stay too wet.

Either would be a good option, and since this is your first plant you may want to start with the perlite/soil mix. Others on the forums may have some good suggestions for great soil mixes.

Also, try and give them as much sun as possible, they should love it!

I agree with @smishgibson. Regular potting soil is too heavy. It holds too much water and the plants may rot. The soil needs to be at least 50/50 with perlite for faster drainage.

I should warn you that once you have these great plants situated in their new home(s) and thriving, you will find other succulents irresistible. You will find yourself with 20-30-40 pots of plants that bring you joy. It happens to the best of us! LOL