Are you asking about dark green on leaves? It looks like the powdery coating has been rubbed off, but if you take close-up, maybe it could be properly diagnosed. Are the leaves limpy/soft? They may be water-logged (that would be another reason for darkening of leaves, and the softness).

Bright indirect light is not enough for succulents. They need much more light for good growth. The tall plant could be very etoliated because of that.

Watering 1x/week could be too often if they are in darker conditions and in water-retaining potting medium. Could you tell us what kind of mix they are in?

I purchased it at Lowe's, so I don't know the medium used. They glued rocks on top too. Planting is above my skill level. I'm lucky to keep an established plant alive. There isn't a drain hole in the pot. So maybe it's water logged? Here's a close up of the dark spots.

I've become a running joke with plants, so I really want this one to live.

Those spots look like places the glaucous coating on the leaves was rubbed off, probably from you touching it, although the leaves do look weirdly pebbly to me....

Hey, Amanda! I can sympathize! I have left a trail of dead plants from Ohio to Illinois to Tennessee. Follow the advice from the good folks on this forum, and you'll be amazing your friends and yourself in no time.

This pot - no drainage and glued on rocks - really sets up a Newbie for failure. The plants looks good, so lets fix the problems. Yes, the powdery coating on the leaves (farina) has rubbed off. It happens easily with touching and people at Lowes could have done that. It won't grow back, so don't worry about it now.

Now first - we have to get those rocks off the top of the soil. You want to be careful to not damage the stems of your plants. Some people have moistened the rocks to dissolve the glue and rake the rocks out with a spoon. I inserted a table knife at the edge of the pot and a 'hunk' of the rocks came loose. Don't do this near a stem, but near the edge of the pot. Once started, you can slowly crumble the rocks loose enough to be able to unpot the plants. Take your time. You don't want to hurry and accidentally break a stem.

I'm betting the soil under those rocks is peat based, not the best for succulents. You will want to remove as much dirt from the roots as possible. Getting it all of is best. Use a chopstick or dull pencil to tease the dirt away from the roots. And now let plants rest until the next day (or at least a few hours).

You need a pot with a drainage hole. If they were my plants, I would go back to Lowes and get individual clay pots. 4-inch pots are 78 cents. The more squat azalea pots are my favorite, but 5-inch is the smallest they carry here. Still only about a buck. In separate pots I have more control over the conditions for each plant. However, these plants look like they all have the same requirements, so a community pot with good drainage will probably be fine.

You need a fast draining potting mix. You can search on this forum for gritty mix, or you can mix 50-60 percent perlite to cactus soil. You can get both of these at Lowes, too. I use a cup to poor the mix around the roots of my plants. I also use that chopstick to tease the mix around them.

Do not water for several days. Keep in bright indirect light. Are they going to be indoors? Work their way slowly to a bright window, preferably on the south side but wherever you get the most light. These plants like a lot of light so they don't grow stretched out (etiolated).

Feel free to come back and ask questions and for more information!

Rina, I'm sure you meant 'pry the rocks off'. I had to laugh though!

ez

Not necessarily, David. I have prayed over many plants! LOL

Haha...I can't spell :) - thanks for pointing it out (maybe I should leave it misspelled so others have a laugh...:)

Amanda, you were given excellent advice, and if you follow it, your plants will thrive. I would go with individual clay pots, fast draining soil, and the brightest spot you have. Never use a pot without a drain hole. Succulents need direct bright light to really thrive. Good luck.

All,

Thank you so much for your great advice! I'm going to get right on it and hopefully save these. I've given my mom so many plants to rehab, so I have to get this right!

I like having them in the same pot though. Is it critical they be in different pots? I'll do what I need to (trust me, I'm dedicated to these), but if possible, I like the one pot look. Oddly enough, I'm great at handy work, so drilling a hole in the pot isn't a deal breaker. Now if I could just keep a cactus alive...

They're in a large frosted window on the west side of my house. Should that be enough lighting?

Again, thank you so much for y'alls advice!

You could keep them together but remember that you may have to re-pot soon if they start growing as they should, and the pot may be too small.

I am not sure how much light gets in thru frosted window, but my feeling is that it isn't enough.

Keeping them alive and making them thrive are two different things. If you want them to thrive, it takes some thought and work to learn and give them the conditions they need. I pot my succulents separately, because not all succulents have the same requirements. If you want them to just stay alive, just give them very little water. Because over watering is the biggest cause of failure with succulents and houseplants in general. One way you will know if your light is insufficient is if your plants start to get leggy, a condition called etiolation.

You will no longer be a newbie who kills everything if you put some research into what you are growing, and how best to grow it. Good luck.

Christopher

Re: The "tall plant" on the right. Are you sure that's not an inflo?