The first plant you mentioned, the one in the Kilner jar is sitting in a positive death trap! Please repot it into a more suitable container asap. It has no drainage, the glass will magnify any heat and burn the roots, the moss around it will hold water and moisture around the stem and can cause rot......all potential killers for your plant. It needs a gritty mix in a pot with holes...and please fill the pots more with gritty mix as some plants are set too low down, this will make them etiolated/ stretched as they search for better light. All of them appear to be potted in a peaty mix, this is also wrong for succs, they need fast drainage else you could loose them. Do a search using the box at the top of the page, insert gritty mix and tick cactus/succs, make it up with whatever ingredients you can buy in your area, or just mix with 50% perlite.......just trying to help:)

Gill UK

1st plant (the fuzzy one) is Kalanchoe tomentosa, and yes to what Gill said.

Thank you Gil and Rina! Like I said, I'm still only 2 months into this and so I'm sure I have a lot to learn (which is why I am so happy that I've found this forum).

It looks like I'll be spending the weekend re-potting! Quick question though (sorry for so many!): is it better to re-pot into semi-moist soil or dry soil?

Thank you again SO much!

Moist soil should not be problem as long as it is not 'soupy' wet. I make gritty mix for succulents, usually rinsing the grit & perlite - I just leave them drip dry in collander and mix together while still damp. I pot plants into this mix and do not water right away - there is enough moisture to last for few days or longer (depends how hot it is).

When you take plants out of original soil, get rid of all of it from the root ball. There is no point of keeping any of it, especially if it is peat.

Hi Rina,

Do you mind my picking your brain re: what you're using? I'm in Toronto and don't have a car so I'm looking to source things in either (a) small quantites or (b) from someone who will deliver it to my door.

I've be sifting through different posts and it is seeming (at this point) that Al's gritty is the best option, but it also seems that folks in Canada are experiencing difficulty access the elements needed to create it. Another post I found recommended Bonsai Jack as a pre-mixed soil, but it doesn't ship to Canada (of course!).

I use mix of grit (chicken grit I buy @ farm supply store in 50lb bags) + perlite (I buy that in bulk too) + turface (got it from Brampton but they moved to Ancaster :(

Problem we in Ontario have is finding proper bark - so I stopped using it about 3yrs ago (I know Kevin stopped using it too recently).

How many plants do you have? And what part of TO do you live in?

Bonsai Jack has supposedly good mix (?) but I believe it would be too costly even if they shipped.

I'm in the east end, which makes getting out to the larger nurseries (and feed supply stores) without a car really quite difficult. I've been looking online, and the places I've found which sell it don't ship to Canada. Blegh.

Perlite is available in small bags in just about any store (CT, Rona, Lowe's, HD, Wallmart, any garden center - even stores like Loblaws would have it now). Grit & turface are not. CT (or NAPA stores) carry oil dry that could be used instead of turface, one has to make sure it is made of calcined clay. Even some kitty litters work...and there is always ret store - they carry reptibark that is used by many, and even small amounts of turface under different name (I do not know it) that is used for bedding (I think) for lizards or some other pets.

If you have only few plants, it could work. For many it would be quite pricey.

For my coworker in the east end, I picked up a couple bags of Turface and grit for her when I went to get mine. Friends with cars are the most helpful!

If you can get up to Crystal Star Orchids north of Newmarket (by appointment only), they have pumice/akadama/lava rock there, but I've never used either yet and can't vouch for the quality. The pumice looked a bit small and akadama did not specify the firing temperature.