1.Sedum rubrotinctum, could be var. 'Aurora' as it's got that typical red pink colour.

4.Kalanchoe of some kind

5.Kalanchoe tomentosa, aka Panda Paws

Gill

First picture might either be a graptosedum 'Vera Higgins' or 'California sunset'.

greenclaws, I think you mean #2! haha I agree #1 looks like G. Vera Higgins because of the purplish color

#3 looks like some Crassula.

Tuba

Are they in their 'permanent home' or in temporary containers?

Drat! Yes, of course I meant # 2, sorry folks!

Gill

Hi Rina,

They will stay in these planters for a month or so

3: crassula "springtime"

Rina

I am not a pro like many of you. I am in learning process and I appreciate any comment and help. That soil is what my plants came with (from nursery). I repotted my succulents into into a new soil mix I (tried) to make myself. It includes %50 torf & potting soil mix, and %50 red-brown soil & pumice & perlite. Torf & potting soil mix actually makes me uncomfortable because of their high water sucking capability. The plants seem to be happy but it takes a while for the soil to dry out.

The pots have drainage holes but the water does not come out of them easily (which is probably a problem caused by my soil). What do you think about my mix and how do you think I can improve it?

Thank you very much!

Dear Rina,

This is how my new mix look like.

If the water doesn't drain out, the mix could be still water retaining. I am sorry, but I do not know what is 'torf'. And I am not sue about 'red-brown' soil? I see some perlite in there but it may not be enough.

For succulents, it is better to make mix of mostly inorganic ingredients. Mixing in grit and perlite or pumice (whichever you can get) helps to make well draining mix. I use approx. equal amounts of grit and perlite. I add smaller amount of turface, approx. 20% of the total. You don't need to use turface if not available to you. But if using soil, maybe 20% of it would be enough. If you don't have grit, pumice and perlite can be used. I would use more of those than soil.

Rina,

I was very careful about using lots of perlite. I thought a lot of it wouldn't be good for the plants. As I understood, I can use perlite and grit as over %50 of total mix ? (I'd love to see a photo of your grit because I don't know what it looks like)

And also, I have this thing and I thought it was pumice but I am not sure. Do you think it is good for drainage and I can use it alongside perlite?

Thank you so much, your help is priceless!

Tuba

I am not quite sure what it is in last photo, perhaps a lava rock? scoria? (it could be pumice...I never had any). It is porous, and would be very good in a mix except it seems to be quite big. Can you get smaller size? - I have some & tried to break it but it was very hard.

You can grow plants in pure perlite if you wish, many ppl use it for rooting cuttings. Or mix it with some grit. Or add lots to the soil. Some ppl use mix of 60% perlite and 40% soil and it works.

Here is photo of mix of perlite, grit and some turface:

The larger white particles is perlite. I sift it using kitchen sieve to get rid of dust and smallest particles. Greyish particles is chicken grit, and tan colored is turface.

Yu could also add some small bark to the mix (I don't because it is not easy to find small enough); it makes very good mix. Here is photo I borrowed from ewwmayo (Kevin) - he grows beautiful plants in similar mix. You can see center pot has some bark in a mix, and you could also see some have pumice. There is gravel in each of them:

There are many different substrates you could use, it mostly depends on what is available to you. Particles should be close in size, and the size is important: if too large, water will just run thru and nothing will get to roots. If too small, it gets easily compacted, water stays in the mix much longer and there is also lack of air circulation.

This has been incredibly helpful, I cannot thank enough. I will use small amount of soil and lots of perlite, grit and pumice. One last question;

I have recently (a week ago) repotted all my succulents into the mix I made myself (beginner's mistake). Do you think I should wait before re-repotting them? Is it okay to change soil too often? I don't want to shock my plants.

Thank you for all your help!

Tuba

What is the weather like in your location now?

If you feel that existing soil is water retaining, IMO repotting is better. If they stay in too wet conditions, there is bigger chance of rot and plants are also weaker and possibly easier to suffer in case of some other problems (disease or bugs).

Be careful with roots, post photos if not sure. Get new mix of whatever ingredients you can get ahead of time. If you find roots very wet after taking out, set plants on some paper towels to wick off extra moisture. If you find any damaged roots (broken, dry or rotting - they get dark and soft and slimy), cut them off. If you needed to cut some, do not water for couple of days after potting. You can post photos of the roots here if not sure.

Glad to be of help, and pls. ask any questions you may have.

Thank you so much Rina, I will buy some gravel and the other ingredients you mentioned before , and then show you which kind of materials I found. Have a beautiful day :)