That helped alot after alot of researchings on how to save succulent with such no luck. I got them at a sold house that they were cleaned out threw out alot of succulent and houseplants, so I just picked up what I wanted- drawer bed were just so cute I couldn't ignore! And great timing for tomorrow I'm going to some garden fair so I'll pick up some soils for em. Thank you again!

Oh forgot to ask about alcohol rubbing, which is safe to use on? I have a few.

70% or 91% is fine. I've used both.

I forgot to say you may want to do a little research on Rhipsalis. Like I said they're rainforest/epiphytic cacti. So they like a little more water then let's say a cactus from an arid region. The Topsy Turvy I would water once a week:).

Yeah I did the research on it and I gave them (topsy turvy and painted lady) an closer inspection, I found a little guy growing at bottom stem of painted lady, so I thought if I break this baby and plant to grow new so I can throw infested ones?

Does it have its own root system. If not it's probably too small yet to grow on it's own. You could also twist off some clean Echeveria leaves to propagate.

Ok I don't even know if it has but I'll let it grow more to have fully developed root but how do you progagate? I have one leave broke off from my cat digged, I've sticked it in soil?

Just lay the leaves on top of some soil. No water till roots. Keep in a well lit room. Just no harsh sun. Those little guys will shrivel up in a day with strong sun. Here's a great video on how to propagate leaves. The same rules apply when and if you decide to behead you Echeverias:). This woman is Debra Lee Baldwin and she has lots of informative videos on YouTube.

Great thanks a ton! What is c&s soil? Like regular soil? Sorry so many questions lol.

Sorry it's an abbreviation for Cactus & Succulent soil. It's best to buy the cheapest you can find. The expensive C&S soils have fertilizers and weird water retentive properties that are not necessary:).

Gotcha! :D

Will this work? Cactus, palm & citrus soil? Cannot find any else besides this one. Its miracle go brand. Only thing I could find. Same with perlite.

Well if that's all you can find. Well then that's what's going to have to work;). I mean look what they were planted in prior;).

I've read some articles/blogs and often mentioned Al's grit mix, is it any good?

I don't use it, but ya that's totally good:). I just use pumice and peatless C&S soil. A lot of people on here use a gritty mix. I honestly think that's your best bet, but your perlite and cactus mix will work for now. I give people that recipe because it's cheap, easy to find, and does the job:). Gritty mix is definitely a good thing tho:).

Ok! I may get it in future but I'm happy with what I have right now :)

I used perlite and C&S soil for about 2 years. So I know it works. If you start getting more and more into succulents you may want to start with a gritty mix, but for now you're fine with what you have:).

Hi

You have several issues here:

1) Mealy bug: My advice is to remove the soil and the dead leaves, then get a spray bottle and fill it with a mixture of 1) 50% ispropyl alcohol, 2) 20% liquid soap and 3) 30% water. Bareroot your plants and spray it with the solution, until it is all sudsy. Let this dry for a few hours and you can spray it with water just to rinse off the residue. Make sure all mealybugs are eliminated and you throw the soil away as mealybugs can reside there, too.

2) Soil: Rehabilitate the soil by making fresh mix. Use 50% pumice, 25% potting soil, and 25% compost. The compost boosts the soil so your plant can have more nutrition for it to recover faster. If you prefer to use chemical fertilizer in the water, that's fine. Simply replace the 25% compost with potting soil.

3) Etiolation: You can fix this 2 ways--1) Dehead and restart it again. WIth this, simply use a clean blade and cut it at an angle. Let dry for a few days and pot with the mix in item 2. Keep dry for 2 days before watering. 2) Simply repot and accept the leggy portion. Either way, you want to transfer this slowly to brighter spots like an EAST, SOUTH, or WEST window. Don't do NORTH.

How do you completely remove soil from roots? I had difficult doing so tried to remove soil with rhipsila and topsy turvy. Cause didn't want to damage roots. And still unsure how to behead in correct way.

I use a hose sprayer to get all the soil off. A moderate jet setting works well. Then just let the plant dry a bit and pot it up.

Problem is I live in city and have no hose.

You can use the sink. I use a hose, but the faucet would work:).

Thought so I was thinking about shower head hose! Lol thanks guys!

How's the meallybug situation;)? Was the Rhipsalis covered?

Mealy bugs seems all gone but can't promise myself it is (hoping for the best). Seems rhipsalis is free from mealy bugs (hope so too) now I'm gonna wash off all soil other two. I accidentally broke baby off painted lady during rinse soil off but baby stem still there.

It's ok just set the broken Echeveria aside in a cool dry place, away from the sun's rays. It will get roots again. Roots pop out when not even in soil:).

Glad you're getting a handle on the situation. I would like to add some info pls since you said these are your first succulents.

I'd move the Rhipsalis out of there, it's a different kind of plant requiring different care. The succulents are arid land plants, wanting strong / direct light (after gradual exposure) & moderate watering.

The Rhipsalis is a tropical rain forest cactus, used to growing up in the trees, in not much soil, rather leaf debris & what ever else gets caught in the tree branches. It wants indirect light, dappled, as if thru the trees. It doesn't want the dry treatment of the succulents.

I wrote this out & THEN saw Kara's response. Oops, so ... well, I helped out w/ the research ;>)

I'd get it a small plastic spot w/ hole, not much larger than the size clump it is, I'd pot it w/ that mix & perlite, equal parts of each to make it fast draining,

Good for you for taking on this project, you might end up w/ a couple of nice plants.

They are doing well now! Rhipsila is showing off her babies, painted lady-no sign of mealybugs so far and beheaded Topsy turvy now waiting for it's wound healed before stick in soil and not sure what to do with these teenagers on bottom with second little stem seems growing tinest pups- any suggest?

'Pups' could be eventually separated, but why to rush? Most ppl want to separate little babies as soon as they appear - let them grow and get stronger. They may even shoot some roots, many of my Torsy Turvy babies do:

Awesome, thank you rina! Ended up with new two more. Eve's needle and sunburst (starting to grow flower stalk) haha. I want to report sunburst after I allowed it to dry out when I bought it. But I'm afraid if repotting will affect it's flower stalk growth?

Can you take a pic of the Sunburst:)? If it's an Aeonium Sunburst they're monocarpic. Die after blooming.

The succulent addiction has started:). I knew it would;).

Sure thing! Here's one

Oh ok not an Aeonium:). You can wait to replant if you don't want to stress the plant while flowering. Just don't water till you replant in new mix. Should be fine:).

Ok gotcha. It's really dry now, so I'll replant it, but should I allow it dry for a week to adjust new soil? Remove all currently soil?

Yes and yes:). I usually don't have issues with blooms when repotting, but it could happen. You are putting stress on the plant.

Thank you :D