If I is difficult to get off, I would suggest it is not OK. Leaving so much old mix around roots doesn't really justify to 'surround' it with better mix. There is a reason why it doesn't come off. I can't tell which reason exactly. Is it hard? That would be worse = peat has become hydrophobic.

Perhaps you can describe mix and how you tried to get it off...

Well my sempervivum one seemed to clean off pretty well I think but my echeveria shaviana was hard which is what made it so difficult and why there’s still so much on there we were kind of pushing on it and trying to get it to break apart but it just wasn’t budging and we’re lightly scraping it but also wasn’t budging we ended up planting them as is in the picture since we couldn’t seem to get any more off but we can definitely take them out and re pot again if needed and I don’t really know what type of mix it was in cause that is just the mix we bought them in

I had the same problem with one of my plants. I'd get everything I could get off then put it in the sink soaking in slightly warm water. Then I'd get some more of, and kept going. My arms were killing me. It's a wonder it survived, I was pretty rough with it in the end. Broken roots everywhere.

I can't remember which plant it was now. I didn't get it totally clean, but in the end most of the roots were clean enough. I remember being very relieved when I saw new growth lol.

I'm not suggesting such brutal treatment, just sharing really. I think that the thing I did that made the difference was soaking it in the slightly warm water in between my attacking it. But it could have been a number of things really. I even poked the solid dirt out between the roots sometimes with a skewer or something similar. I was exhausted and I'm sure the poor plant was too.

If it hardened around roots, it is probably peat that became hydrophobic. It is very difficult to re-wet. Most growers use peat, so I am almost sure that's what it is. Best way to get rid of it is to get a bowl of warm water and swish rootball in it, until peat softens enough to get it off. Use a chopstick to poke it off. You may have to soak it for a bit. It is important to get it off, sine when so dry, it repels water. Roots are encased and can't get any drink. After removing soil, plant maybe too wet. Set it on something absorbent to suck up all extra water; out of sunlight. Than pot in new mix and do not water for a day or few - depending on how wet it was.

Should some roots be damaged (broken dry or rotten), cut them off. If you loose too many because peat/original mix is too hard, just grow it as a rootless cutting - do not water for a while; and the new roots will grow.

Mix I use is very inorganic: grit+coarse perlite+some turface. You could go with mix of coarse perlite and soil using 50 - 70% perlite and C&S soil - I do not use it, but some ppl do and recommend.

For most succulents just go at it with a hose sprayer to get rid of old soil.

Okay ty all I’ll have to dig and work at it later today when I get home and I’ll post pictures of what I’m working with after I get it to break apart I also posted a picture earlier on a different post of the mix I was using seeing if it was alright and a few people told me I should add course sand to it which I don’t have at the time so I’m hoping what I planted them with will be alright pictured:

but another thing is it seems that my sempervivum kinda of shrunk in size when I was repotting it and idk if that’s normal or not but it used to cover the whole top of my container but now it has room around the sides pictured before and after:

Brittany, I would recommend that you stick with avoiding the sand. Sand is too easy to get wrong and finding a suitable coarse sand is difficult. I have sandy soil in the yard and it turns rock hard after a while. So I even amend my flower beds with grit.

This sand was sold as a good coarse additive or top dressing for succulents. While it is coarser than most sand, it was not good and it held too much water.

This coarse sand was sold as top dressing. It looks more like very small pea gravel. It looked nice, but didn't perform well as a top dressing for me. It did work okay as part of my gritty mix, tho.

I didn't see where you are located. If you have a rainy season, like we do in Florida summers, I would recommend more grit in your mix. In fact, I would recommend a mix like Rina mentioned. If you can get through the rains without losing plants to rot, you are golden. Your current mix looks pretty good to me. When I need more grit, I get granite chicken grit at the Tractor Store.

I will make zero recommendations about your plants. I can't seem to grow either one of those! LOL

I live in Indiana and it has been raining quite a bit here recently it even rained today pretty hard so I might need to add something with more grit in it although I don’t feel like it normally rains a lot during summer here but our weather has been really out of wack this year especially since it was still snowing when March came around so I’m not sure I will just stick with this mix and see how it goes and change it as needed I guess but will definitely avoid course sand haha doesn’t seem like I want to mess with that and if you cant Seem to grow that maybe it was a bad first timer pick lol

Crenda, could you tell us why the pebbles/coarse sand didn't work for top dressing? I'm using aquarium pebbles for some of my plants that I found locally. It's not my favorite, but it's what I have. I'm doing a lot of experimenting this year. Thanks.

Hey, Jeff

I get tons of rain in the summer. 60 inches is the norm for June - Sept. It is quite often daily and the plants have a hard time drying out between rains. Those smaller pebbles held in too much moisture for me.

I need something bigger that will allow more air circulation between rains. Lava rock has worked well for me and so has some larger pea gravel. Just another case of how our weather conditions will dictate what works best for our plants.

Sempervivums don't like it here because they don't get a dormant period and it gets too hot and wet at the same time. Or maybe it is ME they don't like! LOL

Both ewwmayo and SoCalStewart are right about hosing off the roots - I should have made it clear that I was describing extreme situation, when peat is as hard as rock around the rootball. Sorry for the confusion...If hosing, and if plant ends up being very wet (I am talking roots again), having it air dry as I described, or potting it to dry mix and not watering for about a week is good. Your choice - I would go by temps. If very hot, you may need to water earlier. By air drying I mean having it on something absorbent, for maybe an hour or so,

How many days since you repotted sempervivum? Did you acclimatize it?

I just repotted it today and I am acclimating it I had it sit in nothing but shade for a few days then put it in the sun a few hours and have been increasing the amount of hours in the sun as days go on but I did leave it out too long one day by accident thinking I would make it home by time to take it out of the sun but sadly didn’t and I think I burnt it a little because of that day but I don’t think it’s too bad and I also believe in my echeveria shaviana that I’m having the peat problem with has 3 of them growing in that one pot there’s the main big one in the center then two more growing kinda on the side of it so idk if it’s good to keep those all together or if I should separate them into 3 different pots when I get them apart I can show pictures of it if you would like

Is this enough root exposure? You can also see the three different plants growing in one.

If this were mine, I would use a hose to squirt off as much dirt as possible. You know. With your thumb over the end of it to create a little pressure.

I usually keep going until there is no dirt left at all! Healthy growing plants will re-establish their roots quickly in new mix.

Plants that are not growing (time of year/temperature) or not healthy will take longer to start growing again (above the soil line).

Yeah, I know that would be the best option but it’s curently 11 pm. So I am trying to do my best indoors doors, I feel like I have a good amount of roots exposed and didn’t know if it would be alright. If I pull the whole clump off it will separate the 3 plants. Right now I only have 1 pot for these