Here it is: Amazon.com: BestDealUSA 3in1 Plant Flowers Soil...
Most plants I have bought have come planted in soil that contains a lot of peat, which holds way too much water. I started this summer with a few from Walmart, and they all had root rot from being too wet, although they looked great at the time, lol. It seems that growers are using peat alone to root cuttings though.

After a few days of researching online, I unpotted everything, took cuttings from plants that couldn't be saved, and started making my own soil. Cactus/ Succulent soil is bad too, but I use it or a potting mix and add at least the same amount of pearlite, builders sand, and crushed granite or pumice ( see: Pumice FOR Cactus Succulent AND Bonsai Tree Soil MIX 2 GAL | eBay ) and some Orchid bark or Repti Bark (for pet reptiles). Some soil recipes also add charcoal (like for aquarium fish filters). I aim for the soil mix to look like this: Euphorbia Hybrid Guillemetii Cacti Cactus Succulent 1338 | eBay then I top-dress the pots with decorative stone.

Do you have the link for the ones you bought on Ebay? I got my order from MCG and Home Depot today! I'll take pics and post them tomorrow.

I am also planting most everything in clay pots then putting that in a decorative pot. Good drainage is so important.

Happy Planting!

I like that plant probe - that's just like mine except mine doesn't have the pH stick - going to buy the one you use, so thank you :).

Here is the link to the ones I bought on ebay: Sempervivum Baker'S Dozen Special 13 Plants Plants Free Shipping | eBay

I'll take a pic when I get them so you can see what they actually look like in person. I hope I get a nice selection.

I've gotta figure out the soil thing bc the soil I have is going to be too 'wet' for succulents. I'll see if I can find some of the soil additives you suggest.

Didja make your hypertufa yet?

Thought of you this morning....CEMENT succulents...now these I can't kill and how cool are these: Cement succulents | DIY & Crafts

awesome they are beautiful!! :)

Hahaha! Nice! They also have some nice artificial ones on Ebay!

A thought: Funny you bought from the East Coast and I bought from the West Coast!

I like the seller you found on Ebay... looks like quality stuff and free shipping too! Can't beat that!


Did you see the guy selling seeds on Ebay? Do you know how small cactus/succulent seeds are? He uses a microscope to fill his orders! 15-20 seeds for under $5. He must be rich by now, lol!

I haven't done the pots yet... can't find my Portland cement! Will look again today!

LMBO....didn't realize we each bought from our own opposite coasts...we're not being very green, girly :D!

I would love to have a whole grouping of those cement succulents, I love how sculptural they are.

I didn't know seeds were that small, wow. How does he even get those seeds, I wonder, bc I don't see my succs ever 'go to seed', ya know? Btw, have you ever grown your succs from seeds? I never really do seeds for anything bc 1) impatience and 2) think I'll probably mess it up bc they're so vulnerable.

I had some semps come up this year that I thought had bit the dirt! So I can only assume they may have come from seed (unintentional on my part). I have a Heuf in flower now that I'm waiting (impatiently) for seed and I plan to plant them. The only problem is some of these plants are hybrids, so the seed will not produce the same plant it came from. So I'll have to wait and see!

White boxes: These just appeared this spring... similar to one I bought 5 years ago! May have come from seed, IDK.

Blue Boxes: These are Arach Semps that I thought were long gone, must have come from seed.

Pink box: A baby semp, I think... TTTT (Too tiny to tell). Two more have appeared since this photo was taken!

Green box: A semp in flower and making chicks! I'll be trying to collect the seeds once the flower dries up.

Yellow box: That's 5 flowerheads, 4 of which have gone to seed (brown ones) on the Heuf (red plant below the stalk) One of my favs! I bought these 4-5 years ago, so it may take that long for them to mature and reproduce. Heufs can be sliced and diced (cut apart) and planted to make new plants (true to form) which I'll be trying after I get some seeds off this flower stalk.

All the rest are cuttings/chicks given to me by my neighbors... semp swap! (and an iceplant and a sedum, lol)



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Well I found my supplies... DHTBH (new one: DH the butt head!) left both bags out in the weather. So now he has to go to Home Depot and buy me some more!

Found this helpful too:

Plant Care and Gardening Tips - Mountain Crest Gardens

Ooooo, I like everything you have in that pot!!! How neat, that some of those must've come from going to seed. I love the ones in the white and green boxes. I like ice plants too, used to have a huge one but I think it died during our move to AZ.

Was just looking at that plant guide. Lemme see if I have this straight....Phoenix is in Zones 9a/9b...so technically, I should be able to grow them outside all year, is that right? A couple times during winter, we may get a frost that kills...but it's rare.

Thanks!

That's what I was thinking... lucky you! If the weather reports a frost coming, just bring the soft succulents inside, or cover them up. I believe your order was for all hardy succulents though, so no worries! They'd be good to zone 5! Many of the soft succs are good to 20 degrees F for a few days, from what I've read.

I love succulents!! I will have to take a picture of what I have... We have ice plants, hen and chicks, and several others. We also have some larger pokey type of cacti.

It is very dry here, so succulents do well.

Got my succulents / semps in yesterday's mail....and planted them today. Hope they live a longer life than my previous green babies :rolleyes:.

Ooooh yes! Pics please!

Wow! They look great! Look at all the babies! Love your planter tray...:D

Well...
 

My new order came in. I plant them in tiny pots, but these will soon be transplanted to an insulated planter (see pic).

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Attachment 391145 (insulated planter)

I made some hypertufa today... no pics yet. Fun though.

Oh and I do grow stuff I can eat!
 

I found what was left of my grapevines, lol, and harvested them. Got any jam recipes? Lol!

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The plants look just fab!! So healthy, and nice sizes. Can't wait to see the hypertufa...whadya think, was it easy or hard to make?

Oooooo, jam! That is a serious amount of grapes. I bet jam from fresh grapes is delish.

Hypertufa...
 

Well, here goes! These are mostly shallow, the deeper ones are way more delicate. Not crazy about this recipe (2Peat, 2Pearlite, 1Portland Cement) very crumbly and takes a week to unmold. Will try 1:1:1 next.... can unmold in 24-48 hours:D

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Attachment 391312Tops w/planting crevice


Attachment 391311 NOT!

Oh my gosh, LOVETH! Just love these. I wonder if they'll hold up okay since you said they were a bit crumbly during the making. I really gotta try it. What did you use for molds, just old pots / pans / etc ?

I used smallish plastic shell shaped dishes, a faux Tupperware container, and an old falling apart hanging planter. I used Saran Wrap to cover the dishes and make un-molding easier. You can do that, or use Pam spray (like some cook with). I didn't want to make a big one until I find a recipe I like... if the small ones don't work as planters, I'll just turn them over and use them as yard art! They're paintable too! After un molding, they have to sit for 28 days before you can plant them up. The 1:1:1 recipe says to wait 21 days. Also they're get harder with use, they continue to cure for years!

They also suggest to reinforce the larger containers with wire mesh (chicken wire). You can also use bubblewrap to create a texture, just line the mold with it first.

Also use molds that are wider at the top, they will unmold easier.

There's some good you tube videos showing how tos... good luck. Off to make my 2nd batch....