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What will be the acceptable duration of sogginess and moistness for the succulent mix to be soggy and then moist?

I thought succulent mix should become dry after a few hours. My succulent mix (succulent mix + Pumice) is still soggy after 6 hours of planting and not sure how long it wil lstay like that. The pots are quite wide but shallow and has a drainage holes. I watered them thoroughly after planting and the water ran out quickly.

White pot: The height is 2.5" (soil filled till 2.25") and diameter of 7".

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Blue pot: The height is 3.5" (soil filled till 2.75") and diameter of 7".

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Pics of soil (all pics taken after 6-7 hours after thoroughly watering):

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4-K
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    Did you cover the drainage holes with anything (like gravel or sand)? – Jurp Feb 07 '20 at 22:31
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    try using terracotta pots. as the material allows air to pass through it, speeding up the time needed for drying the soil – seedelicious Feb 08 '20 at 04:04
  • @Jurp Nope. The hole is not blocked. – 4-K Feb 08 '20 at 09:59
  • What's the weather like? How hot has it been? Is the air humid or dry? – GardenGems Feb 08 '20 at 11:29
  • So, I can assume that the potting mix goes to the bottom of the pot? The reason I ask is that gravel or sand above a drainage hole will actually cause the pot to drain very poorly, with a danger of rotting the plant's roots. – Jurp Feb 08 '20 at 14:16
  • @GardenGems https://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/49378/for-how-long-succulent-mix-should-stay-moist?noredirect=1#comment68915_49382 – 4-K Feb 08 '20 at 16:05
  • @Jurp Yes. I don't put any stone or anything above a drainage hole. – 4-K Feb 08 '20 at 16:06
  • It is quite humid which will drastically slow down the rate of evaporation at that temperature. Your plant will not be able to take up that much at that temperature. I think only time will tell. You will probably not have to water as often. How will you know when this soil is dry? You wont be able to get your finger in that soil. Do you know the weight of the pots wet? Or perhaps my favourite the bamboo skewer. – GardenGems Feb 08 '20 at 17:55
  • @GardenGems the soil is drying, I guess. It's gritty soil so I can put a wooden stick in it to know. – 4-K Feb 09 '20 at 16:58
  • it must be the cold and humid weather then :) – seedelicious Feb 09 '20 at 19:13
  • That is great. Its good its drying out. Use a bamboo skewer. Put it in the soil for 30 mins. After that time take it out and look at it and feel it. If the soil is moist or wet you can check again in a couple days. In the summer if the soil is moist, but not wet you can water. The plant will need extra water. – GardenGems Feb 10 '20 at 00:05
  • @GardenGems The soil is still moist. Sucks that good mix are not available here. – 4-K Feb 11 '20 at 16:21

2 Answers2

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dampsoil should be fine as long as the roots are not water logged. and allowed to dry.

possible reasons why this could be happening:

1) your plant could be dormant. plants do not require much water via the roots when they are dormant so you will notice that it will take much longer for the medium to dry out.

2) not enough ventilation in a cool place or a very humid environment stopping the water from evaporating naturally. the pots you are using should be terracotta(non glazed), as that material would significantly speed up the soil drying time by allowing air to pass through the clay pot and all around the roots

seedelicious
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    I think it is due to cold weather? Shallow terracotta pots are not easy to find here. I had a hard time finding these shallow pots. – 4-K Feb 09 '20 at 17:05
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    also they are difficult to post as they tend to break easily – seedelicious Feb 09 '20 at 18:51
  • It will be a joke if one cannot find terracotta products in India, but the ones that are available here are not for succulents as they are quite tall and very narrow at the bottom. – 4-K Feb 11 '20 at 16:24
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The potting mix should be well draining enough for the water to run out of the bottom fairly fast after you pour it in, but hold enough water to keep your plants alive until the next watering.

I don't think yours is capable of drying out even in a couple days. It seem too hold to much water. More importantly it is lacking in good aeration. Tiny air pockets that provide you plant's roots with oxygen even after you water it. Your appears to be water logged. A good succulent potting mix should never look like mud.

I can give you a better answer if you add to you post what you put in your potting mix and that proportion. In my experience sand is never a good material to use. It tends to fill in all the little pore spaces that would normally exist, like clogging up your pumice's pores.

You get mud and sand and you create concrete. Wet sloppy concrete that once it dries if becomes hard as a rock. It also appears you use garden soil in your mix. If you did what type of soil is it? Does it have a lot of clay. If you added a clay based soil to sand you did create concrete.

The sizes of the matter you are using is too disproportional. You have some really large white pieces that serve no purpose if all the rest of the stuff is much smaller. All the small stuff will work its way to the bottom of the pot. Eventually you will not be able to see any soil. All you will see is the large white rock on top. You will have no idea when to water and when the soil is water logged. I really think we need to start over. I will help you.

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    The potting mix really drains well, but it's retaining too much water, I guess. And it's not my custom made mix, but [bought online.](https://www.amazon.in/dp/B078S95YKM/ref=twister_B078S7D72W?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) I added pumice stone to it, in good quantity. But for how long it should stay like that? I mean an ideal succulent mix? And I don't think the mix has any soil or clay in it. – 4-K Feb 08 '20 at 10:05
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    It should stay moist until the next watering. Keep an eye on it. what is the weather like right now. Is it the rainy season? I would add 1:1 pumice to bought mix. Unless the big white stuff rock is your pumice. If so, it's too big for this mix. –  Feb 08 '20 at 11:23
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    Max 20c and min 8c. Yeah, the size is not uniform. It varies, there are many small chunks of it in the mix. Not rainy season. It's late winter. Humidity is around 75% – 4-K Feb 08 '20 at 16:03
  • India stretches the same latitudes as Northern California to Northern Panama. So, winter could mean lots of things. Is the plant inside or out? Now that at least a day has past how does the soil look now? –  Feb 08 '20 at 17:40
  • Do you have any soil from the bag you did not use that you could post a picture of. –  Feb 08 '20 at 17:49
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    The plant is outside.The soil is definitely not as wet/soggy as it was, and the soil is drying now, I guess. I have posted some pictures here: https://imgur.com/a/0V7zPxL – 4-K Feb 09 '20 at 17:04
  • I'm glad to hear an see the soil is starting to dry out. The pumice is large, but will work with the other rock and such. Just keep in mind the temperatures are still fairly low at night, so make sure the soil is dry before you water again. Don't be too heavy with the water. In summer you will appreciate a soil that hold more water. It just a little trickier in winter. Keep in mind what Seed said to use terra-cotta pots, they are much better. More forgiving. –  Feb 09 '20 at 23:49
  • I did use some small pumice but it is mixed in the mix. Also, the soil is still moist. :( – 4-K Feb 11 '20 at 16:22
  • How moist? It should hold water for many days but also have lots of porosity. It is winter, so your plant is growing slower and the temperatures are quite cool. It still might be fine. I think the problem is the mix has soil in it. Soil is going to hold water longer than soil-less medium, because it is not as airy. It lack porosity. Hopefully you have added enough pumice to make it not matter if it has soil. It needs to hold some moisture to keep the plant alive until the next watering. –  Feb 11 '20 at 23:47