Beginner Gardening: is this normal Sempervivum Old Copper Hen & Chicks Houseleek, 1 by Oceanchick99

Oceanchick99 wrote:
Hi, everyone. My first post. Newbie here and I'm new to the plant world. i have loads of books on plant care, varieties, problem solving, etc but it never fails I cannot find my problem in them. i've lost so much money in plant deaths it's humiliating but i'm determined not to lose more plants, so I have come here for help. So someone, please help! :D ("yes, help us please," said the plants)

I'm recovering from a serious auto accident and on meds that mess w/ my thinking, so please be patient. Plants give me something to "do" while essentially bedridden. if i can't get this group of plants to live i probably won't try again as the money spent is enormous. Though I have a few foliage plants, after research I felt I may do better w/ succulents than foliage so I have more succulents and carnivorous now. I'm a chronic over-water-er & over tend my plants. Good for carnivorous but bad for almost all other plants. (I have a soggy hand....or what would be the plant keeper's equivalent of a "lead foot" referencing someone who loves to drive an automobile fast.) With succulents, i don't have to water much at all, so it's something i remember *not* to do easier than w/ foliage for some reason and the carnivorous plants give me that "tending to" and "watering" feeling. (i'll just go nuts during dormancy when the cp's don't need water.)

Brief History: Because of my previous widespread plant loss, to rid that suspect soil of problems that could have been detrimental to the dead plants, in June i baked all my miracle grow and dead plant soils in my oven at 400 for 1hr to kill any fungus, bacteria, parasites, neutralize the bug control sprays, neem and gognats formula and anything else such as fungus gnat larvae, etc. we won't even go into the smell in the house.

Water: Distilled gallons w/o exception in soil and spray/spritz

Soil and Pot Conditions: For my succulent plants (for most plants honestly), I have a mixture from most to least of:
succulent potting mix (hoffman's),
baked potting mix (miracle grow as mentioned above),
vermiculite (hoffman's),
perlite (hoffman's),
sand (bag says for horticulture and landscaping though i am beginning to suspect it has salt in it from signs on 2 new foliage plants) (unsure of brand - purchased Home Depot),
organic peat moss (epsoma),
bone meal (epsoma),
garden lime granules (epsoma)
activated powdered/ground charcoal.

I combine this mix in a large tub and scoop into pot/planter w/ 1-2" of river stones on the bottom.

Handling: Upon receipt of plants (i ordered selection of 10 varieties, all looked great), i followed seller's directions by allowing them to go 1 week w/o water or tampering to allow them to dry out and settle from shipment. I perform dry transplants.

Potting: I potted Old Copper just as I potted all others. I pulled it out of the shipping pot, supporting plant and roots, allowing old soil to fall away, and while removing centipedes from incoming plant's soil to feed to my carnivorous plants at a later date, I surveyed plant for other bugs/pests or root issues. All appeared fine. Plant fit into the container nicely, nothing had to be forced. All containers for my sempervivum order are the same w/ the exception of 2 for plants that have deeper roots. This one fit nicely into the pot it is in now. It had 2 offshoots, so I made sure they could fit in the bowl, tucked their roots into the soil as well as the umbilicus and once potting was complete, i watered the hen appx 3Tbsp of water and each chick appx 1/2 Tbsp. Because the leaves were dirty from the transfer, i spritzed the plant heavily to get some of the potting mix off the leaves, but this was not a significant amount of water, as the soil never darkened from the liquid.

Current situation: It has been 5 days since the planting. Most others look somewhat as they did when I planted them and some are starting what appears to be the beginning phase of what Old Copper is now. Yet Old copper is the exception taking on this strange look completely w/ both hen and chicks. You can tell pretty quickly what is going on though it is not easy to describe, and i'm sure there is a technical word for it but i've been unable to find it, which is probably why my searches are futile.

Knowing the plants had dried out before transplant and received scarce water on day of transplant, I know they will need some water, so I began to water another small measured amount but decided to research this problem before following through. I did not water Old Copper tonight though 4 others did get water and i hope i didn't screw up.

That's what brings me here and brings you up to date. I've been unable to find if this is a normal behavior for the plant, if this is something that happens if this is a plant that goes dormant, or if this is a sign something is wrong. I truly appreciate any help anyone can give.

I do have and can provide more and possibly better photos.

thanks in advance for your time. i truly appreciate it. I'm so grateful there is a place where a newbie can ask ridiculous questions! i have 4 more plants w/ problems so as soon as my brain lets me think again, i'll be posting those as well. i'll be sure to keep all the smart plant people thinkin! :giggles :)


PS:
Is there a way I can tell if the sand i have is too salty?

Do you think that the old miracle grow soil i baked at 400 for 1hr could be bad? It has been stored (once cooled and dry) in a giant zippy bag. it smells and feels "normal". Do you think the Neem oil (cold pressed), gognats cedar oil based formula or insecticidal soap could still be "in" the soil causing problems for sensitive plants? This was my 1st thought, yet i have 2 foliage plants that are Neem oil sensitive doing rather well in the same succulent mix i'm using.