Looks like the soil is too wet and the spots maybe some sort of fungus or water damage. I agree with edesgrief that the soil needs a change. Adding sand that speeds drainage would help a lot.
It couldn't possibly be that the soil was too wet because I hadn't watered them in literally months before I transplanted them to the soil in the photo. =P (And we get very little rain here.)
Actually, it is possible. For the soil to be, or to have been, too wet for succulents, especially your succulents which look to be echeveria, a desert-type cactus.
Always bear in mind that what we think must be the case---that a plant must be perishing for want of water, for example---ain't necessarily so. We tend to think this because so many houseplants are tropicals with different habitat and culture requirements than those of desert cacti.
Almost two years ago (yes, really), a too-small pot of top-heavy aloe vera---another desert-dweller---was literally bumped from the top of a short bookcase, and it spilled: plant, soil, crocking material everywhereThe crocking was picked up one bit at a time, and set aside to be cleaned so it could be used in another pot (maybe even for that now-homeless aloe.) The soil was vacuumed up
( ... )
Also, I wanted to mention that I believe is trying to say that the soil in your photo looks too rich, that it's going to retain more water than is healthy for desert succulents or desert cacti, which are extremely susceptible to root rot from having damp feet. And, what's "damp" and unhealthy to them would seem bone-dry to many other house plants, or to a human. Desert cacti and desert succulents need extraordinarily good drainage. This can not be overemphasized.
You want horticultural sand or builder's sand, by the way, because it's a bit coarser than beach sand ("play sand," such as is used in kiddies' sand boxes) and won't retain as much water between the sand particles.
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Always bear in mind that what we think must be the case---that a plant must be perishing for want of water, for example---ain't necessarily so. We tend to think this because so many houseplants are tropicals with different habitat and culture requirements than those of desert cacti.
Almost two years ago (yes, really), a too-small pot of top-heavy aloe vera---another desert-dweller---was literally bumped from the top of a short bookcase, and it spilled: plant, soil, crocking material everywhereThe crocking was picked up one bit at a time, and set aside to be cleaned so it could be used in another pot (maybe even for that now-homeless aloe.) The soil was vacuumed up ( ... )
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Desert cacti and desert succulents need extraordinarily good drainage. This can not be overemphasized.
You want horticultural sand or builder's sand, by the way, because it's a bit coarser than beach sand ("play sand," such as is used in kiddies' sand boxes) and won't retain as much water between the sand particles.
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