The Ghost - Gray Lady (Graptopetralum paraguayaense sp.)

The Gray Ladies are the bane of my existence!

This is what they looked like whe they arrived - None of them looked sick when I got them - tall and lanky, but not sick!

I chopped them down to root them anew..and these things have been nothing but trouble.

I water them, it looks like they're going to rot; I don't water them, and it looks like they're going to die.

All day, every day, they look sad - squishy - and I just don't know. I can't touch really touch them, because when I do, it leaves a mark. They're a sensitive bunch!

...and fingerprints on succulents is just not a good look.

But I am not going to give up!

So we repot - and we relocate - and we lose a leaf here and there (that we plant)... and rather than struggling with one pot, we're now struggling with 4, but who's counting... another baby is just another chance to get it right.

Fast forwards to a few weeks later, suddenly, one of these babies is looking better. Check out this Gray Lady!

One of the baby leaves also seems to be taking off. I think that's the same cultivar.

On the other hand, I think that this may just be a different plant:

I understand why many succulents are just sold as "succulent". Between them changing the way they look based on the amount of light they are exposed to, and the variety of succulents that exist, you really don't have a chance without a DNA analysis.

This, however, is what became of the Gray Lady from above after a month or so of being left in peace: While the most recent placement left her slightly etiolated, the location, whatever watering was happening - and not being handled brought about the Gray Lady's recovery and also the most amazing color display.

Hi there Lady Viola Gray - nice to meet you!

You're quite beautiful now that nobody is mucking with you!

Of course, Lady Viola and the Baby Gray remain the outliers in this bunch. Lady Geneva Gray and Lady Olivia Gray are still barely compatible with life.