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I ordered 2 sets on May 3, 2012 and they arrived six days later on May 9. The succulents came in little plastic 2 inch square pots with the foam peanuts on top for protection.[Here's a quick tip. Examine your plants and remove any with moist soil. Remove any of the loose moist soil and replace it with dry soil (from a Cactus soil mix) and then put it in a sunny spot to dry the soil. If the soil remains moist too long, the plants will die.]What you see on the internet is somewhat similar to what I got. The majority of plants are variations of the color green, with a few having different colorations. My packages include different aloe looking types (which are not necessarily all aloes), a light pink plant, a stringy looking plant, plants in rosette pattterns, plants in tiny cluster patterns, and a few plants that vaguely look like variations of miniature jade plants. Some pots have two or more plants in them. Three or four plants have miniature flowering stalks. This is quite a pleasant assortment of succulents.The vast majority of the plants arrived in fine condition, with some shifting of the soil (as expected) due to shipping. A few pieces had broken off from the main plants, but it's no big deal as I put the pieces in clay pots so hopefully the pieces will become new plants. In addition, since some pots have a few plants in them, I moved a few of the extra plants into small clay pots, making mixed plant succulent dishes.~~~The key to keeping your plants alive is not to overwater.As of May 25, 2012, (22 days after receiving the plants), about five (which were in the plastic containers) have died, because I overwatered. I examined some of the plants that died, and they all have small root systems, which were still moist from having been watered five days earlier, plus the soils beneath were also still moist. Notably, the ones which I had put earlier in clay pots are doing great. Clay pots are excellent for the ones with little root systems because the clay dries faster than plastic pots, plus you can jam the plants closer to each other so that there is less soil to remain moist. Small clay pots dry faster than larger clay pots, so you may want to consider putting your smaller succulents into smaller clay pots, from 3 to 5 inches in size. Stores also have special clay pots that are wide and less deep.Around May 26, 2012, I looked at the root systems of all the succulents and separated them into three groups. In general, one group has extensive root systems, the second group has roots in half the pot, and the third group has very little roots. This may be the best way to figure out when to water and when not to water and how much or little to water. For example, you would want to give very little water to ones with only a small root system.What I found out is that a general guideline is to water just enough to wash the dust off the leaves. So if the plant has a few small leaves, you need to carefully and judiciously water just a little bit. If the plant is larger with larger leaves, then presumably the root system is correspondingly larger and you water just a little bit more to slightly wet only the roots. Be careful not to give too much water, especially if the pot contains excess soil which takes longer to dry. Plus, the ones with fat leaves need less water than the ones with thinner leaves.If you are not sure, it's better not to water than to water.I live in the North, where it is cooler, with more cloudy days, so I should water less often than someone living in the hot and sunny weather of Texas.It's a good idea to keep the soil dry, rather than constantly moist, in order for the succulents to stay alive. Many people, including me, tend to overwater.
