Equally as exciting as most of plants hitting their stride again is the new plants that I got recently. I don't usually buy plants (would rather trade or grow from seed) but I love small, clustering cacti, specifically Rebutias/Sulcorebutias. Plus I talked to Bill from PlantaSeca last year and he sa...

Life's been rather busy lately but here's a few updates, all positive. Most everything has come out of dormancy no worse for wear, althought my G. horstii and E. subdenudata are still stubbornly wrinkly. I have a feeling that they lost all or most of their roots over winter and will need a little TL...

High of 70° F today so everything is getting watered. They got about 1-2" of rain 4 days ago and then the last 3 nights of 35-36° F lows without much apparent damage. But we'll see if any of then melt from rot over the next few days. I'm not really interested in babying my cacti too much so see...

I bought plants, not seeds. They were collected near Rio Rancho, NM. Poor photo below. I need to take a better one, but for now since its resized. I took it hand held and I rock a little. I have to break out my tripod. Ah I see, my mistake. The seedlings look nice though, I believe those are rather...

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus is a small plant but it turns to a large multi-heads plant if you grafted it. https://live.staticflickr.com/7927/47531066282_653fab50e2_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/7900/47531065272_59c0d8ac62_m.jpg The Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus in the second photo is particularly...

I know that this is somewhat OT, but being a weather nerd for quite awhile has led me to a clearly controversial conclusion to my observations: My outlandish prediction is that "Tornado Alley" is shifting east. I hope you and your collection stay safe. Thanks Tom, we all made it through j...

Sounds like it was a good time overall. Bummer about not finding the euphorbia you were looking for but hopefully you'll find a source for one soon. My go-to's are always Miles2Go and Aridlands for some of the more uncommon stuff but I'm betting you checked there already. On the note of the branchin...

Disappointing news, the plants are already back inside for the next day or so. Indiana was subject to 9 tornadoes last Friday and there's another storm front moving through tomorrow that's setting the stage for another slew of potential tornadoes. Straight line winds are projected to be 30-40 mph in...

You have a fine collection, but the Gymnocalycium and leaf succulents would benefit with a little more shade. Thanks Tom. I discovered that last year with the Gymnos and they'll likely be staying behind the screen for the growing season along with a few of the rosette style succulents. I do tend to...

Part 2

These plants are behind screen for now until they've had a chance to get some water and start actively growing again. I leave a lot of these in full sun all summer long.

Everything is back outside for better or for worse. I've ferried things in and out in seasons past but I'll not be doing that any longer for anything less than a freak emergency where temps are projected to dip down to 20° F or thereabouts. Around 30° F may happen but these plants and others have ha...

How was the show Jerry?

You like that clay better than pumice ? I think its like Turface. Maybe you mix it together with pumice ? I used it for seed growing once too much fungus now I use desert sand. I have Turface too and it's much harder than either of the products I listed above. I actually really love it and am curre...

Thanks for posting what I consider very valuable info. on soil ingredients. I just ordered my 3rd bag of floor dry from Amazon. It's a product made of diatom rock granules. It's not too dusty, and it has the added benefit of repelling mealies. BTW, I'm pretty sure your transsexual Euphorbia is a hy...

Unfired clay? Does it turn to mush if you soak it? Or break apart? I haven't actually done the soak test on either of the granular clay products I've used. The first is Safe T Sorb and I get it locally at Tractor Supply. I've used it as a main component in my gritty mix since I started growing more...