Raises some interesting questions, like, why do people go to talks. We had a survey recently and one the the prime reasons people came to meetings was social. So I'm not convinced that it is solely a financial calculation, either for the speaker (can't make much money at this) nor for the attendee. ...

I don't think the issue here is whether the speaker makes money. More whether we respect the efforts of the people who put in the effort to prepare talks and then come along to present them. My natural inclination is to suggest that it should be the norm to pay more than expenses but, like Dave, I d...

I did get this once. I think the problem for me was the detail of the polythene top. Water evaporates from the wet pots, condenses at the top, runs down the side, pools at the bottom (not deep, only a couple of millimetres) and is absorbed by any pots that sit in the pool. I found that the water ten...

Thanks Diane for that quick reply. That is the name I have always assumed but when I looked in the New Cactus Lexicon pictures, I was less sure and wondered about violaceus, among others. I haven't grown these for years since I restructured the conservatory (with pound hammer) and got rid of my hot-...

It is always tricky identifying things from photos and mistakes can easily be made, but I still vote for Gibbaeum nebrownii (Imitaria muirii). It did occur to me though that it could be Gibbaeum johns(t)onii, which is next to indistinguishable from G. nebrownii. Do you have that name? It should have...

Hi Julie, The plant looks fine to me and some leaf drop is inevitable, the leaves don't last for ever, so they do drop from time to time. I must admit that I have never seen this plant as being prone to dropping leaves with over-watering, unless perhaps the over-watering is very severe - the plant s...

A small melocactus bought from the local garden centre. The body is about 4 inches in diameter, without the spines. Is it obvious what species these are? Raging against the dying of the light, I'm afraid. Taken as the sun goes down, lying under the trampoline to catch the one place in the garden tha...

Very interesting. I have always used neat meths and never had a problem (it is said to damage the leaves of some succulents). Perhaps I have just been lucky. Do you have experience of damage using neat alcohols? How much do you dilute the meths to avoid this? I had assumed it needed to be quite conc...

Good examples. I suggest epiphytes. Rhipsalis, Lepismium, Hatiora and Schlumbergera. My Disocacti are in flower now.
I have several Ceropegias in baskets and a Braunsia maximiliani.
Cheers
David Lambie
Bristol

I think that it is not the strength of the frame that worries people about polycarbonate. Instead it is the strength and stiffness of the actual panes. Under wind load these tend to bend and can pop out of the frame. To be fair I too only have experience of glass in a greenhouse but I'd be very wary...