Any cactus species here or in Cozumel? Visiting for 2 weeks in August, and whilst so far I've done a reasonably good job of happening upon reef diving destinations that also happen to have some great cactus habitat or nurseries/gardens hence mixing two of my favourite things in nature such as in St ...

Remember you always have protection from your bank against fraud so internet shopping does not have to be so scary anymore. Only if it wasn't your fault and you took sensible precautions. Don't be surprised if a bank quite legitimately refuses to refund your money if you got a malware warning sign ...

Sorry but leaving that much kit in a vehicle unattended is just plain stupid in absolutely any country. Either take it with you in a backpack or leave it locked in a safe at the hotel. I agree with ragamala, leaving it in the car is stupid in itself, but on view is not something you should even do i...

Interesting to see this gaining more mainstream traction, it's something I've long argued that the concept of species and the practice of taxonomy is a fundamentally contradictory topic and so more of an art than a science because it is so arbitrary. Which isn't to say it's useless, or serves no pur...

I find these and their larvae just die off rapidly if you just let your plants have a dry period.

If you keep everything dry now over winter they'll be gone by next year.

Interesting Ian, the cooler weather may stop them dehydrating but does it encourage rooting before the warm weather returnns? Honestly, I have no idea, but I do know that when I find plants without roots I just whack them in cat litter over winter and usually end up rooted when it comes to growing ...

Hi Dave, Its a bit late in the year to start this so would it be next years project ? I actually often find this is exactly the time of year to do it - it becomes cooler so they don't dry out without roots, and they have ample time to try and sprout roots ready for the next growing season. Each to ...

I'm not 100% sure yet that what you have in your pictures actually is M. hofackerianus. This species grows very tall and spindly quite quickly, and also develops a decent tuberous root system from which it can regenerate sometimes if the main stem dies back. Mine typically flower fairly freely throu...

Have you tried any others Pia?

Opuntia imbricata, and Opuntia humifusa are typically incredibly hardy too, as are some of the Echinocereus such as Echinocereus triglochidiatus, whether they'd survive your winters though is anyone's guess! I suspect the opuntia might at least.

I strongly suspect there is another environmental factor mealybugs don't like. If we know that factor maybe we can use it to get rid of these bugs apart from the other methods we already know. Unfortunately I suspect the answer to the question of what that factor is is probably "Crappy British...