With "downsizing" in mind and not wishing to miss the opportunity to sell my house last October, with about three weeks to sort everything out and move, with regret the beautiful 10x8 aluminium greenhouse had to be left in situ. So the cacti and succulents are asleep for a couple of months...

Hi Gregory I would agree 100% with Dot. Contact Gordon & Joan Foster on 01226 722253. They are so helpful with a range of four grits which I use, at modest price. Not too far from you either. You will probably find that the B&Q stuff is too large. I have been successful with a mix including ...

My echinocacti grusonii seedlings are a year old and no bigger than my finger nail. It is hard for me to believe these plants get so MASSIVE. Should I be giving them lots of water by now?

After I accidentally watered my collection with neem oil (not sprayed) twice earlier this year, not a mealy to be seen.

Look very similar to my selenicereus which were grown from seed planted 14 months ago.

Some South African succulents actually growing in situ presumably have a short resting period in their winter with lower watering from the rain - for example crassulas, haworthias etc.... When we grow them in UK should we be trying to copy the natural conditions and to what extend will plants adapt ...

The talk at the first branch meeting I attended was the gasteria talk given by Tony; it was fantastic, I completely agree with you Ernie. I have started a small addiction to these plants & have even managed to grow from seed as well. Belated thanks, Tony.

The right grit is certainly out there. I spent two years hunting down what I wanted & I would not bother with garden centres or aquatic grit. I have found that grit from garden centres is usually too large and and from aquatic places it is too expensive. You need chicken grit but must make sure ...

Welcome to the forum. Check out your local branch and go along:
http://www.bcss.org.uk/brlist.php

True to form, Saturday morning arrives and it is warm and dry, ready for Wilmslow Show which is not to be. Perhaps my flooded greenhouse has scared off any red spider mite? Flooding has gone, I am glad to say. This is English weather for you, at it's finest. There is a limit to how many more plants ...