I'm entirely persuaded by the move to Tephrocactus. The flowers fit, and morphologically, if you look objectively at it in the context of T. molinensis , T. nigrispinus , and the ever-mysterious sp. Baker it does seem to make sense. I have two clones of verschafeltii that flower. One is the form kno...

Growing seedlings through the winter is always an option, but as you say - Henry would need an artificial light rig of some sort, ideally.

Henry, I think you'll have a more rewarding experience if you wait until spring to sow them

Folks, I'm sure many of you will have met and got to know Derek Castle, Birmingham Branch's President, over the years. After a period of less-than-great health, Derek is now fighting fit again and is 80 on Saturday. Birmingham Branch will be having a little celebration as part of our next meeting, b...

Better to wait, Henry - plus if you put juicy young cacti out when still relatively young, the slugs and/or birds will have them!

If you would like a few cuttings of hardy plants send me a PM and I'll send you a few bits and pieces.

Seeds sold as "mixed hardy Opuntia seeds" generally tend to be the North American flat-padded types. The good news is that they're generally pretty straightforward to germinate. Wait until spring (mid-March-ish), fill some pots with John Innes no.2/grit mixture and soak it through. Push th...

Yours have grown much better than mine Diane - the largest of my 4-year-olds is probably 1.5 cm across. Although its root is big enough to warrant a 3" deep BEF 2 3/4" pot...

I shouldn't worry too much if it hasn't rooted before winter, either - larger plants with a decent amount of water in them can sit unrooted for ages without coming to any harm.

If anything I've noticed better growth on my plants this year - I've put this down to them not having had much of a rest midsummer as they would usually. It may also be down to having finally repotted quite a number of them (and having fed them more... )

I remember when I had visible patches of staging...

Nice plants Mike. Some of my Eriosyce have a similar problem!

Another reference for you is Ralph Northcott's list of Opuntias for sale on his site:
http://www.cactusshop.co.uk/acatalog/On ... IA_99.html

I've always had good plants from Ralph. My Opuntia macrorhiza that I had from him is another outdoor stalwart, and flowers beautifully outside.