stevepj Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Some wonderful plants. I must admit when > seeing plants like this at my local (Chester) > branch show and the Societys' website I do feel > rather dispirited. I get the feeling I'll never > have plants that good unless I buy t...

Apart from glochids, one good reason for avoiding many Opuntias is that many can become rather large. If you've seen massive plants of prickly pears when on holiday around the Mediterranean, you'll realise that they can outgrow any reasonable size GH. However there are many more modest sized plants,...

Prune off the previous year's stems in the spring, it flowers on the new growth later in the year (except for Phil, where it flowers on the old growth in spring :S ). The prunings root easily. It's said to be quite hardy, which seems odd for a cactus with a taproot, but I've planted some out recentl...

Flavistyla or aureiflora -they look very simliar

I grew some from seed a few years ago. They seem to differ from the average Opuntia by not having glochids, in fact the spines are soft & strokable. I've found it isn't quite hardy; planted outside it tends to lose its roots over winter, though the pads generally survive. It's fine in a ventilat...

It's raining, so I'm not going out & getting wet to bring them in Anyway, the space in the GH haas been filled with plants overwintered in the house, so the ones in the open are there for a while now. Saves having to use the watering can

Edinburgh Botanical Gardens had a large one (about a metre across) planted outside one of the GHs a few years ago. Kew had a large one planted outside, may have been moved when they re-did their GHs. There was mention of it on a thread last year. It should be fully hardy in the UK, so no problem abo...

Roy Wrote:
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> Well you've got to remember I was born at a very
> young age(:D


I think I was too, but so long ago I can't remember

Yellow flowered Christmas cacti will only produce yellow flowers if the temperature is warm enough as the bud develops, otherwise the flower turns pink. So there must be genes that are temperature dependent as to the colour of pigment produced. Are there any others factors that have been shown to af...

Roy

"Echinocereus cogneus SB243"

E. coccineus?