I keep the lid on until early summer, but I do remove some of the more humidity sensitive species, sometimes. I’ve got two Pterocactus hickenii seedlings on my office windowsill right now…I find these super sensitive to too much warmth and humidity.

Since Brexit I’ve been running down my supplies of pumice, which I used to buy from naturstein-garten in Germany. Continental prices are a fraction of UK prices (I found an Italian supplier at €0.3 per litre) but the issues of phyto certificates make import a non-starter for individuals. Has anyone ...

I made a search of my seed records which show that I've sown over 200 packs of Mammillaria seed since 2017. Mamm densispina has been sown only once, Mamm Soc seed in 2018, supplied with the field number "Rog 763". Result - zero germination.
Sorry, I'm no help to you.

I received my BCSS seeds today, alongside deliveries from Jan Novak and Ian Young (a Lithops seed seller on eBay). Jan labels his seed packs with the catalogue number. Ian has a mix of styles, ranging from a paper slip insert to handwriting on the pack. All of their packs matched the description of ...

I find the Soparco octagonal pots perfect for my plants. They are not easy to find so I have had to buy them by the case. I’ve got 12, 16 and 18cm pots ( I think those sizes are correct). The picture shows 16cm pots. The 12cm ones have a similar aspect ratio. The 18cm pots are a little deeper, but s...

I grow them in my coldest greenhouse and am experimenting with some in a completely unheated cold frame. There is no need to remove top growth, especially not on younger plants. I prune my mature plants every couple of years, cutting the stems to about 1cm above the tuber. This makes the plants look...

My Cintia seeds from ADBLPS are germinating nicely.
Any tips out there regarding any special treatment needed in the first 12 months?

I’m sad to see another specialist grower wanting to sell up, I hope someone can take it on, but the business case will surely be difficult without a major increase in takings. For that, I suspect the new owner will have to diversify. I fear the days of the specialist nursery are limited.

I use a different product with the same active. It is highly effective against red spider.
Be careful with dogs around this. The product I use carries a warning about toxicity to dogs, so ours are always kept inside the house when I’m using this.

I've been very reserved so far (for me!) Just one order (so far) from Rare Palm Seeds, (and no more planned but plenty of saved seed from various Echinopsis, Hildewintera and Chamaelobivia crosses) Screenshot_20231114-192100.png I’m jealous. I didn’t spot Rare Palms had pintilla back in stock and t...