And now to bring the thread back, why aren't Manfreda's different from Agaves? They have floppy soft leaves, which tend to be deciduous.

Well, the DNA sequence of a Rebutia goes dadedadedum, and that of an Aylostera does dumdedadedoo. Or something like that. As for obvious characters, it is hard to pin down, which is why they were confused for so long. But, giving away the punchline of my talk on the topic: Rebutia: Flower tube and f...

I really really wish I had one like this:

Looks like there's still some lawn to dig up when you dream even more wildly!

It's always nice to have the extra space to try some new plants, isn't it?

I've given up on using cat litter. It absorbs far too much water and the compost stays too wet for too long.

(Fine for seedlings, but not much else.)

Perlite is a bad idea as it "floats" to the top.

Ralph, I know nothing about cactus genera accepted or rejected for the latest version of the Handbook to Shows . I was consulted on some aspects of the other succulents. You'll need to talk to the shows committee about cacti. Sorry, nowt to do with me govnor :wink: Er, yes, but you are a real botan...

ralphrmartin wrote:And to come back to topic, my Manfreda maculosa lives up to its name and has spotty flowers, but is not as obliging in the flowering department as Mike's...

Oops, I meant spotty leaves. I've have not got it to flower yet!

Did I ever tell you guys about the most amazing caudiciforms (bonsai if you prefer) I ever saw? Growing wild too. In the UK. At this point you are probably thinking I have finally cracked up, but wait... I was walking around a Victorian reservoir, and it had a sloping stone edge to it (like a dry st...

As for Blossfeldias, they are best left to grow underneath the parent plants for about 15 years until they are big enough to notice, in my experience! :-) I've now got a couple of self-sown seedlings which are perhaps 3 or 4 mm across...

Time to remove the odd offset as an insurance policy.