Here it is almost May and I've just noticed your post. We were all beginners once; I lost about 30% of my first plantings, and continue to loose one thing or another from year to year. In most instances it was over-watering in summer, and ill-timed watering in winter. In the end, I developed a policy that, after a killing freeze, I would replace the dead plants with duplicates of whatever survived. This moved me away from a one-of-each look, to a more coherent look; unplanned, but happy results. And fewer and fewer specialty plants that I need to cover each winter. When you put on frost cloths, raise them with long stakes so they don't touch the plant. If they touch, you will get a frozen spot on the plant at any point of contact. Use clothespins to anchor the cloths to the stakes, top and bottom. With new plantings of cacti and succulents (May is the season for planting these), be sure to orient the plant so whatever side was facing south is still facing south in its final position. This will minimize sun damage. Yes, cacti sunburn. Then drape them in cheesecloth their first season, at least into the middle of monsoons, preferably all the way through to late September. This will help them adapt to their new compass orientation. While many of the cacti sold locally are frost hardy, adding cups on frosty night to the growing tips of post-like forms is a good idea. Most succulents sold locally, are specimens from milder climates, should be covered or brought into a porch (and still covered) or indoors when temperatures drop below 33. In a freeze, the water in the cells expands -- just like ice cubes in an icecube tray -- and ruptures the cells, causing the plant to turn to mush when it thaws. For these tender plants, I now limit myself to small ones I keep in pots, one I can load into a couple of beer flats and whisk into the laundry room on frosty nights. But they do like to be put outdoors again when the temperature gets back up to 40. Not always convenient for me when there are a succession of frosty nights. By now you may have heard that some parts of town are colder than others. Quite true. Cold air sinks into the valley, and it also flows to lower places such as hollows or along washes. I live next to a wash, and get more frost on that side of the garden than twenty-five feet away on the other side of the garden. Also, tiny differences in elevations can sometimes make a difference. I inherited a rock garden (well, all rocks, no plants, when I bought the house), and find that a difference in elevation of two to three feet from front to back makes a difference between frost and no frost. Also, south or west facing walls that are such brutal situations for plants in summer, can release heat through much of a winter night and make a slight "warm" patch on a night when a difference of one or two degrees makes all the difference. Consider the losses part of the learning experience, and have a great time developing your desert garden. Good luck enduring the coming summer and next winter.

Hey everyone I just wanted to update on how my seedlings are doing and wanted to see if alkh86 would want to post his seedlings because we happen to have started on the same day. 3 days ago they got moved from the cfl's to a T5. They really seem to be responding well to it because the needles on top have doubled in these 3 days. I still have them in the container with the lid should I start getting them used to dryer conditions if I plan on grafting with them in about a month?

Xuan, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the show and sale. We have it every year at the same time (4th weekend in July) so if you get back this way again come and see us. If you come back in a different month send me an email and I'll let you know what other C&S sales are going on. We have nine C&S societies here in Northern California, and there are shows/sales almost every month from April through October. Now I know what you meant about changing the soil. I have purchased plants from certain vendors before and if I didn't change the soil they would die. It had nothing to do with the quality of the vendor's soil; it had everything to do with the differences (however slight) in our climates. Since you're taking the plants back to Vietnam I would repot when I got home. This is because of your high humidity if nothing else. I would add more rock, perlite or pumice to the mix. I would also NOT move the plants into terra cotta pots since the plastic pots dry out faster and that's what you want, especially for Vietnam. Once you've learned how to grow them in your climate you could adjust the pots and/or soil to that which works best for you. I think you will find that you WILL have to water on occasion. Also, many succulents like having filtered light; others need to stay out of the afternoon sun. I don't know where you're staying, but there are a couple of places in Berkeley where you can buy more succulents - The Dry Garden on Shattuck Avenue and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden on Centennial Drive (http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/). Of course our home improvement stores also have succulents at reasonable prices although many times they don't have names on them. If there's a Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com) or a Lowe's (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=home) near where you're staying you could check them out too. Good luck, and have a very safe trip home! Marilyn

Soil designated for cacti is probably not well enough draining. Pls. get at least some perlite to add to it., and mix at least 50/50. It needs have very good drainage. Many of us grow them in inorganic mixes. If the plant is cut, it should be left out of mix to callus. Bigger the cut, bigger chance of infection if stuck in the soil. And if kept wet, even more so. Plastic pot is ok - I have almost 200 succulents in cheep plastic pots that are recycled. Or get terracotta if you prefer. Once you take it out, all old soil should be taken off the roots. But, if it is rotting, I would really return it. It is not fair to charge money for rotting plant...JMO!