Hi folks! Since you're on the east coast, another vendor that I have used and gotten very respectable trees is McKenzie Farms. This is my second year with citrus and I decided to buy some from here due to positive reviews on the citrus growers f o r u m. Shipping was very reasonable, well packaged and the trees were very nice. I got a 1 Gallon Meyer Lemon, Eureka Lemon, Key Lime, Kaffir Lime and a 3 gallon Moro. The 1G trees were about 12" tall. The 3G Moro was fantastic, about 4-5 feet tall and still had 4 small green oranges on it. The 1G trees were $20 and the 3G was $40. I repotted all into a 511 mix. I had used CHC+Peat last year, but decided that it dried out too fast inside over winter. I'll post a picture when I get home. Here is a link that might be useful: McKenzie Farms

Hi! So I'm a newbie to the cacti parenting world and was hoping someone may be able to tell me if I'm doing this right? I picked these cuties up from Home depot a couple months ago. The yellow one had this great flower bud looking like it might bloom soon but now it looks like I killed it. When I first got them they didn't have the little...bulbs? on the side of them or on top (like my red one.) I thought this was a sign I was doing well with them but now I'm worried I might be doing the same to the cacti that I did to the flower and I of course don't want that! So what I've been doing is checking the soil every week to feel if it feels like it's completely dry. Usually by the end of the week it feels that way. so I take them out of the decorative pots (cause they don't have drainage holes) and water them thoroughly with a slow but steady sink stream. Once the soil seems to have sufficient water, I allow the extra water to drain into the sink before putting them back into their decorative pots and putting them back on the windowsill for direct sunlight. I read that in winter you shouldn't water them as much (like once a month?) but we are still in fall her in NC. Am I doing this right or just being an idiot? I'm kinda bummed I lost the little flower but if I can encourage them to grow more I want to try! But mostly I want to be a good cacti parent.

It's not important what it says on the outside of the bag - what's important is what's IN the bag; and all "cactus mixes" are not created equal. Cactus mix 'A' may be entirely appropriate for a particular herb, while cactus mix 'B' may be entirely inappropriate for the same plant. There is no way to make a determination based on what label the packager put on the bag. If anything, I'd be concerned that some cactus mixes hold TOO MUCH water to be appropriate for either cacti or herbs; so Rhizo's hedging was entirely appropriate and essentially what I'd have said. Neither of us are willing to accept what it says on a bag of soil at face value unless we know the soil. Ideally, you want a soil that holds good amounts of moisture, but doesn't support perched water. Perched water is the water that occupies the soggy layer of soil at the bottom of the pot that occurs as a result of using MOST commercially prepared potting soils; so I would say that from the plant's perspective, what most of you consider to be ordinary, good-quality potting mix is too water retentive to offer your plant to grow at even close to its potential. I tend to look at things from the plant's perspective; and to a plant, there really isn't such a thing as draining too fast. There is a balance to be reached when it comes to watering frequency, but you can almost predict an increase in potential growth and vitality as the need to water increases. IOW, soils that need more frequent watering can generally be counted on to significantly increase the potential for growth and vitality, while at the same time increasing the growers margin for error when it comes to watering and fertilizing. Let me know if you'd like to know more. Al

Ok, don't take this too badly!.... It's in an entirely wrong pot, it must have drainage at least one hole and I suspect this has none? Regular plastic is just fine and have adequate holes. Stand in a saucer and don't let plant sit in run off, ever. The soil mix looks very peaty, it needs a fast draining gritty mix. Adding 50 perlite to a bagged c/s mix is the very basic to use. Other more sophisticated blends are easy to make using grit, pumice etc, but the above is quite adequate. Its an echeveria of some kind and, as you realise, is a succulent. They store water in their leaves so don't need nice wet soil. Yes they need water, but it should drain out instantly and not leave the mix as it is above. The plant has rotted, it may not have any roots so needs unpotting asap. Leave to dry out on kitchen paper as the soil looks claggy and soaked. Whether it can be saved I dont know but it doesn't look good. The top portion could be severed, calloused over and rerooted in better mix and pot. I'll leave that for someone else's comments. It should be a tight rosette, it's now etiolated/ stretched for lack of light, (sun or lightbulb as its winter in most parts) it won't revert to that style, only new growths could be compact. I don't grow these, but I do know how they grow, so hope my thoughts may help. Whether this particular plant will pull through from this, I don't know, but my guess is not. Unless it regrows a better top which can then be cut and grown as a separate plant.....? That will depend on what's underground and if it has the strength to regenerate its upper parts. Others will be along soon to add their thoughts. Gill