Hi All! It wss just a matter of time. I knew we would get flack about the strawflowers again. Just wanted to let you know that we had kept the fake flowers off the cacti for about 3-4 years now as we don't like them either (as plant people), but one of our customers requested them so (as business people) we accommodated them. It was only one customer though as far as I know and the rest would be coming from somewhere else. Can't argue with your customers if you are in business. In fact, they showed a substantial sales increase of fake flowered over non-messed with ones. I do agree with whoever it was that added that the people that buy these are not plant people anyway and their motivation is different. Keeping our customers happy allows us to be successful and grow more and different plants for folks like yourselves who really appreciate them. Next time you see some with fake flowers on them, (and they are not all from us, we've made a point of trying to keep them to a minimum) remember that every one of those sold helps us to bring more and better to you. Remember too, no one is forcing you to buy them. If you see a variety with flower on it that you want, you can bet there are likely some available without the flower as well. Believe me, we do empathize with you. Bob at Altmans

Wow. This is certainly an older thread! My elementary school teacher gave me a jade plant. I had it for several years but it received no sunlight. I had no knowledge nor was I interested at the time but it grew very slowly. It never gave any indication that it was sick or tired or anything so it was never moved. It was near the stove the entire time so I wonder if steam and heat kept it going. After moving, my mother set it outside on the front porch where it got a blast of sun for the first time in so long. I panicked and brought it back in but it was too late. The jade plant died. I was so furious because it was really something special even though I wasn't truly interested in it at the time. Years later, I saw a jade plant growing in a tiny pot and I recalled the jade plant I had. I decided to buy it and it's been exactly 10 years now. I've made several cuttings from it to make some attempts at having it grow big and thick (I am convinced now that it must be some type of dwarf variety since it never got big or thick). Two years ago, I got another jade plant from a nursery which is growing very nicely that I made several cuttings from it to pot them up. I also received quite a few jade plant cuttings from a 2005 succulent sendoff (I can't remember who hosted it but I came in really late and the guy apologized that there wasn't more variety but I was ecstatic at the huge cuttings he gave me that I just potted them up instead of breaking them up into smaller plants!). And just shortly ago, I received more cuttings from a jade plant. I am really thankful to all those who were willing to share. I guess when it comes to types, I don't have very many. Most are jade plants. But when it comes to pots, I do have quite a bit. It happens when I get 'inspired' to try something so I get a cutting from the main plant and wait for the cutting to get big enough. I -used- to have a cactus collection. A store was selling these small cacti geared towards children. It'd be growing in a tiny terracotta pot with a plastic bag and colorful images of children gleefully looking at a smiling cactus or something. Every year, I'd get several if they were on sale and I'd end up repotting a few when they got too big for the tiny pot. I never had to bring them in for winter. They wintered outside very well but that was my fault because I tend to forget but when they survived the first winter, I just let them stay out every winter since. Then one winter was amazingly unusually cold. My entire cactus collection died. That was a surprise but I didn't really know any better at the time. The only cactus I have is something called "Opuntia Pusilla". I can't seem to find an official name for it as I've seen various names used for it. It is an ugly cactus that never grows big and it doesn't grow upwards. The *only* reason I still have mine (I've had them for more than 10 years and they've never ever been brought in. They've survived every type of winter thus far!) is because I really like how they flower. Otherwise, I would've thrown them away years back because they're ugly to look at. I'll admit, I've been lightly thinking on the idea of getting a 'proper' prickly pear but I shudder at the idea of handling cacti. I love them but I'm absolutely terrified of them. hehe. Here is a link that might be useful: Opuntia pusilla

I am sorry chuckerfly .. I somehow missed your comment.. For watering.. for my cacti I give a little amount because I can see that the soil is not so dry (the soil looks dark and have little moisture).. but for my other plants outside I water them until the water fall from the edge of the pot (it will take a lot of water to come out of the drainage holes because the pot is kinda big and the soil is so dry and I have a lot of plants to water and so little time to do so) and the soil will dry completely after 2 days and the leaves will wilt in the 3rd day ... And for my opuntia I took the pups to plant them elsewhere. And I finally fount fishtank gravel (quartz/silica) and I will be repitting all of me cacti soon ... Thank you all for your help .. I will post some pictures in a week or so to update ..

All my plants are outdoor so they're spread over a big area. There's many "house plants" but also a lot of plants that could never be house plants, especially after a number of years of growth. Most people coming to my place usually only look superficially at the gardens and don't see the full range of plants. But from those who do look more in depth I get comments that it looks like a botanic garden, except for not having formal pathways all around. 'Well, I can't afford to keep buying plants as well as put in formal pathways' is what I tell them.