hee hee
26 years
several of my first plants are still alive
I have not counted nor would I
I would guess maybe 150 plants
Don't worry
some will die
and you will buy more
careful of the spines grasshopper

About 40 years now with ups and downs. Some 600 plants in the greenhouse. Only a few from the beginning are left. Harry

I've been collecting about 15 years, but I'm a plant freak...all plants. Not just cacti/succulents. When I was a kid I'd buy many for my mom, she must have about 25. I have about 30 cacti & succs, many are Mammillaria, my favorite species. I have very little full sun, this keeps me from going overboard!

Jen

Hablu/Harry.....any chance you could post a picture of your oldest plant? John

My oldest plant is a Crassula volkensii. I got it from my mother when I was about 14 years old. Every three or four years I take some leaves and start it again. So nothing spectacular there; it isn't even a big plant. My oldest cactus is a probably a Parodia magnifica. Can't remember anymore how I got it. There were years that I did not have it myself (eg. the realy lovely collegedays and later some years I didn't care for cacti)but my mother cared for the plant. The plant is now about 35 to 40 cm and didn't make offsets till a few yaers ago. He's somewhat corking, but a very reliable bloomer. Can't take a pic now; it's to dark already. Tomorrow perhaps. greets Harry

PS. I forgot: you don't want to know how many I killed in all those years. greets Harry

Hmmmm, lets think... 1,2,3,4....74,75. Yup thats about it.

If you count all my x-mas cacti I got for 20 cents each I am at almost 100. Check them all out (just posted the pics a few hours aga).

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cactigal/msg0715180120736.html?1

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse + Plants

I started collecting cacti & succulents about a year ago and have over 100 indoors and about 40 or more outside. I have around 20 types of Sansevieria.

Here's some sites that might make you want even more:
Sansevieria: http://www.bobsmoleys.com/sansev.html
and http://www.glasshouseworks.com/succ-s.html
Sempervivum: http://www.squawmountaingardens.com/index.cfm
Various c&s: http://miles2go.com/
and http://www.shoalcreeksucculents.com/
These are just a few I like, but will give you somewhere to start if you are new to this addiction.

According to my computer records, I currently have 718. That's the number of different cacti and/or succulents; if I count individual specimens, that number probably goes up to several thousand. I like to plant in multiples and groupings; when you have just one of everything, it looks more like a collection than a garden.

Not enough, and too many.

He he this is fun nice to know how many others out there share my collecting madness. I am constantly surfing Ebay and many of sites recommended here (miles2go, shoal creek etc.) looking and going I want that and that.... It goes on and on but my budget and space are limited. Plus I live in an area where actual bright sunshine is the exception to the rule. So that limits my collecting a little bit. Not to mention the myriad assortment of deer and various other creatures that will munch any edible plant to nothing if it's left outside.

I've been seriously collecting for over 15 years now and have over 200 different species, mainly cacti. Including all my propagated plants (but not including ones I haven't pricked out), I would have about 600 total at a guess. The best oldest plant may be the one pictured in the link below, obtained when it was about 3-4 years old. The pic is a couple of years old now.
I have some older but they may be pups grown from the original plant which are since gone. The oldest one of these would be over 30 years old. It once belonged to my grandmother and ended up in my 'care' until I revived it some 15 years ago and propagated from it (a Gymnocalycium).

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:461955}}

I am ashamed admitting how many I have. I certainly don't want to count them, nor post their picures. Norma

I'm in the process of downsizing a bit, so I'm down to around 375 different species (from around 450...) I've been collecting for 30 years. The house gets overrun with them in winter, but I have to admit I love that feeling of living in a jungle in the winter months.

Denise in Omaha

"I'm in the process of downsizing a bit"

I always could find room for 1-2 more cacti ;-) Heck, I think I could find room for 30 more if need be.

Travis

*The only thing that sucks is watering them when its smoking in the Greenhouse

I started collecting about 5 years ago. It started off with a few plants from my mother-in-law and one or two from Wal-Mart. Now I have around 150 plants. Cacti collecting is definitely an addiction! When I first started collecting, I would buy anything as long as it was some type of succulent. Over time I started becoming more specialized. For example, for a time I focused on Ferocacti, then columnar cacti, agaves, caudiciforms, etc. Currently I'm really into dwarf species such as Turbinicarpus. My addiction has also spread to other xerophytic plants such as palms native to arid climates, legumes, etc. It's a fantastic hobby- it really helps me decompress from work related stress.

cd

I first got introduced to a Cactus Garden in 1960. My mother allowed me to pick out a cactus from the nursery stock. All the little 2 inch pots were using white pumice then.

I picked an Elephant Toes back then. I have had an Elephant Toes in every cactus garden I have created since that day.

I grow all my cactus & succulents in the ground now. I probably have a 100 plants with 60 being different types.

With all my other garden interests, luckily the succulents & cactus pretty much take care of themselves all year with only an hour or so of care each week. Far cry from the Bonsai Trees which takes constant care sometimes twice a day!!

Jack

I quit counting at 400.

Well I have loved them as long as I can remember. When I was in my teens I collected for a few years. My parents were indulgent and I kept them on all the windowsills in the winter, out on the porch or in the yard during the summer. Then I gave them up for a number of years but continued to admire them. Suddenly and without warning, the addiction resurfaced this spring with a vengence. It all started with a cart jumping little Astro in walmart this spring. I now am up to about 40 or so but with another order in the planning. Now that I am all grown up maybe a greenhouse is in the cards. If that happens look out. I will definitely be feeding the hunger!

Thousands of plants. Probably 600-700 species. My collection has been expanding rapidly, since I find that I am less apt to kill C & S than the other plants I collect.

I have about 300 cacti, some 200 non-hardy succulents and more than 1.000 sempervivums.

I only had 40 plants 5 months ago? Ha! Easily 4 times that many now and I'm counting the days until spring...

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 think I have about as many as Maritime. I'm ashamed to admit how many I have. I collect several family's of plants. I have collected so many things in my life, starting at four and a half years old. I hate to give up any of my old friends. I love to propagate the plants and give them away. Usually to Old Age Homes or senior citizens, children, anyone who is interested. I think sharing is the greatest part of the hobby. Norma

Probably hundreds, all collected or propagated in the last 7 or 8 years or so. I'm afraid to count and have actually been trying to downsize a bit. Though I have quite a few cacti, I find that my true loves are all sorts of non-cactus succulents.

I started collecting and GROWING cacti in 1955.
20 years ago I moved with about 30,000 cacti from Germany to Spain and 13 years later from there to USA with 'only' 2,000 cacti & succulents. I think now I again have between 10 to 15,000 plants of approximately 900 species.
It's fun!

Jordi

I've been collecting for a couple of years and I lost count but I have somewhere close to 300 cacti and succulents and about 100 more plants that are not.
It is cold here in NH so ALL of them are in my house.
Over 150 are in my bedroom alone.
I've been trading here and from other sites I joined, its a great way to get what you want and get rid of what you have too many of.

I have a strange question. I live in a one bedroom apt., and I'm trying to keep my collection of plants to a minimum, although that's quite hard. I don't know if any of you face the same problem, but I'm trying to keep my main living area asthetically pleasing. So I can't just buy every plant I want. Even though there is plenty of "room" so to say, I don't want it to look like plant overload. So when I see that some of you have HUNDREDS of cacti/succulents, I wonder how you keep your house from looking like a greenhouse. I know some of you lucky ones have a greenhouse or live in warm areas or have a large house that can hold many plants, so I'm talking about those of you who don't have a greenhouse and also live in a zone where you have to keep your plants indoors this time of year. I guess to each his own, and some of you like rooms filled with plants. But my SO won't have it, and I also get made fun of every time I have guests over..."My goodness Gabi, when are you gonna stop buying plants, it's enough already". Basically, I don't want my addiction taking over my apartment, but I find myself constantly saying "just one more" (again and again and again). Any thoughts?
Thanks :)
Gabi

Hi Gabi,

I love plant filled rooms. The more the merrier. My SO is tolerant and I don't care what other people think. That makes it simple.

I have about 68 pots with plants in them. Some of them are only one or two inches and a couple of 8 inch pots. Since they're small they fit mostly in one window on a shelf.

Gabi one way to keep it from looking like plants have overrun your place it to keep them to one area. The other thing you could do is narrow down your interest in C&S. Collect a specific plant or plants from one area and resist the urge to pot them up into pots that are a little too big for their root structure. I periodically give some away to people who like plants. It cuts down on the multiples I may have from cuttings and starts.

And who cares what anyone says. :0)

Gabi, I've got the same 'problem' too :) I live in an apartment, and aside from the corridoor area, I've totally conquered the kitchen window sills and the area near the kitchen sink. My mom was rather upset at first, but she knows that I can't stop collecting, so she has accepted it somehow. Anyway I'm into my 60th species and I am looking forward to more! Besides Succulents I also collect tropical plants (mainly aroids and gingers), so I'm quite often caught in a dilemma when it comes to who should get the space. I'm really hoping to get a larger house so that I can accomodate all my plants ! :)

Yes, that is definitely the solution...a larger house! I use my office at work now for my "extra" plants...I have some window and surface space there with lots of light, so I consider that an extra room I have...now I can go buy more plants :)
Gabi