Thanks, mouton! I google searched the name you gave me and couldn't find a pic of anything at all. :( Is there somewhere I can learn more about identifying cacti? Like what things make a cactus belong to a specific group or stuff like that?? I am so new to this! Owned my cacti for a long time but never learned what they are or anything. I am surprised they have lived as long as they have! :)

I hope you find out which plants you have. Frithia and Fenestraria require completely different watering. Fenestraria leaves are completely smooth, Frithia leaves are covered in tiny bubbles. Three inches tall sounds like Fenestraria, that would be pretty huge for a Frithia. I think you can potentially grow Fenestraria and Pleiospilos together although I don't. Both have very low water needs, will become dormant in very hot weather, and grow best in spring and autumn. The difference would be that Pleiospilos thrives on full sun and heat while Fenestraria doesn't like heat and prefers a little shade in summer. Both have large showy flowers, Pleiospilos usually orange on short stems, Fenestraria white or yellow, very occasionally orange, and on long stalks. Ignore the tag. Bright light is poor advice, both plants will do poorly without direct sun although they might survive for a while. Fenestraria may flower in both spring and autumn if you grow it really well, but Pleiospilos will probably only flower in one or the other. Only water when the soil is completely dry. Don't water thoroughly unless you have extremely fast draining soil, probably in a clay pot. Generally water lightly and fairly often, don't subject the plants to long droughts. Water especially lightly if the plants are dormant in summer. Once or twice a year when they are growing strongly, you can give them a soaking. If your Pleiospilos ever develops more than two pairs of leaves you are overwatering, cut back and aim for just a single pair of leaves by the middle of summer. If your Fenestraria's oldest leaves go mushy and die off, or any leaves develop splits, then you are overwatering.

endi - I'm with Rina on this one, judging from the pictures, the soil does looks really dense and peaty. What type of cactus mix do you use? Most commercial cactus/succulent mixes contains peat soil and are detrimental to the well being of these plants in the long term. Unless you can make variations like what Rina suggested, adding purlite/grits into your soil. Wilting leaves are usually signs of the roots not being able to effectively take in water, and on the other hand, when you overwater, the roots are prone to rotting instead of taking the water in. IMO, your immediate choice is to repot them in the best medium you can find possible to minimize any of those risk. If you ever watered well-draining soil like most of the people in the forum here uses (gritty mix), water almost sips out the pot in less than a second, that's why its defined as "fast draining soil". As for Sun, this needs a little more care, because every plant has different preference to sunlight needs. I try to slowly acclimatize my new plants to more sun during the weekends, but during weekdays as I work in the daytime, I leave those who prefer lesser sun on spots away from the window with occasional sun. 1) Babytoes - depending on the season, their sunlight needs varies; since they started turning pale when you gave them full; you might want to slowly start them with just 1-2 hours per day for a good week, and make slow increments weekly. http://www.cactusjungle.com/plant_pages/fenestraria_aurantiaca.htm 2) Devil's tongue - Ferocactus Latispinus - It doesn't seem like rot, but usually rot starts from places that accumulate water for a prolonged period of time, and from the structure of your cactus, there is no way water can cause rot on the crown of your plant, so you might want to check the the roots of the plant as that is the most common way it spreads. If it's sunburnt, you might want to slowly increase its sun exposure as describe above, but from the link posted below suggests full sun. http://www.cactusjungle.com/plant_pages/ferocactus_latispinus.html 3) Aloe Juvenna - I don't have much experience growing Aloes, but I'm pretty sure you will be fine following the tips provided by Rina and Crenda above. As well as the link below about Juvenna http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1801018/aloe-juvenna-just-boughtwhat-do-i-do-with-this Best of luck with your plant rescue! Bernard

I'm certain if you put a photo on craigslist you will get a lot of interest, especially for 'free to a good home'. Better soil is something we call gritty mix, an easier mix to create is 50/50 commercial 'cactus and succulent' soil and perlite. Straight C&S soil is actually terrible, containing a high percentage of water retentive peat. Just don't water it anymore and leave repotting to its new owner. Thanks for posting/saving the plant. You are going to make it and the new owner very happy. I think you should keep it and come here to learn how to grow this wonderful plant. ;-) Brad