bdobs... yes, we've had that awful nasty weather, haven't we. At least you've got something to show for it. LOL Seriously, though, congratulations, they look wonderful! My boxes are finally built and the mix is mixed (my sweet hubs did the sweat equity today) but the plants aren't in the ground until probably tomorrow. Hey, can you answer a few questions: 1) what's the thick green netting. Is that for birds? And where did you find it. It seems much easier to work with than the flimsy thin bird/deer netting I have over my blueberries... and I have critters here. You probably do too, depending on where in the east bay you are. Deer, scrub jays, racoons, skunks, and probably those nasty roof rats. 2) in one of your photos, I saw an open bottle of tecate. What's that for? 3) When you transplanted, did you use any kind of root doctor type product? On the recommendation of my mom, I bought a bottle of Rootmaster B1 so the plants don't suffer too much shock (with all this heat). Just wondered if you did, too. Thanks, -k Kristimama

ReptiTherms are good, reliable heaters and should last years if you treat them right. Attach them to something stiff. They won't tolerate being bent back and forth like a medical heat pad. They're made to be stuck to the underside of a aquariums. Other heaters will work just as well, I'm sure. I also have seed warmers. They don't get nearly warm enough. And I use a microwaveable disk, but it has to be microwaved several times a day. Medical heat pads are warm enough, but newer ones shut off automatically after an hour. Reptitherms are available in different sizes, which is nice. The small one could even be stuck to the side of a pot. Other reptile heaters like heat rocks and so on might work. I might even try adding top heat, like a thermal bulb or ceramic heater to see if that helps even more.

I guess I need to reword my question. Maybe I am confusing the issue. I plan on taking and changing the shape of the roots/caudex, while grafting branches of double or triple flowers (mostly obesum). I thought maybe the roots/caudex would grow at it's original rate and shape. While the branches would take on the rate of the mother plant. As I am for a small twisted caudex I was thinking the the branch growth may grow at a slightly different rate to allow for the bigger blooms while the roots/caudex grow much slower. I saw the mini's from last year but am waiting to see what another year of your plants bring to the base growth or if they flowered. I would think that grafting to this mini base would be a little off in shape with double or triple flowers while the base remains small. But I have not seen mini's over 7yrs old to judge the size of the base or branches. I want to experiment with different looking plants. I have ordered several 3" and 5" arabacum plants to be able to watch and play with. Never been very good with starting seeds. I am trying! Arid lands said to not start out with TSx without experience. So I will wait. Am a little confused in the different Aarabacum growth patterns. They sound better to bonsai. so will start with the basic plant. I like the shape of the dormant plant as well as when the plant blooms. Bought a few obesum grafts to try on the arabacum bases. I have studied up a lot with being home all the time. Now I need to work on which pots to try in each experiment.

Sure. I just wanted to find out what type of plants they were, then planned to research each and see if/how I could propagate them. Then I planned to do so (if it was possible) and then train them to take over the world. Or, just to take over another windowsill in my home. :) In the 2nd plant - the adromischus - I thought maybe one of those large, sort of awkward leaves would be good for propagating, but I also wanted to be sure that removing one wouldn't take too much away from the original plant, kind of like what you're saying about them being on the small side....