Great pics! I love Euphorbia mammilaris too. I've not tried E. resinifera, although I do have a LOT of euphorbias too (very anti-rabbit as you mentioned). Happy Birthday by the way. :) I pretty much follow JoJo's regime. I water most of my cacti and succulents once a week in summer whether they're in the ground or in pots, and it's good to emphasize what JoJo said that plants in the ground will stay more moist than those in pots. Your plan of reading up on the specific plants is good. It's always good to find out if a cacti or succulent is a winter or a summer grower. Winter growers like most Aeoniums and some others like, say, Aloe variegata (partridge breast aloe) are winter growers so enter semi-dormancy in the heat of summer and will easily rot if given too much water in summer (though you can water them several times a week in active winter growth and they'll thank you for it). I always keep a close eye on Crassulas and their relatives in summer as they have CAM which means they generally keep their pores/stomata closed during the day to avoid excessive water loss, however they have a backup threshold of also keeping the pores closed above certain temperatures at night in order to save water, but in Phoenix especially some of our summer nights are above that threshold so the poor things hold their breath day and night and eventually croak. As an example, I grow jades either indoors year round, or outdoors autumn through spring but then bring them inside in summer. Same for Christmas cacti and most echeverias which often melt in our summers (though not all do). I have a five foot tall Aloe 'Hercules' and he wants water once a week or so autumn through spring, but not a drop from the hose all summer long. It almost kills me to not water for those long hot months, but he thanks me by staying alive and growing quickly during the cool months, when my friends or corporate landscapes water them in summer and they rot fast (and I killed a ton of partridge aloes before I toughened up and stopped watering them in summer, LOL). Anyway, succulents and cacti are fun aren't they? Their biggest enemy if overwatering at any time of year so like you've both said, when it doubt, don't water. Keep us posted! What books did you get? Take care, Grant

Eloquent arguments...much ado about nothing. Craig, How snifty that your kids want to start a cactus garden! Gardening is a wonderful experience for children and a great teaching tool. Do you have much experience growing cacti? Will you be using pots, in-ground or raised bed? Drainage will be important for a *successful* cactus garden. As to collection of plants for your garden, let the lessons begin! Why not order one package of assorted seeds (a couple of bucks plus postage) *and* go to Wally World for one (another buck.50) *and* locate someone (in Tx that won't be a problem) who will allow you to remove one or two pads from their prickly pear. Now you've got a show going. Again, I don't know if you have experience with cactus but there are some simple tips that will help you help your children get a good start towards a successful garden. Many here, as myself, will be happy to help, if we have a bit more info. The first that comes to my mind is 1) steer the kids away from the colorful grafts at WM. Eventually the top section dies and we want success growth for young gardeners. 2)wash all dirt from the roots before planting into its new home. 3) when collecting opuntia pads, take the Sunday paper (a section for wrapping the pad), a set of tongs (in case the spines are so long they poke thru the paper) and your sharpest *long* knife (it can be tricky to get down between pads). 4) cut pads at the joints and let them scab over in a dry, shady spot for a couple of weeks before planting. 5) discuss the pros and cons of wild collection of native plants while retrieving your new project. hth - Jo

That's great you're trying to save some of the plants on the land before they kill Every thing in there path, thank you. I don't think you'll be able to get the roots completely removed from the soil without some damage to them, but my best suggestion would be to dig up a square a little wider then the plants and with a shovel put the shovel as deep as you can into the soil around the square you marked for the dig.... and and go from corner to corner gently rocking the soil lose from the rest of the land around where you marked. Till your shovel can get underneath the plants roots as much as it can and can be lifted from the plot you directly it from. Like i did you NEVER know how far the roots are in the land so your gonna have to decide to take as much as the root ball as you can and risk leaving the one's you can't get at. Or you can simply collect the pups and leaves from the plants and try rooting them in some soil or propping them, they might take or they might not. Thanks again, i hope someone comes up with some good ideas to save these plants...they really are beautiful.

My name isn’t Justin and I don’t work for Costa Farms, but I will try to help you Camille:). Your cactus is Mammillaria vetula subs. gracilis cv. Arizona Snowcap, but if you‘re ever looking for more info you can easily type in Mammillaria ‘Arizona Snowcap’ instead of the long name I gave you in green, which is a link that will give you info on your cactus. Idk if you know this, but the new spines won’t be blue or yellow, they will be white. This cactus is a slowww grower. I personally think the first thing with any plant growing is knowing what plant you have and a little bit about the plant. If these were mine I would unpot, gently remove as much of the old soil off the roots as you can , and repot in a better faster draining mix like a perlite and or pumice mixed with cheap cactus soil. The pots look like the right size, if they’re root bound you can go up one pot size. After repotting cactus I wait about a week or two and then water them. It’s the start of the growin season so now is a great time to do this. If you live on the Northern Hemisphere of course. During the winter this cactus should be kept totally dry. I know that may sound nuts, but it’s normal when growing cactus. Many of my cactus got their first drink of water since late October a few days ago. Like my Mammillaria duwei Before After Any pieces that have fallen off set on top of the mix and they’ll root eventually. It could take months for this process so be patient and leave them be. Any rootless pieces should be kept in bright filtered sun, especially when it starts to get hot because the rootless little pieces will fry. Lastly, during the growing season your cactus may need to more sun than what’s being provided, so slowly acclimating it to more sun is probably in its future.