Thank you for posting these excellent pics and plants, Geoff! The chocolate Haworthia has amazing color. The bloom on the Hoya pubicalyx looks too dark for 'Pink Silver' - but I think it could be 'Royal Hawaiian Purple' or 'Chimera.' Josh

I have a question for a pachy pro... I've been keeping a P.saundersii that is growing beautifully, and have germinated multiple P.lamerei... however, in trying to germinate P.geayi and P.rosulatum, I'm having the worst time! I've tried miracle grow cactus mix 50/50 with perlite, and a vermiculite/perlite 50/50 mix. Both with zero germination. They're surface sown, under fluorescents, at 70F. They keep developing fungus, but seriously NONE of my others have, and I am raising multiple succulents, adeniums, and deinostigma in the same setup. Any advice? I want to find out what I'm doing wrong. I hate killing seeds. Thanks, Jennie

Thank you guys!! I suppose patience is the key then!! As for watering, I've finally gotten to the point where I can pretty much tell by pot weight. But, I recently moved from FL to CT, and the lower temperatures (lower being 76-85 instead of 76-105) seem to be helping it to explode out!!! And the lower temps have reduced my watering frequency to once every ~8 days.In fact, this, my P. Namaquanum, and my P. Eburneum are the only Pachys I have that have put out any new growth. My Densiflorum var. brevicalyx and my Rosulatum gracilius have just sat there (maybe the have slightly fattened up? But no new leaves!)

Mine goes dormant in the winter and looses its leaves. Since it's winter where you are, I wouldn't worry about the leaves turning yellow/brown and dropping off. As far as the stem getting slightly soft, My young Pachypodiums feel like this when they need water. Since the roots look good, and it's been dry for 3 weeks, I would try giving it a light watering and see if that helps. Here's my horombense this spring, just starting to break dormancy... and here it is now...