I actually bought the Faucaria in St Louis about six months ago. During my move to California in July, the pot spilled and made a huge mess in my car. I was in no mood to deal with it when I first arrived, so it sat in my sisters garage with no soil and no air conditioning. After I found an apartment and got settled in (about a month later) I replanted the Faucaria. I was worried that my complete and utter disregard for its well being might keep it from flowering, but it provided two beautiful blooms, both in mid-September. Now it is one of my favorites!

Ashley, The Crassulaceae (the Crassula Family) have Old World members, such as Kalanchoe, Crassula and Cotyledon and Tylecodon (there are others) and New World members, such as Graptopetalum, Echeveria, Pachyphytum and Dudleya (ditto). Sylvia, I still do - it's fun to watch folks' ears perk up. Xuan, You are completely correct.

Any lighting that you use that will do the plants any good is going to appear pretty intense to anyone in the room, certainly far brighter than any normal room lighting would be. The UV should not be an issue, provided you work with the instructions and use properly shielded lamps. The UV that you do get is likely to fade curtains or even paint, that is exposed for many hours every day, but then that's nothing that the sun wouldn't do. You should be aware that not most HID bulbs are designed to operate either vertically or horizontally (or close to it), but not both. A few will work properly both ways. Most plant lights are designed with the bulb horizontal and the light directed downwards by a reflector. There is nothing to stop you clamping the reflector on its side, with the bulb still horizontal, and mounting it to the side of the plants. You might get issues with plants leaning, depending on how much light they get from the other side. Security lights are another source of HID lighting but they tend to produce a wider spread of light, not so good for mounting at a distance. The secret to mounting the lamp a long way from the plants is the reflector. If all the light is reflected in such a way that it lands on the plants then who cares whether they are two feet or twenty feet away. You'd need a pretty special reflector to work well at twenty feet though! Six to eight feet is do-able although best to aim for six feet I think. As for metal halide or HPS. If you just want to keep them ticking over during the winter, HPS should be fine. But check out whether you want your living area lit up by that particular shade of light. HPS is the most efficient plant light and it works well as a supplement to natural light. If you plan on using the lights for growing in the summer, you'll probably want about twice as much light and will probably be better with a metal halide, or maybe one of each, or perhaps a ceramic metal halide. Succulents will develop better colour and tighter growth with the extra blue and UV light in a metal halide. Here is a link that might be useful: All sorts of reflectors

Tylor Best is just to relax :) All of us feel the same - we do not want to bring home any unvelcomed guests. Just try to make sure you look plants over in the store, and if in doubt about health of any, just do not buy them. Sometimes, there are pests and not easy to spot. Hopefully, not very often. If growing any plants, it is likely inevitable to have some pests occasionally. But if you keep plants healthy - proper watering, well draining mix and container, proper light exposure - they are able to resist them better. Pest will attack weak plants much more often than healthy, strong plants. And some will attack only specific plants, and ignore others. Some are easier to get rid of, some more difficult. Most ppl have to figth mealy bugs or scale, but there could be other pests. While prevention is best medicine, spraying with strong chemicals as a preventative measure could be jumping the gun. It is similar to using strong antibiotic for any ailement - body will get 'used' to it and the medicine may not work as well if really needed. Using rubbing alcohol works quite well on many pests. Make sure plants are not in strong sunlight while being treated with anything (rubbing alcohol dries very fast). Any plant with bugs should be treated asap, to avoid spreading of pests. It is much easier to get rid of very few than large infestation. There are ppl that use spray or drench as a preventative measure. But it should be used in proper way. OTOH, plant pests will stick to plants, they will not invade anything else. If you have any outdoor space - garden, terrace, balcony - it is really good for plants to spend time outdoorsb (always introduce plants slowly to direct sunlight). If not, try to give them best place indors: lots of natural light, good air circulation.