I live in the great white north now, but got the cactus bug when I lived in Phoenix for two years. I found that I couldn't keep any Crassulaceae outside in the peak of summer, as they all died. It might have something to do with overnight lows being too high for CAM plants to initiate gas exchange ??? Purportedly some people can keep some of these non-cacti outside in the shade, but I couldn't. If you live in Phoenix, go to the Desert Botanical Garden, which is in between Tempe and Scottsdale. Look around for your plants. If you don't see it growing there, it probably can't be done. I didn't develop a good way to deal with this in my little house, but probably the best thing would be to have it inside but in a sunny spot, and set your plant outside again in late September. They should be deliriously happy from then until May.

With young children, I would NOT want that cooktop in the island. If it had a decent amount of space behind it and on both sides, I'd recommend leaving it for the five years you think you'll be in it. But it obviously does not have enough space behind it (I cannot tell about the far side). I would at least find a way to fix the cooktop situation. Some thoughts... Move the cooktop... What is to the left of the refrigerator (where there is an opening with two pictures placed vertically)? It looks like a cooktop might fit there. How wide is the space b/w the corner and the refrigerator? The oven seems orphaned on that wall. Do the openings flanking the ovens go to the same place? If so, would you consider closing off the left one? You could move the refrigerator there and open up the wall where the refrigerator currently is to add more workspace to the right of the cooktop's new location. If they go to two different places, is there a doorway into the room on the right from the left area that would still allow you to close off the left with the refrigerator w/o adding too much travel time/distance to get to the kitchen? If the refrigerator can be moved, you might even be able to move the opening for the cooktop to the right 18" or so...just move the cabinets over...you will need to fill in that area anyway. If you want to and can remove the "random peninsula" in the DR, you might be able to re-purpose the cabinets in the peninsula as upper cabinets in the kitchen on the "new" cooktop wall...assuming they are the same cabinets as the kitchen cabinets. Where is the DW? It looks like it might be to the right of the sink...is it? If so, that might make it problematical to move the cooktop unless you can also move the refrigerator. I'd have to see more pictures and closeups of each section of the kitchen and DR to tell if this idea might work. Leave the cooktop, but... How wide is the aisle b/w the island and the oven? If there's room, could you add 42" tall 12" deep cabinets or open shelves to the back of the peninsula and then put in a raised counter behind the cooktop? It would at least add a bit of safety buffer behind the cooktop and raising the counter would add even more. I would not put seating there b/c the aisle would definitely not be wide enough plus people would be sitting too close to the cooktop even w/a 12" deep counter behind it. I'm not sure if this suggestion will work since the pictures do not give me enough information, especially measurements. One final question...are you sure you will only be in the house 5 years? Most people stay in houses longer than they expect to. Good luck!

I do try to be helpful, and I try to write with the idea that more than one person will read what I say and hopefully gain more enjoyment from the growing experience because of something they learned. I enjoy nurturing plants, and look at nurturing people who also enjoy nurturing plants as a natural extension of my own growing experience. If I couldn't know I was helping, my efforts would be for naught & I'd quickly lose interest; which is why kind comments like yours are always appreciated. Thank you ..... and I enjoyed your story. ;-) In reference to the part you italicized ...... I always figured it's pretty hard to push someone up a ladder unless they were wanting to climb. ;-) So from what I gather from your linked post is this: • I should definitely repot my plant to a slightly larger container and not just pot up. It hasn't been done in at least four and a half years. You can repot or divide PLs for best outcome. If you repot, it might not need to go into another pot, but the root structure of PLs doesn't make them top candidates for root operations related to repotting. You can also simply cut the leaves off each plant and most of the roots, divide the plants and repot into the same pot they came from. They'll recover quickly & take right off. Of course, you have to look at a bare pot for a month, or just stick it in bright indirect light outdoors somewhere & ck on water needs every few days. • When repotting, I should remove all old soil and prune any large roots, upward traveling roots, and "j-hooked" roots. When I do this, where do I clip? As high as possible? This is the part that scares me the most! Honestly, IO'd divide thios plant and save the root pruning learning experience for plants that really need it as part of their care regimen. • I should find a general potting soil (I'm thinking Miracle Grow brand because, as a beginner, it is the only thing I know of that has a seemingly good reputation) and mix it with Natures Helper and Perlite. If this is correct, what should my ratio be? MGs reputation is more a result of its advertising campaign than its performance record. If I were you, I'd seek out a source for pine bark in an appropriate size. If you can find it, you can use perlite and the MG potting soil as small fractions of the soil (added to a large fraction of pine bark) to make a very good soil. A good soil can eliminate over-watering concerns and make a sound nutritional supplementation program monkey easy. See pine bark from 3 different suppliers at 3, 6, & 9 o'clock, and finished soil in the middle: When I refill the new container with the soil mix, how far up should I fill it? There are a lot of stem cuttings that are visible. That's probably not the correct terminology but I assume you understand what I mean. Should I clean this up? Should I bury these any if at all? The soil level should be .5-1" below the pot rim, minimum; and the plants should be planted so the crown is above the soil line to prevent crown rot. Lastly, if I remove all of the old soil, will I need to pack in new soil to fill the void at the thickest part of the roots? I'm sure some of these are silly questions but I truly have no idea what I'm doing and this plant means a lot to me. I want to do what's best for it. I use a wooden dowel rod, sharpened in a pencil sharpener (same tool as you can use as a tell to show when plants need water) to work soil into the voids between roots. See the 2 tools on the right. They serve the same purpose, except I favor the white one I made. Al

I see babies on the inside bottom of the pot, I think. I pulled some out to replant but they started dropping like flies, leaves were falling off and they are just droopy now in a pot.. I cant find turface where I live.. SeaChem Fluorite, is the stuff is sold at the pet store but its $40 ($18 on amazon) for a small bag but very consistent in size. I also use the Napa Oil Dry which is $10 for 30lbs but I only get 50% of the good sized stuff. The rest is tiny, I save it but I never use it. The fluorite looks way better than both of them though. Here are some pics.. Napa Oil Dry (sifted) SeaChem Fluorite (sifted) Baby Weeds Dead Baby Weeds