Boy, are you lucky! :( We get some many sparrows, doves, starlings, etc. in our yard that they carry darned near everything in. Usually it's my big fat n' fluffy fluffy girls (cochins with big butts & feathered feet) that get them on their feet & fannies, and our two Polish girls on their head crests. The other chickens seem to be able to reach all of their 'special areas' and keep themselves preened and the mites at bay. :) Velvet ~:>

Sandy, Sadly, I only have five left. My husband passed away last May and I didn't care for my garden as I should have last summer; nothing much mattered to me for a while. With the terrible heat and dry weather we had here, I lost some plants, including some of my young Red Ring. I'm trying to get the garden back in order but it is a mess right now. Getting old and can't work at a good pace anymore. But it gives me joy again so will keep at it. One viridis showing up here. I did have three but so far, only the one is up. I don't know how old they should be before blooming but I'd sure love to see one of their blooms in person. Good luck with your seed germination. I suspect, if anyone can get these seed up and thriving, it is you. Mary

D@ves Gardens says 20F for Mamillarria spinosissima .Others have it at 25F.I do see where 46F is mentioned as a minimum temperature. That might be a habitat minimum for the natural range that it is in. Mine has seen it below freezing but I take it in when it gets close to 30. All of this is given in a perfect situation, A dry in the ground situation and a brief period of the cold. Deserts plummet at night and warm back up i the day.Was your pot out in the weather and was the ground wet and how long was the freeze. The size of the pot will have the roots much colder than if it was in the ground. Also many cactus will automatically dehydrate themselves as a defense mechanism against the cold if they have been hardened of, and slowly rehydrate as it gets warmer. I do not know if this is what is going on. I would see if your soil its wet. I try to keep my cactus undercover, out of the rain when it gets under 40F. What is the soil mix like. Does it have a lot of drainage? Rot and cold are your enemy. 23 is cold. That is colder than all but the DG lowest rating. I guess this comes under the heading of learning to question authority. Eh? HINT, Do it politely and quietly after the appropriate research. I guess there is no better time to learn about your parents fallibility. We are all only human. Great lesson for life.. Hidalgo Mexico was mentioned as its natural range. One might see if one could find the plant zone for the area. Remember, many times hardiness can be more than where it lives naturally. But that is a starting place to understand rain patterns and also when to start being cautious. A lot of cactus grow in areas other that the high desert. Hidalgo is not New Mexico or Nevada. This post was edited by wantonamara on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 19:12

Thank you so much! It was a fun weekend. Tucker made not only my day or weekend but my whole year because he wanted to spend the whole weekend at my house. His Mom and Tasha continued to travel a bit more to see other family members on thier vacation. It thought it was pretty cool that Tucker thougth it would be more fun to stay with his ol aunt!...