Ryan, that Stapelia is one of my favorites, with that fur (somewhat like on a vulture's neck~LOL). I haven't seen it bloom for a while now, but did check yesterday & see I still have some of the plant left. I had several Huernia & Piaranthus that rotted out before I ever got blooms from them to ID. That's a bummer! I will have to take more care on the next ones. On the Cactus Shades... great idea!!! :D Look for an email from me, Ryan, so I can get your snail mail address to send them to you! I'll set up a post about it once I've mailed them off. You'll have to send them to Jessica next! I think what I'll do is see who is interested...in the separate post & then gather snail mail addresses. We'll try to keep the shades in the same box for traveling (sturdy enough not to break these things-sm enough not to cost too much postage) & maybe a small notebook to serve as a log ("guest book"?). Each person will take a pic of themselves with the shades & post the pic. Each will record their username on GW, real name (if you want), place where pic is taken (city/state/country/whatever location) & date, and send along to the next GW'er. We'll see how far it travels & how long it takes!! Are you game??? Thank you, Ronda! I am lucky to live in a place that offers such a wide variety of succulents for my pickings! Many times, the coloring I get in my plants is attributed to neglect...or what I like to call their "California tan"! Many are stressed plants. Some folks frown on that. I wish ALL folks could find all these plants! Best I can do is share my pix of them. =) I have been cheating using pix I took long ago, rather than processing the new pix. (I have over 50,000...and time is limited!) Again, I must run!

As with many other issues, I suppose there are different views... but being a newbie and after having read different responses, here and elsewhere, I'm more inclined to accept that beach sand is not a good thing. Thanks for your input :)) @lisasfbay9b I would say the proportion is say 1 to 8 in the smaller pots, 1 to 15 in the medium-sized ones and way bigger in the others, so yes, it might not be such a drama after all. As I said, the intent (alas, how mistakenly it seems now!) was to have a small layer of a material which, in principle, would always be dry (beach sand doesn't retain water, right?) so when the plant roots reached that level at the bottom of the pot they wouldn't be soggy or wet in case I over watered, hence they wouldn't rot. Yes, all the pots have holes, I'm newbie, but that I get! As per how salty... I'm not tasting it, huh (LOL!), seriously, I wouldn't know and I don't have the equipment to measure it. I can only say is natural beach sand from the beaches here in Barcelona. It's very fine sand. As per salting it out, well, since there are plants in the pots I don't want to overwater and then kill them. @rina_Ontario,Canada(5a) Regular soil means (to me as a 'city dweller') standard bagged soil you can purchase in 5,10,20 and 50L bags at most garden centres, and I believe in English is referred to as "potting soil", right? As per how are they doing, well, some are doing fine others no so much, but (a) it's been a recent plant out and (b) those that are not doing so well it might just well be that I'm a newbie and perhaps I'm watering too much, or perhaps they are too exposed to the sun.... or a thousand other things I might be doing wrong. As they say "always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will."

Karen...I have had this same thing happen to me over the last couple winters. Some hoyas thrive and others just slowly yellow until there are no leaves left. I think some are just more sensitive to changing conditions. I also have had some rot issues, but not necessarily on the same plants as the ones who are yellowing. So far this year the only one to yellow was my australis, who was right by the front door. I treated with a fungicide and moved it away from the drafty door and no more leaves have yellowed. Last winter I lowered the thermostat during the christmas break (thinking I would save on my heating bill) and came back to several dead or dying plants. So I am convinced my main issue is cool damp conditions. I have been keeping an eye on the dampness of my soil, but mainly I have been keeping my thermostat a little higher. I also applied weather stripping to all my windows. So far so good although we are just now starting to experience cold temps here in Ohio. I did lose my little diptera, it just turned mushy but it was by the window before the stripping was applied. It also had a hard time during the summer months. I have all of my hoyas either in my plant room (east facing but three light stands so a lot of indirect light) or in my kitchen in front of the south window. I also have been running humidifiers in both rooms (the one in the plant room has a fan). Now that christmas break is again approaching I am once again nervous to leave for fear of what I will discover upon my return. To prepare I have turned off the humidifiers this week to get them ready for the lower humidity (can't run them while I am gone). I also have been avidly treating them with Safer soap since low humidity seems to equal "hello spider mites". I will also be keeping my thermostat up. I will be crossing my fingers for you and me both! Kim

In reference to over potting : Some may ask why have room for something ( roots) that haven't even developed yet? Question 2 in 2 parts Daniel how do you compare an over potted jade that is getting better attention and care in your home to a neglected over potted jade in a neglected hot house that may or may not have been seen by someone else ? Part 2 of this question is can you even begin to describe what a neglected hot house looks like ? I ask because: Considering that anybody with a KEEN eye will see a neglected plant at a garden center. They're commonly HIDDEN in an out of public view area Why they hide neglected items? The garden center ( pros as they call themselves) wont arose neglected plant suspicions from the public. Just as a pointer All plants ( succulents included) don't grow at all if all one does is neglect it. Best advice I have to offer you is, not ever believe the phrase ( that has been read a few to many times from to many people ) saying, " I neglect my plant and it thrives" Personally I think you should continue with your over potted succulent experiment .I also think if things should go wrong during your experiment I would also encourage you to make the needed changes for better result. Keep the over all plant health more of the upfront priority than your ambitions to re-preach your skills to any the more skilled cultivators.