If you find you are going to be away for a few days, why don't you put them in the shade until you get back? Or you could ask a neighbor or friend to water them for you, since over watering this time of year, in your hot sun is almost impossible.. Some who have no time to water every couple of days in their hot sun, will even amend the original gritty mix by adding a bit more turface than all the rest of the ingredients.... You say the pots are small? Are they in plastic or clay? If clay, you could stick them in a bigger pot, preferably plastic surrounded my something that holds mositure, like mulch, or a very wet towel,and the clay will keep absorbing moisture from it while your away keeping your plant from drying out.. Just a few ideas... Good luck:-) Mike

Nice Tom! Great score finding an old P. afra like that. I always look for these aged plants long since forgotten about in some corner of the nursery. If you can find gnarly ones used as a a source of cuttings, they have the most character. It seem people pass them over because they look "damaged" and "old" but we know better! Some judicious pruning and a little staging make for really, really nice looking plants. I hope you keep updating us as this project progresses, so far it looks awesome!

They love full sun. Beyond that, trunks thicken when there is a lot of room for roots and lots of branches and leaves to support, so increase pot size progressively and let each plant grow unhindered. There is too much to say on this subject in a thread, so you might research some basic bonsai books. ez

Sorry, but pls. allow me to disagree. SOME succulents are desert plants, many are not, so that's somewhat confusing. Many originated in Madagascar, which IIRC is not desert. These plants are favorite Elephant food in bush country, (don't think that's desert either). Is that your potting & mix? Or the Vendors? Am asking what kind of mix is it in? I pure pumice, wondering is there soil under there or not? Lena PS: those pink highlights are just gorgeous!!