Hmmm I didn't see any signs about the Joshua trees. All of the yuccas in that valley were different. You could tell where fire had been an issue because they were all really short or nonexistant. The park rangers (I guess?) or whoever were trying to grow more in the burn area and had these areas protected. I don't know that they are endangered but I do know that they are "rare" in that they are only found in the Mojave desert and only in the higher elevations there. We went further east into Arizona and they were ALL over the place and were HUGE. I'm so fascinated by them. Who knows how old some of them were. They were in or right by a reservation (the big ones I saw) and had a lot of branching, more than I've seen in pictures of them. I know that removing any desert plants causes legal problems for the remover, so that may be right. I saw a jack rabbit and roaming cattle on the reservation but I think that's as much as I saw. Toni you would NOT believe the sky at night at the reservation - the only other time I've seen anything like it was on the border of Minnesota and Canada - NOTHING like our Chicago night sky lol! I had my face pressed up against the window our entire 2 hour drive back to Vegas from Arizona LOL Did you know the road that went over the Hoover Dam is now closed off? We drove over it one of the last weekends it was open apparently. Really glad I got to do that. I think all the plants were worn because it is so dang hot and dry there. They were in desperate need of water, someone that lived there that was from Chicago said it hadn't rained in over 2 months. They were just really dried up and brown. We did not camp there, I think I would be too scared lol...I've camped in the deep woods up north where bears visited us and tried to get our food and a Moose was across the lake but I don't know what scary things lurk in deserts lol I like lizards and such so those wouldn't bother me. I would like to visit those conservatories, especially that prickly pear tree. Too bad I didn't get to see that stalk! The agaves in the wild were tall but not that tall lol Those are pretty much it for my landscape pictures, I tried to get some of the Joshua Trees but it was night so it didn't work out too well.

My largest? Rob's Slap Happy at a whopping 4.25" in diameter. LOL I don't do the large AVs. I have too many other plants -- orchids, carnivorous plants, cacti/succulents, et cetera -- to have the space for the big AVs. Did have one years back that was about 12" or more in diameter when I got rid of it. Was a deathrow rescue from Lowes ... possibly about 5" in diameter then. Put it in one of my terrariums. Kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally ripped it out as it was muscling out the terr's other inhabitants. Sent it down to a forum friend in Florida who wanted it for her lanai.

Aside from the mini sinningias, most other gesneriads prefer to dry out between waterings, so they aren't very good candidates for a terrarium. I have seen streptocarpus in terrs. in pics, but who knows how long they lasted (the pic could have been taken right after they put the strep. in). I'm going to try them in mine, because I just love them, but not until my soil dries out more. It's waaaaaaayyyyyyy too wet in there right now. Also, I wouldn't worry about the mould. It really only goes on dead stuff, so your plants will be fine, and you may get some really cool things growing. I've got all these tiny plants that look like some kind of fern popping up all over my terr. The seeds must have been in the soil or something. I rather like them, as they are a nice golden green, and they are very low-growing, almost like a moss. The leaves resemble ginkgo leaves, if anyone happens to know the plant I am describing. The largest are about 1 cm wide and tall.

Thanks Joanne, I had read somewhere that lighter leaves needs more sunlight, I was given a large AV once that had turned white from the wrong lighting, the woman knew I could take care of it. For the record that was a mess. At first I thought it was diseased so I kept it away from my others and removed all the white leaves and by the time I got to the newest green leaves I had an small AV "tree" with the long leafless stem LOL . Then I figured out it was just a lack of sunlight. I ended up with a tiny top and just rooted it and placed it in the East window with my others.. It was probably the best thing for it. The lighter green of mine made me question it and I just wasn't sure if it was a lighting issue. I can see what you're saying. I've rinsed it and placed it in my northern window (bright, indirect light). Funny how the growing conditions can vary from hybrids. My other 4 minis are all slightly darker in tone and has the heavier fuzz on them. They are already uncurling. Looks like you solved it! Thanks Joanne!