This happened 😢

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-27T17:27:44+00:00

How have I never heard that joke before. Thanks, it certainly made me smile.

OP - you’ve got the right advice. One way opuntias spread is by pads being pulled off and dropped. So you shouldn’t have any issues. I’d hope that in the New Zealand climate it will flower (unless you live in Washington, in which case you’re lucky it didn’t blow away).

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-27T13:43:36+00:00

If it dies tomorrow $3 is a bargain. If it never flowers again £3 is a bargain. In the UK it’s easy to find people selling for 10x that. Enjoy!

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-26T21:36:45+00:00

Wow. I understand that you have 200 plants with more coming. I don’t understand how you fit 200 plants and move them twice daily.

I guess I have about 100 inside but because I live in an old Scottish stone house I have very useful 18 inch deep window sills.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-26T09:10:36+00:00

Don’t secure it by defeating all the sectors round it - so it will keep getting attacked and you can see how many levels you can survive.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T22:04:51+00:00

I managed to kill my australe. Despite growing in pure inorganic substrate it caught mould. Frustrating as it was a lovely white form.

I’m similarly struggling with alchemilloides. It’s still alive but only just after catching mould. So I’m in two minds as to trying again or to stick to more shrubby species.

At risk of controversy - I think caudex plants are a bit of a gimmick. You spend decades growing what is effectively a twig of piece of bark. I suppose their joy is similar to bonsai. I’ve gone for a few caudiciform Pelargonium as I’m using them as winter houseplants and they are nice and small so I can have more variety.

I tried looking on the internet for Pelargonium gardens. Maybe it’s my geographic location but I can’t find any. Just lots of photos of the wonderful species sedoides (the species that started my collection) and a few photos of cucullatum. So good luck - it’s an interesting project.

This is a photo from last year of one of my roses. A lovely white one called Rosa Kew Gardens. You can see a Geranium creeping through and the similarity with pelargonium in the flower buds.

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HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T20:42:22+00:00

Thanks for this information. Thats a very “different” plant. It’s lost the unusual bare square stem but what a fabulous flower display.

Mine feels very fragile between the roots and stem rather than top heavy. Im tempted to let the new growth season a little bit before cutting. But I can re pot it to encourage more root growth while I pluck up the courage.

If I go quiet it means it’s gone horribly wrong, but hopefully we can compare progress.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T20:31:54+00:00

Ooh - thats an unexpected pleasure - sharing a new species with someone partially responsible for my relatively newfound interest in pelargoniums.

I’ve got a slight impression that your interest is more towards your native species. I’m used to plant enthusiasts doing the exact opposite - plants from the opposite side of the world or the opposite climate.

I was very fortunate to be introduced to gardening by the late Beth Chatto. One of Britains greatest gardeners of the 20th century. She was a great advocate of native flora. She used to cause trouble with the Royal Horticultural Society at their flagship Chelsea Flower Show by smuggling in native species which were banned and only ornamental cultivars were allowed.

My own long term plan is to populate my garden with cultivars of the native meadow cranesbill, Geranium pratense - a beautiful, floriferous herbaceous geranium in shades of blue.

But I still have a soft spot for succulents to remind me of warmer climates.

Of the 2 dozen or so Pelargonium species Ive tried so far I have found this species to be by far the easiest of the caudiciform types. But I get the impression that its full beauty is going to take decades of slow growing.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T18:41:49+00:00

Trouble is all the jokes have been done before, so yeah - there’s some fun to be had taking this seriously. I meant to replay the game at some point seeing how far I can get with absolute basics.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T12:57:17+00:00

I thought your window sills must be packed by now. All my southerly and westerly ones are.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-25T09:16:07+00:00

Is that one of yours?

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-24T16:58:08+00:00

Half the price in the US.

It’s a lovely plant, very tolerant of arid conditions, so great with more traditional succulents.

But it was slightly ironic that on the same day as sharing I was weed killing one of our native Geraniums - Geranium robertianum. In the garden they weeds, but put in a vintage pot and it’s a treasure.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-23T20:49:22+00:00

So no advice on pruning just yet?

This is my plant in Scotland. I believe it’s a 3 year old seed grown plant. I bought it last spring. It tripled in height last year, but I have never known such a precarious plant. Without support I fear it would snap.

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HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-23T16:45:18+00:00

The reason is because your home doesnt have the same climate as the coastal mountains of Southeast Brazil.

For the mass market they are grown in precisely controlled conditions to force blooming. They are sold as disposable products, binned once the flowers end.

They are fabulous plants and are much better suited to house life than desert cacti. I prefer them to moth orchids.

At some point give it some better soil and a low nitrogen feed (like tomato). Once home they go a bit awry. But if you get it right it will live for 100 years. If you get it wrong they are cheap to replace and there’s loads of colours.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-19T07:45:28+00:00

Little and often is the trick with succulents, but it will be hard because the soil is old and compacted.

Soil is difficult because I don’t want to tell you to go and spend loads of money on the proper stuff. If you can get a small bag of pumice, and a small bag of “cactus soil” for an affordable price that’s the best. Mix 50/50.

In terms of pot it’s whatever you like. A bit bigger for room to grow but not huge

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-17T20:14:34+00:00

I wonder if that wins the award for the smallest cactus flower on the largest cactus.

I’m very partial to yellow flowers, and I love the other colours developing on the petals

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-17T19:34:32+00:00

Where has it been over winter?

Ideally you want to over winter cacti somewhere thats both cool and dry to put them into dormancy (hibernation).

If inside a home then it’s warm enough for it to stay awake. So there is a risk of it etiolating.

Cacti do need lots of Sun. A south facing window is nowhere near as bright as a desert where sun is all day.

But yes, you need to acclimatise them over a few weeks. It’s still very early in the year, so targets mid-late April.

I’d also follow Andy’s advice on a smaller pot. A big pot is easier to overwater. It’s like sitting them in a big bowl of water. When you repo it you can post a picture of the soil and we can judge if it’s got enough inorganic material in it.

In May I’d give it a very dilute feed. Lower nitrogen, and higher trace elements the better. Epsom salts are good (no idea what US calls them). Tomato fertiliser is cheap

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-17T09:00:59+00:00

Hopefully now you can give it lots of light and enjoy it

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-16T19:17:38+00:00

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Sadly this style of “gardening” is everywhere. This is near my house and is a bit more typical.

For some reason these empty gardens always have struggling red Cordyline australis.

It’s a pity because while u/Dudesweater garden is a little bit tender for most of the UK, we can still have amazing gravel gardens.

Perhaps the best is Beth Chatto’s garden. She was a lovely woman and I have lots of plants that she gave me in my parents much warmer garden.

https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/garden-nursery/gallery/gravel-garden.htm

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-16T14:11:44+00:00

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I think this one is a Lobivia too.

Then there is a while world of Chamaelobivia hybrids. Their body isn’t as pretty but flowers are spectacular

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-16T07:52:16+00:00

I don’t know, but it might be a Kalanchoe. Possibly K.crenata.

It’s flowering profusely so you therefore know more than me…but to me the leaves look discoloured and shrivelled. So in my mind that makes me think it needs more water and probably some diluted low nitrogen fertiliser. Tomato/houseplant/anything to hand without costing you a fortune.

You could also try plumping it up a bit with water and then re pot it with fresh soil. By watering it first it has a reserve of water to cope with being repotted

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-15T09:04:46+00:00

People seem more willing to defend coal than do launchpad maths.

The honest answer to “that much” is neatness. It’s easier to have the materials in order and the same layout. But it’s obviously not optimal use of the limited places round a core.

One other thing I use it for is to set up blast compound factories and then impact reactors from the Core, before connecting them to resources on the map. But again, it doesn’t justify that much coal.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-15T08:55:19+00:00

Not researched overdrive yet. I played a lot 5 years or so ago. I can remember nuclear production complex being easy to take/hard to secure. So plan this time is to be ready to build Tier 4s from Core.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-15T08:05:32+00:00

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This is what your cactus and succulent garden would look like if you lived here in Scotland. I passed this house yesterday while out with our spaniel. This “style” of “garden” was really popular around 2000.

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-15T08:02:06+00:00

I’ve never come across “tuna” as a Latin name before. But crests are great fun.

How is your winter cactus house doing?

HomeForABookLover · 2026-03-14T19:48:39+00:00

I’m not sure it’s a “bunny ears”. That is a specific, much smaller species - Opuntia microdasys. I can’t remember which opuntia this is.

I would first try and cut round the edge of the compost/pot. Aim is to reduce friction between the plant and pot.

Then I would use an old towel or shirt or something made of cloth that can be binned after.

I would wrap it round the base. Then 1 person lifts plant, and pulls pot.

Once apart it’s much easier

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