Cactus lovers/growers?

[Aggie_Ama]

My Agave is growing like crazy and it has a pup! We added little pot feet (they're frogs) to promote drainage and the agave is really happy. I want to dig out the little pup and nuture it to be a present for my mother in law. I am also going to have to start looking for another pot, I don't want to plant it in the yard because this is not the house we plan on living in forever and I have become very attached to my agave.

Lisa- Do you know how to grow an succulent or a resource for it?

Here is an updated photo (you can also see my Zinnias are popping!):

[Fredwina]

I had to repot some plants, and one appears to be dying

any ideas?
Btw, I've got some. apologies for my el cheapo camera:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Fredwina,
Some possibile causes?:
Did you use a potting soil made for cacti?- often those have way too much peat moss in them and it prevents the soil from getting wet at all. Most cactus growers mix regular potting soil and some sort of sand or tiny gravel about 1/2 and 1/2- that mixture works well.
Also, if you have just repotted, the plants will be under stress and should not be in the blasting sun all day for a while. Cactus need to adjust gradually from indoors to out in the full sun. Too sudden a change can actually burn them.
Don't let them get water more than once every week or two...they rot easily in soil that is not allowed to dry out between waterings.

[Trek420]

Today I planted a foxglove. a stevia, and some portuluca which seem like a succulent that blooms in many colors, also two fuchias in front.

I continued my fierce battle with agapanthus (sp?) a plant that does nothing for me but house snails. That will protect the rosemary and princess bush in front.

Alas I can't remove my neighbors agapanthus but at least can yank mine from my front yard. I'll buy the snails on the neighbors plant a cheap beer to swim in ;-)

I created a couple of "planter towers" in the patio; small container goes in bare spot in medium container goes in bare spot in big container. Thought I had no room in back on the tiered planter stands but...

now I need more plants

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Aggie-Ama- I love the way your agave and its pot echo the same blue-green color. And what a pretty patio!

Trek- a picture of your "plant tower"?...
Portulaca is wonderful- it is indeed like a succulent. It asks for so little and blooms so enthusiastically under the most dismal blastingly hot conditions.
Everyone had it in their patios in Puerto Rico.

Here is a picture of a funny little cactus of mine called "Medieval Castle" (Cereus peruvianus monstrosa). It's one of the family of "monstrosa" cacti so called because they grow very irregular somewhat deformed growths-- like monstrosities.
This one has red fur-like spines all over it that get into your skin like nasty fiberglass if you are not careful. The red fur is quite pretty but in this photo the backlit sun sort of hides it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I had some "Baby Toes" succulent on a windowsill for months. It didn't seem to be very happy. After a while it wilted and looked like it was dying and/or rotting. I put it outside on the hot sunny porch, figuring it could either die or perk up there.
After a couple of weeks I saw new tiny "toes" growing up as the old toes shriveled away. Then I saw a bud! Here is a picture of the bud on the day before it bloomed, and then two pix of the flower open. I was amazed!
There is another bud growing too. I guess it likes the hot porch.

[lyca]

Wow!!!!!!! Those are so pretty!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh I just had to post this new picture of my babytoes succulent- it's in full flower now! It clearly loved being out on the sunny porch all summer and has been flowering off and on, but this week I had to finally bring it indoors because it's getting cold now in autumn.
After this bunch of flowers, I'm sure it will settle down to a slow lazy indoor pace through the winter inside on the windowsill where it gets less sun than outdoors.
But see how it has grown this summer!

[nic840]

Funny thread! It makes my fingers start to tingle. When I was in college I spent a whole summer working for the International Succulant Institute transplanting and propogating cactus. It was actually a small farm/ranch in Moraga, CA that had thousands of different types of cactus and succulants.

My fingers were raw by the end of the summer. Yes I wore gloves but it still didn't help all that much. I did make enough money to buy a scooter for school transport. Good Times!