Fero histrix_electrocantha 2.jpg Fero histrix_electrocantha 1.jpg I've been very interested in this thread. I have a couple of quite large Ferocactus plants grown from seed back in the 1970s. Neither of them have flowered yet. One I have identified as wisliezenii v herrerae but the nearest identifi...

It's a Mammillaria, but I'm not sure which one. What colour and size were the flowers?

Of course, Birmingham Botanical Gardens have a decent c&s greenhouse open for public access, near where the BCSS has held many shows: http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/the-glasshouses/arid-house Best wishes, Derek Tribble, Horrow Branch I visited the Birmingham Botanical Gardens two ...

From my own experience I've noticed when a pot stays wet for longer than it should there may already be a problem with the plants root system and nothing to do with the fertiliser used. If the plants roots are healthy the soil will usually dry out reasonably quickly even at this time of the year, i...

Thanks for your comments Dave, and the copied quotess. It looks as though Miracle Grow has caused problems to others. I am not using the slow release version, just the dissolvable crystals which I water onto the soil. I should also have mentioned that I keep a cool fan heater on all year to maintain...

I'm getting a bit concerned about some of my smaller cacti, now that we are getting cooler and damper weather. During the summer and early autumn I feed with fertiliser once a month (Miracle Gro, which is low nitrogen and contains the necessary trace elements that cacti need). I have noticed that th...

Mealy bugs
Damping off
Sciarid fly