More to update... H. magnifica continues to grow fast. H. naumanii seems to have a new growth "nubbin" coming on, too, so I guess that one must be ok for sure. (New growth is my signal that a rooted cutting is actually viable - USUALLY!) I got a cuttings of H. incrassata in a trade in April. It rooted quickly and even seemed like it was going to grow and put out a leafless vine. But then it stopped and has been motionless since. I think I'm seeing a little sign of a growth bud on it, too. Yay! That one looks like it will be pretty one...

One that I'm finally sighing with relief about is Dischidia ramosii. Dischidias, for me, are tough cookies to get going. Don't even bother to try to root them in the fall! Well, with the exception of geri - it's one that's so easy to grow, it may not even need soil! But the rest of them are tough to root in ideal circumstances, and even once rooted, they can be stubborn to keep alive. Well, ramosii is one I tried 3 years ago - one of the first I got from Tanya Livschultz. I'm not sure what it was about this one, but I wanted it to grow SO bad - I seem to recall that she told me it blooms red, and maybe that's it. Anyway, the first one rooted, but then before winter was over, it slowly started drying from the tip and evenually (ever...so...slowly) died. I wasn't a happy camper! Then, last fall, Tom from my cactus club, who manages the University greenhouse, asked if I wanted some of Tanya's collection - she'd moved back east and left most of it behind. I collected TONS of cuttings but, because it was fall, lost the vast majority of them. Went back early this spring and got TONS more, sent a bunch off to Carol in Hawaii, and started rooting. Believe it or not, I still lost quite a bunch of the cuttings! Well, it was February... maybe too early. But I did manage to get some of the ramosii to root. It put on a bit of new growth here and there, so I knew I'd finally succeded, but it's been my experience that you can't be terribly trusting of Dischidias until they're fairly mature. Well now it's really taken off, and I may even need to pot it up to a larger pot pretty soon! Maybe I can anticipate some blooms soon.

And one that proves my theory that Dischidias are tempermental is griffithii. It's one that rooted nicely, put on new growth, but became dehydrated and has been struggling to bounce back. I think it will make it, but I was kicking myself in the butt when I let it get too dry. Once established, many dischidias are real water guzzlers! In the GH, I can water geri nearly every day when it's hot.

Anyway, my goal this week (with a small wedding to get ready for) is to do some rearranging in the GH and start bringing in Haworthias and Gasterias that are still outside. The sun-lovers (Aloes, Echeverias, Crassulas, etc...) will stay out until mid-Sept., unless it turns cold early. And my Jades will stay out right up until they prdict our first frost. It's the only way I can get them to bloom!

Off to get ready for Ella Rose's christening...