@Ursula is that E. francoisii easy to care for? Maybe I'll get one haha.

@sedumzz Normally this one went totally dormant in the Fall and had a hard time waking up in the Spring. This year I keep it in the greenhouse and don't let it dry out at all. That is how I treat my E. decaryi too, water them through the Winter. That seems to be the key for me here.

@Floridian , the normal size of E. Knuthii is 1 cm, but I have some that is 2cm measured at the widest part.

And E. Francoisii is also an easy plant, I don't why they are expensive in here, in Thailand and in Taiwan. They like in bright shade area. Almost all of my Francoisii do not have direct sunlight at all, only a few that I allow some early morning sun, still monitoring if that will make any difference. They can be propagated by cuttings also. I have one broken branch during shipment, and it grew roots in 2 weeks time. And @Ursula, your francoisii is not tiny, that is adult plant, should bigger than all my mother francoisii, only yours is bald.

TJOE, I didn't realize! Yes, I did buy it many years ago, but I always assumed it should grow better!😀

The magic Kaktus touch???!!!???
How did you get yours to grow double the normal diameter??

Yup, that's it!!!

Wait for 3 to 5 years, when the roots grow big, then the stem will also big. And I also put more fertilizer into the mix, balanced npk, slow release, and I also give them the fish juice last month. I am very sure the fish juice contribute to that. The juice is a real magic, but I not sure if it is good for succulents, proven good for fruits and tropicals.

Fish juice?
I still keep a goldfish pond in the backyard. When I kept Gouramis in the greenhouse, I would clean the tank once a week. The Orchids responded very well being watered then with the dirty water.
Is that what you call "fish juice"?

Or perhaps it is fish emulsion fertilizer or whatever they call that stuff?

sedumzz said: Or perhaps it is fish emulsion fertilizer or whatever they call that stuff?

Yes, something like that, my friend produce this, made from whole fish, very thick and smelly, they call it some sort of enzyme, I believe there are certain bacteria inside. Attracts ants, something that you don't want to keep inside your house.
Not cheap, but they show me some video on the result of applying those in corn, soya, etc. , they claimed that the harvest at least double. They even mix those into animal feed for pig and cow, also resulted into fat animals.
I got a sample, tried it into some tropical plants like jasmine, gardenia jasmine, Hoya, etc. All gave me a very good result. I am not sure if it is due to the arrival of rainy season or the juice. Planned to try on adeniums, but I can not apply those in rainy days.
Sharing the result, just applied once.

Look at the size of this Hoya, compare with the normal leaf at the back.


This small tortured plants, at this size, this treatment and this pot, it should not flower.


Lots of flower buds on the gardenia jasmine, but most of them rotted and fell-off before open, not sure why.

I didn't apply those on the C&S, worried that they will rot, except on Knuthii that I can afford to loose, also 2 gymnos and 1 melo cactus to see if they can become giant cactus, but so far I didn't see any.

Repotted a few pots again today, this one is a piece of art.

Thanks for the explanation regarding the fish stuff!

And you are right, this one IS a work of art!

Kaktus said:
2nd October

It grows quite fast, 2 months. The rock breaks.

Today, 1st December.

Another one

Kaktus said:
31st August 2023
.. . ..


.. .. .. ..

today 2nd Dec, 3 months later..
Before and after..

Wanted to try some long caudex E. Knuthii. Those double deck bottles are 11 inch now. Let's see what happens in a year or two from now.

Interesting idea!

Fun! Looks like 2 guys having a conversation, with arm gestures.

How do you keep those from falling over constantly?

purpleinopp said: Fun! Looks like 2 guys having a conversation, with arm gestures.

How do you keep those from falling over constantly?

For now I just put them in between some other pots that were half of their heights. I hope that will prevent them from falling.


I have another setup that I haven't share it here, this one is even slimmer, the diameter of the bottle is just 3 cm. I cut open the bottom of the bottle to allow the roots to grow out/wide at the bottom, then I may be able to display it on shallow pot in the future. From time to time it will tilt one side, and I have to reposition it a bit, the roots has grown out at the bottom, I can feel it when I adjust the position of the bottle.

Such a fun way to manipulate these plants.

OK, thank you, TJOE. : )

Agree, Ursula. I'm usually trying to keep my plants short so it's fun to see someone doing the opposite.