I am noticing on some of my plants (2 yrs old or older) the leaves are curling up, have no idea what is causing it, have not changed soil or watering method, it is not on the younget seedlings.

Hi Doris, can you post at the leave, and can you tell me what fertilizer you using with the, also check the bottom of the pots, if you see a white stuff around the drainage holes you might have a salt build up from fertilizers, if thats the case you might have to re-pot them let me know Doris.

Good morning Wilfred,I checked the pots, nothing on the bottom by the holes except a couple of them have roots coming out the bottom, I planned on trimming them but they have buds and I hate to disturb them, should I trim them anyway.

hi Doris, I woulddn't cut the roots, I would pull out the hole plant out the pot and put new potting mix at the bottm of the pot like an inch, or inch and a half, than place the plant back in. After that I would take the same amount of potting mix that I put at the bottom of pot from the top of your pot and use that to fill in the sides, it would be like if you were pulling out your plant an inch to expose the caudex one more inch. that way your caudex will keep growing, and you won't risk your plant loosing its bloom or getting root rot from cutting the roots as they can rot if cut and not cured before watering your plants, and you have to water so bloom or buds don't fall off. What is the fertilizer your use, is it all purpose 20-20-20 or a super bloom fertilizer like 10-50-5, some fertilizers can build up in the potting mix depending how much your water between fertilizing and this can cause leaves to curl up, it all depends on what pots you use, platic or clay and the potting mix, all these contribiute on how fast they dry out and how many times your water between fertilizing. Remember everytime you water your plants some of the fertilizer will come out the drainage holes, so if you don't water a lot between feedings it can build up and you end up giving your plants an overdose of fertilizer without wantting to. If you want you can skip a fertilizing and see what happens, If you can take a close-up photo of the leaves so I can see it maybe I can see if thats the case.

Hope this helps you Doris
Your Friend Wilfred

Forgive an old man asking a question I long ago knew, but have now forgotten , I've just dug out several of my plants in order to raise them up; some of the roots are two foot long and I may have damaged a few. I noticed the main stems were rather soft?? We gout one of our tropical down pours b-4 I could replant and they are now laying on my grass. Two questions; should I let them lay out under shelter for a few days b-4 replanting, and should I trim any of the tops? They are all rather large and in full bloom. I'm considering putting them in large pots then burying the pots to make it easier next year to raise them. Good idea?Bad idea?

Golly, I'm glad to see you fellas. God bless you both.

Good to see you also, haven't seen you post much lately, glad your well.

Hi Jim and Charleen thanks to both of you.
It's a good idea Jim, just let to root heal any part that has broken just to make sure it doesn't rot were the it has been injured, also you can trim it now or wait until it has finished blooming, it's your call on that.

Your Friend Wilfred

Wilfred, what are your thoughts on potting them and then putting the pots in the ground? I can no longer able to be carrying pots in and out of the house! They do great in the ground, but;wow, do those roots get hugh.

OK Wilfred we are glad you are back to help with answers. this is close up of my curled leaves.on one plant the bloom is also curved.

This is one of the Desert rose I transplanted yesterday, thats a 15 inch ruler beside it to give an idea of how large the roots go.

Nice roots.
My poor plants, I keep them alive but very seldom do they bloom. I don't know what I do wrong . So I'm going to watch and see how you all do.

Charleen: sun and fertilizer will usually do the trick.

, Jim and Wilfred. It's nice to have you guys posting again. I've got the dreaded mealy bugs again. Should I cut off the infected stalks and then treat the plant? What about the ones with a single stalk? Please help!

what kind of soil is needed?? Much like cactus soil, I may have too much drainage...
Thank you Hetty...

Drainage is good, I cannot imagine you can have too much drainage. Just make sure to fertilize, since that kind of mix usually doesn't hold nutrients very well.

That is probably what it is. Thank you.

Doris, there might be mealy bugs? Just a guess.

Jimmy, I've heard that a pot in the ground is a bad idea because they don't drain well.

Deebie, I spray with Malathion for various bugs. Then in about a half hour, I spray again with plain water. I figure the bugs die and then I want the plants to be clean.

I'll be digging two plants in a friend's yard, they've been in the ground for several years, I am wondering if I will be able to dig them! If they have long "carrot" roots, I'll cut the roots off and hang the plants for a long while, weeks or maybe even months, until they start little rootlets around the edges of the cuts. Will post photos of the ordeal!

I doubt it there are mealy bugs as they have not been outside, they are in my plant room,
Charleene I use cactus mix, it drains good.

I'm going to get me some cactus soil this month. I do have one with a bloom but it is my oldest one wit the strange blooms....