In my experience Sempervivums are almost impossible to kill, so either approach will work. Please note that I've never kept any of the "fancy" cultivars, just the "regular" species. Cultivars might be a bit more sensitive.

Seedlings look perfectly normal in my opinion. U. pectinifera is a slow growing species.

Many thanks Nino_G, I was looking far too close to the spiny areole! As a non-specialist, forgive me but I'll think of them as separate areoles when looking for them from now on... So, big question, if I see spiral tubercules=mammaries each with two areoles, the top one having a white furry 'cover'...

Yes, but they are two parts of the same areole, one part on the tip and other part at the base of the tubercle.

Bifurcation in this case means that the areoles are split between the tip of the tubercle (from where spines usually grow) and the space between tubercles (from where flowers, and sometimes offsets, appear).

I love the S. disciformis, P. aselliformis & A. hintonii section

Thamnophis sirtalis, beautiful snake

Escobaria minima germinated really well (seeds sown on Christmas 2023).

Have you ever checked the roots from time to time? How long after it started rooting? I would like to know that too :D Have all three offsets rooted? Have you tried rooting other Aztekium species Frank? I never heard of anyone successfully rooting A. ritteri (I know many people who tried) or A. val...

Another thought regarding rot-prone species, if anyone has an opinion..... Would the droplets of water on the seedlings from after I mist them be a source of rot? Should I be bottom watering to keep the bodies of the plants dry? Hello Zac, I don't think remaining droplets of water will present any ...

Lovely colours! Rebutia/Sulcorebutia/Aylostera group is my favourite among South-American cacti.

Strombocactus do you grow them enclosed in plastic ? They germinate easy but so small and more difficult than other tiny seed succulents like lithops. Dry out or rot is my experience. Yes, I use the same procedure as for other slow growing species (e.g. Aztekium). Seeds are sown in a sterile condit...

Seedlings of strombocactus disciformis grow very slowly. I sowed many seeds but about 50 seedlings have servived. The photo is some of them, 10~15 mm in diameter. Yes, they're not much faster than Aztekium species. Price is much lower, though (at least in Europe), due to low demand. How old are you...

Seedlings of S. disciformis, almost two years old. Plants are 3-5mm in diameter.

First T. alonsoi flower of the season: