Wow, this is super-fascinating. I did not know about this species before. Thanks for adding to my knowledge, folks!

I've heard often that certain types of offsets root more rapidly when they have higher heat. In your experience, would you say that's a true generalization for all desert cacti? Do some species respond better to heat than others? Would putting the offset in a baggy, like seedlings, promote rooting? ...

What kind of worm? I assume not a red worm as they are commonly known where I'm from, which is a type of earthworm. Is it a caterpillar?
Sometimes you can just hand pick them off daily and place them in a caterpillar free zone.

Well, although I'm not a total expert on succulents, I do think it's pretty normal for the bottom leaves to start to shrivel and fall off as the plant grows. From the pictures the top leaves seem to look pretty good. I would only be alarmed if all the leaves start shriveling and falling suddenly. Ed...

I don't even know if this is possible, but what if there were a chat box where people could post one-time ID requests. Then people could just ignore the chat box if they wanted and the forum would get less cluttered.

Goodness, I ha dmany old ones that I think got thrown away. Maybe I should start saving them for folks who want them! Perhaps (and just perhaps because I haven't tried it) you could ask at your local bigbox store if they could accumulate the old pots of the plants that perish in the store. I have se...

Dave, I shall of course read everything that you have supplied me with on this blog, in order to see what I can apply to the task at hand. You are truly a fountain of information and I am grateful for the time and effort you extend to help anyone out who is looking for assistance. So I do hope, tha...

My brother got me these gloves one Christmas! They really are the best for cacti. Even the hooked spines won't penetrate the palms. Just make sure to get the right size; mine are a shade too big and therefore a little awkward to use.

Wow! At the risk of sounding uncultured, are those wild pigs? I have never seen ones looking like that before.

As a hypothetical question: what if they WERE plant lights being used in the bathroom. Could the plants survive? Would the lights have to be left on all day? Would the plants hate it someone turned on the lights to use the bathroom in the middle of the night? I suppose suppose these are kind general...

Thank you very much, Rachel, saboten, A_G_R, and autodikaktos for your interest in this thread. The Orogrande area with its Jarilla Mountain range is indeed a little jewel in the desert. This time of the year I wound not mind living among all these cacti and marveling at the beauty of their flowers...

Phenomenal indeed! There should be an award show for outstanding posts on the forum. Ones that are as informative and aesthetically pleasing as this would definitely win many honors

Love it! Your pics remind me of the super macro shots in those activities books for kids to guess the mystery object from up close.

Awesome pics! I was wondering how you all are able to tell the plant from just the photo. What I mean is, I think there are several mammillaria types that have a similar appearance with the barbed spines. How does one distinguish? Are the fruits the giveaway? Is the location a clue? Some day I hope ...

I don't have an answer about the nectary question, but thanks for uploading these pictures! I would love to see more magnified shots like this. Super fascinating