Hi plantomaniac,
Lower temperatures are no problem. Most succulents are fine as long as they don't actually freeze. IF they are dry. Losing a leaf here and there is no biggie, they will be replaced in the spring. Overwatering is a chronic problem, once or twice will cause no harm, doing it habitually is a problem. As for lower light, have you considered a grow light?

fred_grow,
Thanks for the information (thanks for the advice about the magnifying glass on the other post too, hehe. I asked my Mom about them and she said they were mealy bugs). I will be careful not to overwater them during the winter. I wish there was a book that had all the information you could find on "ok, well during the first six months of this species of succulent's life, it will do this... it's normal, don't worry!" I am afraid that alot of the cacti and succulents I have may lose leaves not because of the winter, but due to bad conditions before I bought them (one place I bought them at were very wet while the other were so dry, even some of the cacti died... being so new at this, I should have waited until this Spring to look for some as soon as they come in stock at home improvement stores)The one cactus with mealy bugs was from the overly wet Wal-Mart. Good thing they were only about $1 each!
To answer your growth light question, not really, but yes. I have an incandescent light (60W GE "plant light"). I have read this isn't the best lighting to use and it is very inefficent, but due to my lack of space and funds at the moment, I'm using it for four hours a day (sometimes five). The plants do seem quite happy with it though, I do have a small amount of new growth on some of my succulents. Thanks again Fred.

Get yourself a spray bottle; fill with rubbing alcohol. Zap the mealies with it every 3 days or so until they're gone. Keep close watch, they'll be back and when they do hit em with the alcohol. It wont hurt the plants. By the time spring comes you'll have some experience and be ready to shop. Get em when they first come out and they'll be healthy. Its much easier to keep a healthy plant in good health than it is to revive a sick one...

fred_grow,
Thanks for the advice on how to get rid of the mealy bugs. May I ask you, how likely is it that they have spread to my other cacti and succulents (do succulents get mealy bugs, or only cacti?)? I haven't seen anything on the rest of them and have noticed those "white things" on the one cactus for several weeks now, so I am unsure if I should spray everybody, or just the one cactus (If I should spray everyone, is it a good thing to spray the hairy cacti and fuzzy succulents like kalanchoe?)? Thanks again. :o)

Mealy bugs will spread. If you see them on one plant then very likely there will be hidden adults, nymphs, or eggs on other plants too. Inspect carefully every few days so you can get them early. If you have quite a few plants already, always quarantine new plants until you are sure they are clean.

Saying that sprays won't damage your plants is a dangerous reassurance. Sprays most certainly can damage plants. At the very least, wool on cacti or blooms on many succulents will be marked. Spraying anything other than rainwater can lead to marking of the skin and more seriously can cause scorching in strong sun. Probably not a problem right now but remember to keep any sprayed plants in the shade for a day or two. Some succulent species are especially sensitive and you may even kill them.

With a plant that you know to have mealies, and which is too wet anyway, I would remove it from the pot and look for root mealies. Remove all the soil and dunk into dilute detergent (hand soap is a good and quite gentle) for an hour or two, then dry thoroughly. This should kill any insects although eggs might just be able to survive. Then repot in dry soil. The soil they came in from Walmart is no good anyway, plan on repotting all your Walmart plants.

I use a systemic insecticide (Imidacloprid) on my plants to control mealies. It avoids problems with spraying onto wool, damaging blooms, missing eggs and hiding adults, etc. Plants should still be kept out of very strong sun for a few days.

shrubs_n_bulbs,
Oh boy... as bad as this sounds, I might just take my losses and throw away the cactus with mealies on it... sad to say, but it was only $.50... it sounds like mealies are like a flea infestation on a dog... hard to get rid of (due to the eggs really)!

It is no longer wet, I repotted it soon after I bought it (several weeks ago, maybe a month?... I knocked some of the soil out and I wrapped a dry cloth around the root ball to suck up all the excess water). It has been dry since it dried out several weeks ago. I did not see anything in the soil, but I am unsure what to look for to be honest.

I have already repotted almost all my pots I got from Wal-Mart so I hope this is somewhat hepful, but if they all get mealies, I might just have to take my losses with them too... better safe than sorry, right? I got them all in fairly bad condition I think (too wet or too dry from two different Wal-Marts) and I think I should have waited until this Spring to see what some home improvement stores get in... the sooner I can get those the better as like fred said, it is better to care for a healthy plant than try to revive a sick one.... I think alot of these I got from Wal-Mart are sick (my Mom and I had 3 "Bishop's cap" cacti over the last month... they all developed scaley stuff on them... it spread, so we just ended up throwing them away). Oh well, live and learn right? I am new to cacti and succulents and I now realize this is a bad time to look for them!

Thanks again!

Hi PlantoM,

Haworthias & Gasterias are also some of the easier Succulents to grow indoors & offer a wide variety in their looks, both shape & texture. Very unfussy, can do well w/ only 1 or 2 waterings a month & require less light than many others (also Sansevierias do well in these conditions too).

Also, if you're an overwaterer, you might try growing in unglazed clay pots (not plastic), they'll help absorb some of that water.

pirate_girl,
Thanks for the information. I like Gasterias and somewhat like Haworthias (maybe the latter will grow on me), so I will keep a look out for those this Spring when I go to some home improvement stores here. I do have a sanserveria (one of the hahni species) so I guess I am somewhat on the right track... yay! Thanks again, I'll keep your advice in mind this Spring when I go looking. :)

Sansevieria. African Violets, Non climbing Hoya

From my experience these have been really easy to grow, all of mine grow in a west facing window with limited direct light and I don't have any problems with them.

ceropegia woodii. -grows like a weed

Haworthia and Gasteria.

Senecio rowleyanus -it bloomed earlier this year after I bought it, but didn't notice because it was at the front of the shelf)

Adenium Obesum -maybe nobody will agree with me, but I can't give these plants enough water and they grow well for me in a west facing window

The most common method of dealing with mealies is alcohol. Most people try this before going systemic. "Strong sun" will not likely be a consideration in plantomaniacs bedroom where he grows his plants under an incandescent light bulb. Many cacti won't even be harmed by herbicides because of their thick waxy epidermis, I doubt a spritz of isoprophyl alcohol would hurt them. I think some people just like to get in the last word.

PlantoM,

Your welcome. One warning abt the Sans. hahnii types, they're much more sensitive to overwatering, I speak from experience, I kill these everytime, yet I grow 10-12 other diff. Sans. w/ rarely a problem).

Also, in hot weather, some Haworthias like a fair amount of water, I've got a couple that are actually heavy drinkers in summer!

Hey MBT,

I think it's Senecio rowleyans (string of beads?), next time it blooms, take a sniff; once saw these in person, it's a lovely, spicy, fragrance somewhat like cinnamon w/ carnation (or combination of spices like in a spice cake); a most pleasant surprise!

Hey everyone,
Thanks for your advice about the mealy bugs and the easiest succulents to grow. I will keep your advice about the hahni species pirate_girl. :) Fred_grow, I am a female by the way. :) I bought an african violet today at Wal-Mart. It has white flowers with purple trims on them. I hope it likes my home!

Sorry about the gender confusion, plantomaniac. I'm really glad you bought the African violet. It will probably be much happier with your lighting situation than a succulent would. Very colorful as well. Best of luck.

fred_grow,
No problem my friend! I hope the african violet likes my lighting conditions as it seems like alot of places online say they like brigher light (some even said place them in a southern window during the winter).

I really think it is a beaut and have liked them for a while now, but kept telling myself I couldn't have one because I figured they were hard to make bloom again (I have looked online and in a houseplant book my Mom has and read about how to make them re-bloom... if it does happen though, that it goes a long while without blooming again (I did read that they like to have a "rest period" like most flowering houseplants, so I realize they may go without flowering for some time at least), they are still very interesting to look at without their flowers)).

The succulents I do have in my room right now and honestly appear to be happy inlcude: two species of kalanchoe (the fuzzy varieties), two or three species of jade (I'm not sure if two that I have are the same species are not... either way, I'm sure they are some form(s) of jade), an adromicus (spelling?) cristastus, and what I think is some species of sedum (a green colored variety). I know I get more light during in my room during the summer despite the bushes, and hope they will enjoy it in there. :)

I did have a crown of thorns in my room this past summer and it rewarded me with a bunch of flowers (well, I did take it outside and put it in full sun for a couple hours a day sometimes... probably had alot to do with the flowering right, hehe). I had to return it to Lowes because it started losing leaves badly (tap water, bad bad tap water here...).

Thanks again for your advice! I seem to get the gender confusion with alot of people I talk to online... I didn't think I appeared like a guy, but no biggie!

Plantomaniac just sounds like a handle a male would choose I don't know why. Since I am male I guess I tend to project that onto "unknowns". Keep us posted on the plants POM!

I'll agree with mybrownthumb, about the Adeniums seeming to like lots of water, and mine gets a good dose every day when outdoors in full sun and seems to thrive, but in the winter, when most folks are saying to water once a month or sometimes a bit more often, I still give my Adenium a good watering once a week, if temperatures aren't unsually cold, or we're not getting many sunny days. On coudy days it's still warm where I have mine , but much warmer on the sunnier days of course. Mine is growing in just regular commercial cactus mix, so it does dry quickly!

Adeniums in England are considered quite difficult. Don't water them enough and they won't grow. Water them sufficiently and they rot! I have to assume they don't mind humidity since they grow spectacularly in the humid tropics, but they must hate cool or cloudy conditions.

I find Sedums and related plants to be inredibly easy. In fact almost any plant that I don't love will thrive :)

fred_grow, birdinthepalm , & shrubs_n_bulbs:
No problem fred, I call all my plants "him" (besides some of my cacti which I have named *chuckles*), so I'm not bothered by your use of the word "he" with "unknowns."

Bird, I did not do well with ponytail palms (first, I sunburned them (I had six in a pot together) by giving them too much full sun and then I killed them by overwatering them)). I saw two at a local home improvement store, but they didn't appear to be happy... both had lost some of their leaves and had some yellowing leaves.

shrubs_n_bulbs, *chuckles at your comment about plants you don't live seem to thrive* I seem to have that problem myself... my Mom's plants have had minor issues since she bought them, while it seems most of mine have either died or were upset somehow in some form... and it seems to be that all the plants I want to buy I can't because I'm sure I'll kill them... like orchids! Thanks for your help.