Contact Terri and Bill at Chaos Cactus Nursery in Sand Springs 918.241.3252 and email puppyfoots@hughes.net. Their twelve dogs greet unexpected visitors at the gate so call ahead and make an appointment.

On October 20, the Tulsa Cactus and Succulent Society will have their fall sale at the Tulsa Garden Center near 24th and Peoria. The club meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 pm at the Tulsa Garden Center. Keeth is the editor of the monthly newsletter, Stuck Up News that comes with each $10 annual membership.

Growing Tips

Cacti can stay outside until the temperature drops below 40-degrees-F. Succulents should come in when the temperature dips to 45-degrees.

Homes are generally too dry and do not receive the 4-hours of light plants require. Give the plants a south facing window or artificial light and run a fan in the room.

Leave the plants outside for the summer. In the spring make their transition to outdoors a gradual one. Over the course of two weeks, move them outside under a tree, then into direct sun.

In the winter, cacti and succulents grow slowly or go dormant. Water only every two weeks or once a month. If the soil is damp one inch below the surface, it does not need to be watered.

Cacti and succulents need a porous, coarse, planting medium that allows water to drain away from the roots. Mix small gravel with planting soil in a 3 to 1 ratio. Sand can hold too much moisture on the plant's roots so avoid using it in the mix.

Fertilize from March to October but use only one-fourth the strength recommended for foliage plants.

Cacti and succulents prefer to be pot bound so when moving them into a larger container, choose something just slightly larger than the one the plant outgrew and wait until spring when they will be growing.

Some leaf dropping from succulents is normal. Black spots come from over watering. Instead of sprinkling like you would herbaceous plants, soak potted cacti and succulents, and then let them dry out.

To propagate by offset division, stem cuttings and leaf cuttings, refer to the website of the Henry Shaw Cactus Society in St. Louis, MO at www.hscactus.org and the Cactus Society of America at http://www.cssainc.org.