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Species info not ready at time of printing.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Beautifully marbled, fast growing cactus from Paraguay. Readily produces relatively large nocturnal white flowers during summer months. Best in bright light. Re-pot frequently for good growth.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Beautiful blue-green multi-branched cactus from Mexico. Sensitive to cold, OK outdoors only in well drained very warm sunny position. Great pot subject for sunny patio or conservatory. Flowers tiny, seldom seen.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Mexican giant cactus. Forms one huge golden-spined many-ribbed column to 15m height x 50cm diameter, topped with plentiful showy pink flowers. Largest single-body cactus perhaps? Seems easy to grow, untested outdoors.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Highland Nepenthes don't need tropical heat but love high humidity (keep above water or mist frequently). Keep soil damp to wet. Never fertilise. Suits shade to part sun. Best indoors or warm and sheltered outdoors in mild areas..

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Highland Nepenthes don't need tropical heat but love high humidity (keep above water or mist frequently). Keep soil damp to wet. Never fertilise. Suits shade to part sun. Best indoors or warm and sheltered outdoors in mild areas.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Highland Nepenthes don't need tropical heat but love high humidity (keep above water or mist frequently). Keep soil damp to wet. Never fertilise. Suits shade to part sun. Best indoors or warm and sheltered outdoors in mild areas.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Rare, attractive and unusual species from Uruguay. Pastel green body, glassy spines, and pale yellow flowers with red stigma lobes in spring and summer. Indoors only, best in bright light with infrequent watering.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Easy to grow, non-offsetting species from Brazil with masses of large yellow flowers in spring. In time will grow to about 15cm diameter. Best indoors in bright light or outdoors in protected well drained area.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

This choice Brazilian species is the largest Notocactus. Stunning large yellow flowers in spring/summer. The large main stem has many smaller heads clustered around the base. Best in bright light.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

A new species described only in 1995, from Uruguay and Argentina. Beautiful, large yellow flowers in summer, dark green to purplish bodies with flat, white spines. Easy to grow.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Comments later, too busy right now!

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Scrambling serpentine cactus from Mexico with a tuberous rootstock. From the stems, which are to 3cm x 4m., arise generous numbers of lovely and scented, white nocturnal flowers. Easy to grow.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Reunion Island Bottle Tree. Unusual pachycaul (thickstemmer) from Reunion Island, Indian Ocean. To 2m plus in the ground or keep confined. Member of the Nettle Family, and can sting. At Sandy Bay I had a big one which I'd saw down every time it reached the soffit (at 2.1 metres). It would sting me in retaliation. But soon be up to the soffit again. No pics can I find yet.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Comments later, too busy right now!

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Beaver-tail cactus. Compact low-growing Opuntia with large, stunning magenta flowers in spring. No spines but plenty of glochids, so don't touch! Best indoors in very bright light, water sparingly.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Variable species from southern USA with soft, flexible but sharp white spines. Flowers yellow. Best in very sunny position to keep growth compact. Untried outdoors in NZ but probably OK in well drained position..

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Possibly the Prickly Pear or Indian Fig of horticulture, which has delicious fruit. (But watch the glochids!) Large flat green pads on a small tree. Easy outdoors in mild areas.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Monster Cholla. Vicious cactus from southwest USA to Mexico. New spines often bright red fading to grey. Slowly forms low clumps to 1m plus. Possibly OK outdoors in dry sunny dangerous rock garden.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

From the Sonoran Desert. To 2m ht. Large blue-green pads with contrasting bright white spines and ginger-red areoles. Known for its large & abundant edible fruit. Grow in full sun. Probably OK outdoors.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Central Mexico. Hugest-padded prickly pear of all, plant eventually tree-like if planted out. 30cm+ pads have a beautiful blue bloom and are spinier out in the weather. Needs brightest light indoors!!! 

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Low-growing species with round colourful pads and few spines. Flowers in spring, yellow with stunning red centre. Cold hardy in well drained sunny area. Pads can become infused with purple tones if dry and cold.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Once known as Stapelia variegata. Flower is variable on each different clone. Tougher than most stapeliads and OK outdoors in good situation.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

South African stapeliad formerly known as Caralluma lutea. Bunches of brilliant yellow star-shaped flowers have purple vibratile hairs doing a danged dingle-dangle dance in the draught.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Slowgrowing miniature, eventually forming clumps of 30-40mm odd-coloured bodies. Rare, known only from one mountain in Mexico. Water sparingly at all times. Yellow flowers in spring or summer.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

This plant shows potential, but has not been tested properly. Show interest and we're more likely to work on it.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Terrestrial almost-succulent bromeliad. Beautifully patterned rosette extends into curious 40 cm inflorescence with small white flowers and green leafy rosettes. Indoors best perhaps, in bright light.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Blue-grey shrub to around 50cm high. Produces huge numbers of small pink flowers spring to summer. Excellent rock garden subject. Best in full sun with good drainage.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Caudiciform with a buried-but-raiseable caudex-root from which in winter grow blue serrated leaves to 25cms long. Indoors in a pot, raise the root when repotting. Brightest light.

7.Winter grower. Needs water in winter, not summer.

Bulb with strange palm-like leaves on succulent petioles appearing in March, followed closely by pink flowers. Comes into growth for winter, dormant in summer. Hardy outdoors.

7.Winter grower. Needs water in winter, not summer.

Basally branching columnar cactus to 7 meters high. From Mexico, where it is planted in rows as a living fence. Flowers tiny, pink or white. OK outdoors in well drained frost-free area.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

The famous Cardon of Mexico, tallest cactus in the world, the record being 19.2 m (63 ft). Cardon is derived from the Spanish "cardo" for thistle..... some thistle!

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

'Sugared Almonds', 'Moonstones' Very succulent plant from Mexico. Easy, but needs very bright light to keep it compact and white. Lovely, thick waxy flowers spring to early summer (white & deep red).

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Perhaps the choicest of all Pachypodium species with a swollen belly trunk, stout sexy paired spination, large white flowers, and forming a perfectly pleasing plant about 1 m high. Best in bright light indoors.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Slow growing South African species, forming a large silvery caudex with compact spiny branches. Flowers produced throughout the year, bell-shaped crimson & white. Full sun, possibly OK outdoors.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

One of the rarest and most sought after Pachypodiums. Grows slowly to 1 meter across yet only a few centimeters high; a vegetable pancake! Grow indoors only, sunny and warm. Yellow flowers on long stems in spring.

6.Indoors OK, but not for beginners, Outdoors not OK.

Chunky Madagascan species forming compact well shaped specimens. Flowers small, deep yellow on long stems in spring. Indoors only in brightest light. Leaves drop in winter (keep dry until new growth appears).

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Although similar to Pachypodium lamerei this species has much longer, thinner leaves and is more sensitive to cold. In habitat reaches 10 meters high but can be grown for many years in a pot. Flowers white, rarely seen.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Madagascan pachycaul. Yellow bell-shaped flowers on 80cm long stems when mature. Water once or twice (lightly) in winter when dormant, more frequently in summer when growing. Pot subject, best grown hard, bright and slow.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

This new Madagascan has lovely white flowers and very narrow leaves. Starts skinny but then forms up into a fat lump with ascending short and spiny branches. Indoors only, withhold water when dormant (leafless) in winter.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Form of Pachypodium lamerei which is fatter and shorter and flowers at a smaller height (at 1 - 2 metres ht). Broad leaves too. Seems easy to grow, but outdoors would be a challenge and only for the best position.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Seed was from cultn in a Zimb. garden, its Madagascan locality now unknown. Can flower at a height of 1 - 2 m., but seems thin-trunked. Note: check P.menabeum? Easy to grow, but outdoors would be only for the best position.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Hybrid of two South African species. Easy to grow and very variable in appearance. Grows nearly all year round, but may exhibit short dormant periods when leaves all drop. Best in full sun. Flowers red, or pink and white.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Millionaire's Daffodils. Showy yellow flowers on long stems crown this needle-spined Madagascan pachycaul. Water when actively growing. Unlikely to go dormant in winter, but keep drier. Has succeeded in perfect garden locations.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Close relative of P. lamerei. Taller but not as succulent. Becomes tree-like with huge white flowers in Madagascar. In NZ probably suitable for bright, high indoor situations only .

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

S.African pachycaul. Super-thick silvery trunk, crinkly appletree leaves, beautiful frilled and scented white flowers in autumn. Keep dry during winter dormancy.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Small, rare and slow growing, one of the red-flowerd Pachypodium species. Close to P.baronii but smaller leaves and flask shaped stem has bizarre bulbous possibilities. Keep warm, sunny, and indoors.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Strange rod-shaped Euphorbia relative; grows to 1.5m high. Flowers similar to Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) flowers, orange, 15mm long but not often seen. Grow in bright light/sun. Possibly OK outdoors if frost-free.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Winter-growing miniature with huge appeal in its natural format of thick branches pleasingly shaped onto a short stout trunk and tipped with rich green textured leaves. Easy to grow, indoors is best.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

From the Klinghardt Mtns in Namibia, this desirable pachycaul has fleshy leaves on thumby branches from a heavy trunk. Grow in very bright light with infrequent watering. Usually dormant in summer. Flowers white. Indoors only.

7.Winter grower. Needs water in winter, not summer.

Discovered in Peru in 1963 this charming miniature has short stems clad densely in thick and windowed leaves. Medium light and water required. Loves warmth. Probably tricky outdoors?

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Monstrose or cristate, this is a new twist on the Peruvian miniature, the extremely short branches are clad densely in thick, windowed leaves. Medium light and water required. Loves warmth. Probably tricky outdoors?

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Mini shrub to 25 cms with remarkable red leaves with an interesting window along their upper surface. The flower raceme is very cute, like a long thin rats-tail, and smells sweetly of fresh mouse's urine.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Small succulent plant from South Africa forming dense mats of green fingers. Flowers in autumn are bell shaped, pale yellow with brownish lines and dots. Water sparingly in winter. Indoors only.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Rich blue columns developing rows of very shaggy red-brown wool down the ridges. To about 3m ht and branches above ground. Needs very bright light. Indoors only and seems prone to intermittent coldsores and poxes.

6.Indoors OK, but not for beginners, Outdoors not OK.

Woolly blue-bloomed basally branching Brazilian cereoid to 4m. Requires brightest light possible. Possibly the best blue Brazilian for outdoors in a warm free-draining position. Avoid touching the bloom, it marks.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Best blue cactus around! To about 2 meters high and branches in an attractive candelabra shape. Flowers small, white, nocturnal. Needs very bright light. Outdoors OK only if warm, sheltered and well drained.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Brilliant blue Brazilian columnar cactus to 5m+. Needs bright light. Variable species (includes P.azureus & superfloccosus). Avoid fingermarks! Outdoors if well-drained & warm, out of driving rain.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Mexican columnar cactus to 5m+., hairy with age. Brilliant blue so avoid fingermarks! Needs bright light. Outdoors if well-drained & warm, out of rain.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Blue Brazilian columnar cactus which grows to 6m in the right conditions. Small white flowers, from naked green buds. Blue stem is easily marked by curious fingers or other contact. Best indoors but must have very bright light.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Split Rock. South African plant with chubby very succulent leaves in pairs. Indoors only in bright light, suits sunny windowsill. Yellow daisy-like flowers. Best treated like Lithops i.e. dry in winter.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Grey-green spiralling columns of leaves to 250mm height and offsetting. Close relative of Aloe, Astroloba and Haworthia but has bright red flowers, unusually narrow. Easy in a well-drained mix.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Yellow toned variant of P. afra. Evergreen shrub, slowly to 0.5 m ht. Tough and it takes clipping, Slower growing than the greener version, but posssibly more tolerant of potbound treatment.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Highly succulent rarity.

6.Indoors OK, but not for beginners, Outdoors not OK.

'Greenflowered Miniature'. Possibly the smallest of all the Puyas, which are bromeliads from South America. This species to 20cm diameter with green and pink flowers. Bright light. OK outdoors in rockery etc.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Peruvian miniature cereoid eventually towering to 10cms height! Offsetting freely and bearing lovely white nocturnal flowers which are sweetly scented, making it a great one for the coffee table at flowering time. Medium to bright light.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Attractive columnar cactus from Peru with low, unusually faceted tubercles. Grows slowly to about 4meters high with a few vertical branches. Solid white flowers in summer. OK outdoors in warm, sunny well drained area.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Glossy medium size bodies with bright orange flowers.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Neat and tidy cactus from Bolivia; short dense spines held close to the body help to protect it from the ravages of the sun god. Forms a dense clump 20cm across, orange flowers spring to summer. Indoors, bright, keep dry in winter

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Lovely species prolifically flowering in colours from yellow to orange to red. White woolly areoles make an attractive clustering mounding body also. Outdoors only in a protected area.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Excellent hanging basket plant for shady areas. Forms dense masses of thin, bright green stems which have tiny white flowers every now and then. Native to Brazil, where it grows as an epiphyte. Possibly OK outdoors.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Uncactus-like cactus from Brazil , where it grows as an epiphyte. Flat thin leaves cascade and rebranch to 2 metres long. Small cream flowers. Hanging basket plant for warm, shady areas. Indoors only probably.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Once sold as S. fischeri. Like many Sansevierias has a juvenile and a mature form. Thick curving leaves initially, then straight spear-like leaves possibly to 1.8m. Probably indoors only. Tolerates both sun and shade.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Another brilliant Kenyan runner. Forms choice small spiky rosettes best grown in bright light for tighter form. Later elongates and sends down pandanus-like walking legs. Unproven outdoors.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Attractive hybrid of Sansevieria trifasciata. Not so tall, and broader in the leaf. Seems to be fast and easy to grow.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Info unavailable as we go to press.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Rare unusual leafless hanging plant from Madagascar. Has scented off-white flowers with dark red veins like a drunkard's eyeballs after a night on the booze. Best in a hanger in a warm bright position away from pubs.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Hook-spined Ferocactus relative. Keep dryish in winter.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Mexican cliff dweller related to S.morganianum but shorter, blunter, and more-spreading leaves. 'Discovered' in 1970 in a nursery, so far its native habitat is unknown to science. Bright light. Outdoors OK.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

One of the Tree Sedums from Mexico. To 90cm high, erect with many treelike branches when grown hard, or forming a big green mound if given free rootrun. Grow n full sun outdoors.

1.Outdoors only, (grows weakly indoors).

Rapidly forms happy yellow mounds in pot or garden. Ideal for holding drifting soil in a rockery. Needs bright light for tight compact growth. To 30 x 30 cm.

1.Outdoors only, (grows weakly indoors).

Very easy succulent plant from Mexico. Grows well outdoors in pots or rock gardens. Best grown in full sun where the leaves turn a bronze to copper colour. Eventually spreads to form a colourful ground cover.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Colour form of the common ‘Jellybean Plant’. Especially good plant for sunny rockeries etc. Full sun is a must for it’s spectacular pinkish-red leaves. Very easy to grow.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

One of the few succulents from Japan. Pink flowers on arching stems in early winter. Then dry off until all stems dry up, clean back to ground level, then water. New stems appear from rootstock.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

'Queen of the Night'. A tree-climbing cactus like a slightly spiny many-branched snake. These came from Cuba, and produce the genuine famous huge nocturnal scented flowers. Needs a trellis or similar support. Enjoys warmth.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Closely related to Senecio repens, this plant forms shorter more compact groups, a beautiful sky-blue in colour. Does best in dry, sunny areas with poor or rocky soil, but tolerates almost any bright conditions including light frosts.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

Small branching bush, with snowy cylindric leaves. Like all white succulents requires brightest light. If outdoors wants the very best sheltered well-drained position, but looks magnificent against a black scoria rock!

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Large yellow daisy flowers on this small felty-leafed shrub. Easy plant for brightest light only. OK outdoors and in garden.

2.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK, easy to grow.

First discovered in 1964 in Kenya. The roots of the thick, succulent stems eventually form a gnarled, lumpy caudex which may be raised. Shaving brush flowers on long stems, bright magenta. Indoors only.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

syn. Pittocaulon praecox. Rare pachycaul with fat trunks which both branch and offset. Leaves are at first white and hairy, later more like a glabrous maple leaf. Erect yellow flowers in spring from the naked trunk tips. Interesting plant with potential as bonsai.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

E. Africa to Arabia. Greyish-lavender rosettes from a knobbly swollen rootstock. Frequently produced flowers like bright red shaving brushes on long thin stems. Easy in bright sunny spot but untried outdoors.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Very uncommon pachycaul tree from southern Africa. Slow growing, basally branching to form thick trunks with papery peeling bark. Flowers infrequently seen, white. Suits bonsai format. Indoors only in very bright light.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Barrel cactus from the high Andes of Argentina. A chubby rotund variable species to a meter or so in diameter. Flowers in spring, bright red. OK outdoors in well drained sunny area; will tolerate light frost.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Barrel cactus from the high Andes of Argentina. A chubby rotund variable species, this form stays smaller, has yellow flowers and, later, offsets. OK outdoors in well drained sunny area; will tolerate light frost.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

This is a CC selected clone with interesting inward pointing tubercles, which remind of a swarm of sharks heading in for a feeding frenzy.

3.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK in warm, well-drained position in mild areas.

Possibly a species but we have given it this name in the meantime, one of our better names I feel.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Superb species, this Collection No. originally from Nauchas, Namibia. Flowers summer to autumn from stem tips, lemon yellow to orange and not stinky. Indoors only in bright light. Do not overwater, especially in winter.

5.Indoors OK, Outdoors not OK.

Uncommon species from Namaqualand, South Africa. Beautiful flowers about 10cm diameter, red-brown and hairy, borne on long stems which in habitat lie flat on the ground. Indoors only in bright light, avoid overwatering.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Dark red star-shaped flowers to 15cms. Stapelias are fast-growing groundcovers with amazing flowers on new growth. Prefer large shallow bowl in shade to bright light. Outdoors OK if mild, but keep dry when cold.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.

Forms a dense cluster of succulent finger-like stems. The spectacular large, dark red, bulbous flowers produce a smell the envy of skunks everywhere! Indoors in bright light. Plant best left outdoors when in flower.

4.Indoors OK, Outdoors OK only if protected from winter rain.