Started Bunny Ears Cactus at the wrong time — lessons learned

I planted Bunny Ears Cactus at entirely the wrong point in the growing calendar and spent the first few months wondering what I'd done wrong. spider mites in warm dry indoor conditions didn't help matters. Once I understood protecting from frost below -5°C even for hardy varieties things improved substantially.

remarkable drought tolerance once established is what makes this plant worth persisting with. In a dry garden rockery or gravel bed it finally looks as good as I'd imagined. complete dormancy in winter with no watering redeemed the whole effort. If you're starting out: do your timing research before you plant.