I'm not sure if I'm over watering mine or what, but the leaves are all coming off my cacti collection. I purchased them all in one flower pot and its really bugging me.

Cj I think you water them just about as often as other plants, just not as much. I always check our's to touch and see if they are dry. If not, don't water.

I know of people who check what the weather is like in Arizona. If it rains there, then water your cactus.

I think it's more a case of how much you water vs. how often. The important thing being not to overwater and to allow them to have soil that is dry to the touch in between waterings and good drainage in the pot.

If you got it preplanted in a cactus garden, you may want to consider repotting it into some cactus soil and getting a container a bit bigger than the orginal. I used to plant them up at work and sometimes we purchased them pre-potted. The pre-potted gardens were planted in tightly packed soil and although it looked nice for a bit...they never lasted long once in the consumer's care.

Watering schedules should be different for different seasons. Watering more during active seasons (warmer weather) and considerably less in dormant months (colder months).

The bad news is that once they start looking bad..they aren't like other houseplants that bounce back. They almost always die from root rot.

Many can be easily propagated though. Just chop a section off and allow to dry and put into a new pot and don't water much and wait for root development.

I just got another one given to me the other night and it looks like a cactus from Texas. I'm not good at growing them, but I love them.