That's not an acronym I've heard before, thanks for the information! I'm sorry to hear you're still feeling under the weather though. It sounds like allergies to me, but I am not a doctor, so I could be wrong. I have had the same symptoms before, I seem to get "Spring allergies" every year. Except I seem to get allergies right before Spring hits.
I can imagine it is easy to "get lazy" when you get older, as some folks have more aches and pains than they used to have when they were younger. My Dad is in his early 60s and he made the decision that he wanted to be on his feet doing things for as long as he could.
How long have you had your collection?
AVs aren't that hard to care for IMO. I only have three, but having a jungle full of them could be a bit time consuming (at least it's a jungle of easy plants). I try to only grow plants that are easy and not demanding (I don't like Diva plants), so if that says anything by me telling you I own a couple lol. I don't see them as requiring any different care than other plants in the sense that they don't want to be too wet/dry, have too much sun/too little, be given too much fertilizer/too little (no different in that aspect than any other plant if you ask me). The only special requirement I can think of is requiring a special type of soil, but cacti can't grow in the same soil as say a 'Peace Lily' so that's not a big deal in my book.
The only other thing that sticks out to me is to remember to repot them every 6-12 months. Take them out of their pot, remove 1/3 of the bottom of the rootball, place fresh soil on top (if necessary), and wallah, you're done! Over time, they will lose their bottom leaves and develop a neck, this will keep the neck from forming.
Okay, that makes two special requirements, but that's easy peasy compared to some plants I've read about lol. I think it's nice because you'll never have to repot them in larger pots. Most, if not all, will stay in the same 4 inch pot. I don't have special grow lights, I know some people do. I have a Southeast window where they're about 2 feet away and so far they bloom every couple months. I've read an East window is good, not sure about a North, but West and South are too intense (sounds like your greenhouse is too).
Sometimes we buy plants on a whim not knowing how to care for them, do what we "normally" do, and they thrive. Sometimes they don't. I figure that's just nature's way of weeding out the ones that I didn't need. I know I've bought a couple of plants that I couldn't find thorough care information online and had to wing it. They have become my favorite plants. I hope this is reassuring to you. I've read if you can grow holiday cacti (I see a Thanksgiving cactus in your picture), you can grow an AV. Or was that if you can grow an AV, you can grow a holiday cactus? I dunno, but I'm sure you'll be fine! If you ever have a question about an AV, just let me know. I'm no expert, but I must be doing something right. If I don't have the answer, I'll try to find it for you.
Beth
I'm glad you figured out what was causing them to yellow (and it's something you can easily fix!). I believe that some cultivars are more sensitive to changes than others. For example, I did read somewhere when researching fertilizer, that some are more sensitive than others to fertilizer burn (I wouldn't have guessed that). That may be why you noticed the change in some of your AVs but not in others.
I need to go water mine.
