7 March 2008
“Loco Cacti” - Ariocarpus, Astrophytum and Friends!
Posted by Stuart under: Books; Cacti .
Never one to turn down free review copies of anything, I received a copy of Brett and Hadley Nation’s second book, Loco Cacti last week. You may remember my being less than complimentary about their first opus, Super Kabuto, so I was surprised when Brett offered to send me a copy of the second book for review.
The good news is that this book is a lot better than the last one. There are still one or two images where focus isn’t quite what it could be, but there are some good photos of some extraordinary plants, including an enormous Digitostigma caput-medusae which the author claims is cristate, although it’s hard to tell from the photo. And, thank goodness, the captions and text accompanying the images now give snippets of relevant information, which in itself is a massive improvement over Super Kabuto.
The theme of the book seems to go somewhat astray, though; from the title I was expecting a book solely devoted to choicer Mexican cacti. Quite how a Gasteria, Gibbaeum, and, of all things, a Tillandsia wheedled their way in, I’m not sure. Granted, they’re nice plants, but given their divergent places of origin their presence does dilute the book’s sense of purpose.
It’s also still hard to know who the intended audience is, and this is the main difficulty in coming to a balanced view of the book. One one level, it’s a very professionally-produced piece of work, well worthy of Nation’s credentials as a graphic designer - it would certainly sit well in a portfolio if it was used as a means of persuading potential clients of his abilities. And I can’t fault the enthusiasm with which he and his daughter are exploring their new hobby; after all, the hobby needs its evangelists.
The problem I have, though, is that this “collector’s guide” is written from something of a beginner’s perspective (e.g. the comments regarding Echinocactus grusonii: “Special thanks to DAVE in Arizona for teaching us how to nuture (sic) and spoil this amazing plant!”). This is fine in itself - the Nations don’t profess to be experts, but the problem is that in the main the book deals with plants that are far from being the easiest to grow, with the net result being that the inexperienced reader is encouraged to jump in at the deep end with plants they will probably kill. We’ve all done it, especially me. Learning how not to kill them through experience is one of the main learning processes with these things. My concern is that the kind of indiscriminate enthusiasm on display here might actually put people off by leading them to buy expensive plants that they’re not actually ready to tackle.
For the more seasoned grower there’s simply not enough information to make purchase worthwhile as a “collector’s guide”. I’m fascinated by some of these Astrophytum forms; they may not be to my taste, and I wouldn’t give them space in my greenhouse, but what I want from a book like this is information on lineage of these hybrids and cultivars, and the selection processes involved in producing them. Maybe I’m just getting grumpy in my old age, but I’d also like fewer exclamation marks and promises of more rare things in the next book. There’s a limit to how far novelty itself can hold my attention.
Then there are minor gripes about the rather strangely-named “spotlight on education” section, which claims that Ariocarpus agavoides resembles “gray bony fingers” - when covered in dust perhaps, but my plants are a nice shade of dark green. I’d be very worried if they went grey. The notion that A. agavoides is comparable to A. scaphirostris in terms of growth rate is a bit wide of the mark in my experience too - put them side by side and the agavoides will win any growth race. Nor is agavoides all that scarce in collections, at least over here.
As I say, it might just be that I’m a bit grumpy. The book is a worthy second attempt, and I think if Nation were to collaborate with an experienced grower as co-author with a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, there’s certainly the potential to produce something more satisfying. As it is, this follow-up to Super Kabuto is a pleasant coffee-table book, free from most of the major annoyances that marred its predecessor.
5 Comments so far...
Eberhard kahler Says:
8 March 2008 at 5:11 pm.
price ?
Stuart Says:
8 March 2008 at 5:59 pm.
Apologies. The retail price for the book is, I believe, $34.99
Brett Nation Says:
9 March 2008 at 4:27 pm.
Hello Stuart,
Thanks for your review of LOCO CACTI. The positive feedback has been overwhelming for our new book. We are also excited to find new friends around the world who love cactus like we do, especially those who share knowledge and information! :^)
To answer some questions you have: 1. The Astrophytum caput-medusae belongs to Joaquin Lozano Perez of http://www.aztekia.com in Spain. He is one the world’s top authorities on cacti and succulents and helped us with all the correct names of all the cultivars for our book. When he says the plant has a crested tubercle he knows from experience, trust me on this. 2. The article by Bob Stewart on “Ariocarpus” was an introduction to the species to where someone could make a decision to start growing Ariocarpus from seeds based on his years of experience. When he quotes Edward Anderson (The Cactus Family. 2001. Timber Press) for descriptions of plants, they are described as in natural habitat. And as my friend would say “cactus from your collection should look better than a cactus from the desert because they shouldn’t have adverse growing conditions from nature.”
As for killing cactus: believe it or not cactus love water, just not too much. Even persons with ultimate knowledge and growing skills will lose some cactus, Mother Nature doesn’t play favorites for any species. A great way for beginners to enjoy Astrophytum or Ariocarpus would be to start with grafted plants on Hylocereus, which is a jungle cactus that tolerates more water and accelerates the growth of the scion. Also consider you budget, not everyone has 150 euro to pay for one cactus no mater how beautiful it may be. We started off with more common species like our Golden Barrel which grew from 8-inch diameter to 12-inch diameter last Summer. With proper growing conditions: Plenty of sun, quick-draining soil, careful use of the watering can, and PATIENCE you will have good luck too!
We appreciate your ideas and suggestions, and hard work has already began on our next project. I am proud to say “YES” we have support growing, including more authors and top growers from around the world who want to get involved and make our new vision happen. Best of all, we are making new friends and our cacti and succulents are happy and doing great, so life is good! We will post more information about our adventures on EXTREMEFLORA.COM coming this Spring.
Maybe you can review our Web site when ready too? I am sure you will find some pleasant suprises. Until then, lose that grumpy feeling and GET LOCO ABOUT CACTI! ;^)
Cheers from USA!
~Brett
Brett Nation Says:
9 March 2008 at 4:44 pm.
OOOPS! We almost forgot to promote our book…LOL
To purchase a copy of our book, please visit our eBay store at: http://stores.ebay.com/koh-yo.
We are still raising funds to produce our next book and now and then we offer a 10% discount!
Thanks for your interest in our books. ENJOY!
Stuart Says:
13 March 2008 at 2:20 pm.
I’m not entirely sure what “getting loco” entails. Seeing as I’ve already been growing cacti for over 20 years, does this mean that I’m already “loco”?
In response to your suggestion regarding grafting - yes, it’s a valid way of accelerating growth and making life easier, but personally I’m not keen on grafted plants, and will usually only buy them if there is no other way of obtaining a species easily (e.g. Digitostigma). The problem with growing plants grafted on something like Hylocereus is that you can get quite bloated growth, and, of course, you end up only learning how to grow Hylocereus, not any of the plants grafted onto it. I’d rather grow things on their own roots and aim for more compact natural growth.
And yes, of course cacti like water. The trick is to learn how much you can get away with giving them relative to the weather conditions at any given time without either killing them or, again, causing them to bloat unnaturally (Turbinicarpus are bad for this).