1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets nervous when watering Ariocarpus early in the season.
I tend to give them several moderate waterings to get them used to the idea of water and to give them time to reactivate their feeder roots before giving them a proper drenching.
Even so, that first drenching is a real "proof of the pudding" moment. They’ll either (a) take up water like it’s going out of fashion, (b) sit there uninterested, or, worse than that, (c) give up completely, rot, and collapse. I’ve an Ariocarpus lloydii which I fear may come into the last category as it’s looking a little peaky at the moment.
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1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
These aren’t mine, but my mum’s. It’s all her fault that I grow these plants anyway, as she introduced me to them when I was but a small boy. She has a fondness for smallish species that flower well. Her plants are certainly performing well this year.
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Top row: Chamaecereus silvestrii (Echinopsis chamaecereus), Mammilloydia candida
Middle row: two views of a very enthusiastic Gymnocalycium andreae in a two-inch pot.
Bottom row: Rebutia muscula, Rebutia cajacensis.
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1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
Having found the lost label, I can now stop calling it a Rebutia! Here is the Weingartia longigibba that I posted in bud the other day.
It’s a very old-looking plant, about 8" tall, that I picked up from a collection disposal; it’s a bit tatty round the edges, but it gives a good display.
1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
There were about a dozen turbs at it yesterday - several T. krainzianus, an un-named "sp." (which is more than likely a schiedickeanus ssp. notquitesureii), and a few of the ever-reliable Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele.
This was the nicest one out; I’ll snap some of the krainzianus plants today if the sun comes out.
1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
This plant of Mammillaria magnifica is usually in flower by now, but the gloomy weather we’ve been having seems to have held it back.
It’s one of only four large (ish) members of the genus that I grow, the others being karwinskiana ssp nejapensis, zeilmanniana, and a plant that may either be marksiana or canelensis.
This one was bought at about half the size it is now, as an impulse buy from Badger Nurseries in Studley. At that time it consisted of just the main head, without any offsets. The offsets began to show a couple of years back.
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1June2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
The yellow-flowered Delosperma congestum is having a rest at the moment, but when the ultra-violet began to make its way through the clouds yesterday, some of my other outdoor mesembs obliged beautifully. By the time I got the camera out, the light had changed again, and the flowers had retreated but you get the idea!
These are three different cultivars of Delosperma sutherlandii.
31May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
Second set of flowers for the year!
I do think that this Mammillaria species is tremendously good-looking; it’s a super woolly jumper of a plant, and one of my favourites.
31May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
The natural habitat of Blossfeldia liliputana is out of harm’s way in small South American rock crevices, with little by way of organic material for growing medium and a degree of shade.
Having three plants on their own roots, I decided that they looked rather lost in a 2" pot on the staging and cast around for some raw materials to make them a new home.
I found a nice piece of Cotswold stone in my mum and dad’s garden, and armed with a tungsten drill bit, a masonry chisel, and a lump hammer, I set to work.
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28May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Equipment.
There is an excellent article on Cactiguide.com by Andy_CT about making hypertufa. He’s promising a follow-up article dealing with curing etc.
The article is here.
28May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
It’s the end of May, so, of course… it’s time for flash photography! Light levels are so poor this evening that there was no other way of capturing the buds on these two plants, Rebutia neocumingii (formerly Weingartia, although I’m not sure which one, as I can’t find the label, so I’ll give it the newer name for now) and Lobivia arachnacantha (or if you like to use the massive uber-genus Echinopsis for everything that isn’t an Eriosyce, it’s now Echinopsis ancistrophora ssp. arachnacantha). Both plants have lovely flowers, but there’s something very pleasing about the buds too. The Rebutia is, of course, on the left.
28May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
Now that they’re growing, I’m continuing with my experiment in keeping Fraileas in pseudo-bog conditions such as those they experience in habitat.
The results so far are quite dramatic.
I thought they’d fattened up well when I first started watering them, but now the best ones are like little balloons, and have nice fluffy buds.
I’m hoping that the increase in water will encourage them to flower rather than set seed cleistogamously this time. If it does, it’ll be the first time I’ve ever seen an open Frailea flower “in the flesh”, as it were.
On the left is Frailea mammifera ssp. angelesiae, on the right Frailea phaeodisca.
26May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Other Succulents; Propagation.
I’m not really much of a grower of leaf succulents. I’ve recently become more interested in such genera as Haworthia and Adromischus, but the rosette-forming Echeveria types have never really held much appeal for me.
However, I received some free Graptopetalum bellum seeds from a well-known seed supplier when I purchased a largish consignment of square pots from him, and dutifully sowed them at the beginning of March.
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26May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’ve only recently acquired a liking for Coryphanthas, and bought a few seedlings with a view to growing them in the unheated greenhouse, when I get round to building it, as they are pretty cold-tolerant.
I noticed yesterday that this plant is now in growth. I’m a sucker for plants with pectinate spination (Escobaria minima is another favourite) and I think the new pink spines on this young plant are particularly attractive.
26May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Propagation.
It’s always nice when cuttings announce the fact that they’ve rooted.
I was given a decent sized piece of Puna clavarioides before Christmas, which is showing signs of taking up water, but obviously hasn’t developed enough root to really fill out yet.
However, this little chap broke off the larger cutting, and by contrast is well away now. After months of gradually losing weight the body is firm and plump, and clearly responding to water quite happily. And, most importantly, it’s very firm in the pot.
26May2008
Posted by Stuart under: Other Succulents; Propagation.
I’m finding mesembs incredibly rewarding to grow from seed.
Being used to the growth rate of cactus seedlings, it’s marvellous to see these little plants assume adult characteristics so quickly. A little while ago, my Titanopsis fulleri seedlings were only just embarking on their second pairs of true leaves (see left). After a good few weeks spent in full sun, they’ve changed dramatically.
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