Flowers of the Summer: Mammillaria latispinus & others.

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WayneByerly
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Location: In the north end of the Sequachee Valley, 65 miles north of Chattanooga Tennessee USA. Zone 7a

Flowers of the Summer: Mammillaria latispinus & others.

Post by WayneByerly »

I have had a Mammillaria latispinus since 2013, and it never did anything except just exhibit some small signs of growth. This year it took up more room in an 8" pot than it did in the 6" pot it was in when I first got it. This last spring (spring of 2016), for several reasons, I decided that I just HAD to have a greenhouse. The M. latispinus is one of my succulents that went in the greenhouse. No shade cloth (just out of ignorance I think--I had NO idea that I needed it) ... just a sheet of translucent greenhouse UV protected plastic between all my succulents and the sun. Nothing died ... conversely, everything thrived. Lots of sun ... lots of heat ... and lots of water. Xeric they may be, but the do need water. I had EIGHT succulents, succulents that had never put out even a bud, burst into flower this year. Some of it quite spectacular.

Even this Mammillaria latispinus, early in the spring started putting out buds, and it has had several flower buds (about 5, but only 2 have done much of anything) for weeks and months. This afternoon, when I went outside to the greenhouse, I found that ONE of the buds is starting to bloom. The camera that I have, a Fujifilm FinePix S4500 (an extremely inexpensive, 14MP digital that retails for about $170), normally does a pretty fair job of color reproduction. And produces the most exquisitely focused macro shots that I have ever taken.

It is my understanding that Mammillaria latispinus blooms in the late fall and will ONLY bloom if it has seen a very bright summer. I don't know how correct that is, but mine has fulfilled both "requirements". Obviously.

The colors of this flower are SO rich ... SO vibrant ... i'm not sure that I've ever seen such amazing colors on any of my cacti. Commentary welcome, constructive OR critical. I feel that the person who does not wish to continue to learn is already dead.

As this flower (and it's corresponding bud) matures, I will edit THIS posting, adding the subsequent pictures to the bottom.

Here's we go.

-- Mammillaria latispinus
020.9 DSCF7171.JPG
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I first only posted the above photo, but now the flower has opened up, so I need to include that picture also. When it did open all the way, it lost a lot of it's vibrant color. But no matter ... I still think it beautiful.
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The second bud has finally opened.
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Here's a closeup of it's "interior".
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I also think that these cacti, have also done fairly well and deserve inclusion here. I am not much of a photographer though ... sorry.

-- Echinocereus sanpedroensis
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-- Gymnocalycium mihanovichi v. rysanekianum
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-- Mammillaria elegans
This cactus develops it flowers late in the fall and in a "crown" around it's top. THIS one developed FIVE rings of flowers around it's top.
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-- Oops ... I mistakenly identified this cactus as a Mammillaria karwinskiana ssp nejapensis, where in all actuality, it is a Mammillaria geminispina v. nobilis. Note that this cactus (this genus/species, not this particular example) has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit!
This cactus also developed a rather spectacular "crown".
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Even this Echevaria put out some pretty flowers ... a LONG spike festooned with many flowers.

-- Echevaria lucita
This first photo shows the dual outer/inner colors ...
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... while this second shows the flowers developing at the end of the flower spike/stalk that continually grew for weeks. These tiny flowers were only 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch long.
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Last edited by WayneByerly on Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:46 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
iann
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Re: Mammillaria latispinus flower

Post by iann »

Ferocactus, of course ;) Well that's one more Ferocactus flower than I've ever had. I'm going to try even harder now.
--ian
jfabiao
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Re: Mammillaria latispinus flower

Post by jfabiao »

Well done! I've had a plant of this species for a good number of years, but since I kept it outside it never got to the flower opening stage (the buds would stop developing once temperatures dropped). This year I decided to give it a fighting chance and brought it inside the greenhouse - BINGO! I agree, the colour is amazing and a number of flowers create a wonderful display. Even the unopened buds are pretty!
Z, in (mostly) sunny Lisbon.
http://jardineiroazelha.blogspot.pt/
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WayneByerly
Posts: 1240
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:35 pm
Location: In the north end of the Sequachee Valley, 65 miles north of Chattanooga Tennessee USA. Zone 7a

Re: Mammillaria latispinus flower

Post by WayneByerly »

iann wrote:Ferocactus, of course ;) Well that's one more Ferocactus flower than I've ever had. I'm going to try even harder now.
iann ... I have had this cactus for several years, and it was not until I placed it outside in my newly built greenhouse, so that it got DIRECT sun for most of the day, that the buds developed. I wonder if that had anything to do with it? :D
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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