Blooms after 2 days!
Blooms after 2 days!
Just bought this cactus a few days ago and it arrived in splendid condition 2 days ago without any blossoms. I potted it up in damp soil and this afternoon it has several blossoms which will most likely open tomorrow!! I'm so excited!!
It's Discocactus Araneispinus. With a cephalium!
Karin
It's Discocactus Araneispinus. With a cephalium!
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Wow! 40 views and not one comment? It's probably a boring post, sorry for that!
Karin
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
- Steve Johnson
- Posts: 4526
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
No, not boring at all -- first, congrats on seeing not 1, not 2, but 3 flowers! Disco araneispinus isn't listed on the Miles' To Go website, so I was just wondering about where you got it. Splendid choice, and your Disco reminds me of the buenekeri I got from Miles back in December. I know it seems kinda strange to be talking about winter already, but if no one has discussed over-wintering care, you should remember to bring up the matter here on the forum as we head into fall.sundanz wrote:Wow! 40 views and not one comment? It's probably a boring post, sorry for that!
Karin
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
- adetheproducer
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:15 pm
- Location: Porth, the Rhondda, Wales
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Nice flower and plant. I just sown a batch of mixed discocactus hopefully I will have one of these in there yoyrs looks great.
And as the walls come down and as I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Thank you Steve and Adetheproducer!
Steve, I bought my plant on EBay and he sent me a very nice plant! I didn't know that this one grew a cephalium, I thought only Melos had that distinction! I was surprised that it had one!
Most of the cacti in my GH are "common" so now I look for ones that are a bit harder to find! There are sooo many more I need/want! Always on the lookout for something new!
Going into fall/ winter is always a challenge, especially this year since the door on my greenhouse is messed up and I can't close it. Right now it's not a problem but it will be once cooler air arrives! Thinking about getting a bigger greenhouse with sliding doors but..... Budget is tight so I have to think of something else!
Karin
Steve, I bought my plant on EBay and he sent me a very nice plant! I didn't know that this one grew a cephalium, I thought only Melos had that distinction! I was surprised that it had one!
Most of the cacti in my GH are "common" so now I look for ones that are a bit harder to find! There are sooo many more I need/want! Always on the lookout for something new!
Going into fall/ winter is always a challenge, especially this year since the door on my greenhouse is messed up and I can't close it. Right now it's not a problem but it will be once cooler air arrives! Thinking about getting a bigger greenhouse with sliding doors but..... Budget is tight so I have to think of something else!
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
- Steve Johnson
- Posts: 4526
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Hi Karin,
It's interesting to think about the similarities between Discos and Melos in terms of morphology, growing behavior, and water requirements. Same for both genera re. watering -- best to avoid letting the roots go totally dry in between waterings during the growing season. I don't know how hot your fall is, but your growing season may not end until sometime in November. When the overnight lows go below 55 in fall, my guess is that would be when your araneispinus is ready to settle in for its dormant period. Then you'll want to give it light watering every 3 weeks through winter. Discos are fine with over-wintering down to 38 as long as the mix stays fairly dry, but that's my reason for the saying "sip, don't soak". I think your araneispinus should be pretty well established by the end of summer, so hopefully you won't have any problems getting it through until the plant is ready for another growing season next spring.
Keep us posted on your progress!
It's interesting to think about the similarities between Discos and Melos in terms of morphology, growing behavior, and water requirements. Same for both genera re. watering -- best to avoid letting the roots go totally dry in between waterings during the growing season. I don't know how hot your fall is, but your growing season may not end until sometime in November. When the overnight lows go below 55 in fall, my guess is that would be when your araneispinus is ready to settle in for its dormant period. Then you'll want to give it light watering every 3 weeks through winter. Discos are fine with over-wintering down to 38 as long as the mix stays fairly dry, but that's my reason for the saying "sip, don't soak". I think your araneispinus should be pretty well established by the end of summer, so hopefully you won't have any problems getting it through until the plant is ready for another growing season next spring.
Keep us posted on your progress!
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
- adetheproducer
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:15 pm
- Location: Porth, the Rhondda, Wales
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Yeah I have used ebay for several difficult to get species, you can find some bargains if you look hard and are patient. Im a bit like you and tend to want the more interesting plants, I like the mexican miniatures the best got my eye our for a turbinicarpus alonsoi at the moment.
And as the walls come down and as I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Here are random pics of some of my plants of this species:
Last edited by jp29 on Wed Jul 30, 2014 2:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Wow, JP29, these are very impressive!!! Thank you for posting!!
Karin
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
I like the pictures, but did not comment Karin as due to running a cold greenhouse in the UK Discocactus and Melocactus don't like my winter conditions, therefore I don't grow them! Even if I bring them in the house Melocactus does not seem to like going dry all winter and though they appear to survive collapse at the start of the growing season when returned to the greenhouse!
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
That's interesting Dave! I thought bringing them inside during the Winter would be ok. In my case I leave mine in the Greenhouse all winter at between 50 and 60 degrees. My Melos are doing great, even in 90 plus degrees right now!
Karin
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
- Steve Johnson
- Posts: 4526
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Do you mean going completely dry? If so, that's your problem! If you can keep your Melos warm enough when they're inside during winter, their cephalia should be able to continue growing. Remember -- the cephalium is a vegetative body with tissues that don't photosynthesize, so low ambient light has no adverse effect on its growth. Even if you can't keep your Melos warm enough for indoor growth over the winter, light watering every 3 weeks or so will be sufficient to keep the roots alive before they're ready for action again when the temps in your GH warm up to start the growing season. While I don't have any direct experience with other Melos, I have it on good authority that matanzanus is the easiest because their roots can tolerate some occasional moisture in the soil at overnight temps that would kill most (if not all) other Melo species during winter. The overnights in my area rarely go below about 7C, so I don't bother bringing matanzanus in for winter sips anymore. So how about it, Dave -- would you like to try one again? If you do, maybe you should try Discocactus buenekeri -- the Disco version of matanzanus given its relative ease and light watering care if you keep it indoors for over-wintering.DaveW wrote:Even if I bring them in the house Melocactus does not seem to like going dry all winter and though they appear to survive collapse at the start of the growing season when returned to the greenhouse!
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Apart from the greenhouse going below freezing in a normal year Steve, which they might not take, I guess I have not usually watered the Melocactus in the house in winter. Probably you are right as Marlon Machado (Brazilian botanist) says they don't go dry for long in habitat, but are in well drained situations so watered often but quickly draining keeping the roots alive, since unlike most cacti they don't quickly regenerate their roots when they loose them. Will have to see if Aldi supermarkets have any more cheap ones!
"Melocactus are plants of predominantly rupicolous habit, growing on rocks, in crevices or depressions where the accumulation of dust, humus from dead vegetal remains and other residues allows the support and the development of its extensive root system. Even so there is also (a smaller number) of terricolous species - species of Melocactus which grows in the open ground, in stony or loamy soils of the Caatinga, and also arenicolous species - species of Melocactus which grows in sandy substrata, as the sand dunes of the coastal regions of Brazil. In the Caatinga, in the altitudinal fields or in the dunes of the coast, these species grow under bushes, or in open places, where the brightness is always high. In the coastal areas of Brazil, M. violaceus (that occurs from the state of Rio de Janeiro to the south of the state of Bahia) and M. violaceus ssp. margaritaceus (occurring from the state of Bahia to the state of Alagoas) grow among bushes in the restinga (coastal) vegetation, in quartzitic sand dunes which are in general white as snow."
"All Melocactus species are plants desiring sunlight and heat, always developing in open areas, of great brightness. Its root system is quite extensive and ramified, being also quite superficial, extending by several meters around the plant, when they grow in open ground, or in general concentrating in an entangled coil of roots when they grow in crevices or small depressions of rocks. Without difficulty we can measure roots which can reach up to two meters in length. Melocactus roots don't like waterlogged conditions for an extended period of time, what can be inferred of the places where choose to grow, which are always well-drained substrata. Even in the coastal species, where in general the humidity of the atmosphere is greater, the plants grow in a sandy substratum, where the water doesn't last for a long time. However, we should remember that the areas where Melocactus plants grow possess a tropical climate, with usually high atmospheric humidity, and that the rains, although very irregular, are frequent; thus the species of the genus Melocactus are not plants adapted to extremely xeric environments."
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Mel ... messages/4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Melocactus are plants of predominantly rupicolous habit, growing on rocks, in crevices or depressions where the accumulation of dust, humus from dead vegetal remains and other residues allows the support and the development of its extensive root system. Even so there is also (a smaller number) of terricolous species - species of Melocactus which grows in the open ground, in stony or loamy soils of the Caatinga, and also arenicolous species - species of Melocactus which grows in sandy substrata, as the sand dunes of the coastal regions of Brazil. In the Caatinga, in the altitudinal fields or in the dunes of the coast, these species grow under bushes, or in open places, where the brightness is always high. In the coastal areas of Brazil, M. violaceus (that occurs from the state of Rio de Janeiro to the south of the state of Bahia) and M. violaceus ssp. margaritaceus (occurring from the state of Bahia to the state of Alagoas) grow among bushes in the restinga (coastal) vegetation, in quartzitic sand dunes which are in general white as snow."
"All Melocactus species are plants desiring sunlight and heat, always developing in open areas, of great brightness. Its root system is quite extensive and ramified, being also quite superficial, extending by several meters around the plant, when they grow in open ground, or in general concentrating in an entangled coil of roots when they grow in crevices or small depressions of rocks. Without difficulty we can measure roots which can reach up to two meters in length. Melocactus roots don't like waterlogged conditions for an extended period of time, what can be inferred of the places where choose to grow, which are always well-drained substrata. Even in the coastal species, where in general the humidity of the atmosphere is greater, the plants grow in a sandy substratum, where the water doesn't last for a long time. However, we should remember that the areas where Melocactus plants grow possess a tropical climate, with usually high atmospheric humidity, and that the rains, although very irregular, are frequent; thus the species of the genus Melocactus are not plants adapted to extremely xeric environments."
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Mel ... messages/4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Thank you all for your comments! It really helps a Nepphyte like me.
Here's the problem with my plant! Yesterday I touched it and the whole plant popped out of the pot! It had no or very little roots left! It never got hold of the soil!! I planted it about 2 weeks ago and it had roots! It bloomed after 2 days of planting! What could have gone wrong?? I'm perplexed. I stuck it back in the ground and I'm hoping it grows again! Any suggestions?
Thanks
Karin
Here's the problem with my plant! Yesterday I touched it and the whole plant popped out of the pot! It had no or very little roots left! It never got hold of the soil!! I planted it about 2 weeks ago and it had roots! It bloomed after 2 days of planting! What could have gone wrong?? I'm perplexed. I stuck it back in the ground and I'm hoping it grows again! Any suggestions?
Thanks
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
- TexasPricklyPiglet
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:48 pm
- Location: San Antonio, TX
Re: Blooms after 2 days!
Was there anything off-looking about the cactus? That just sounds so strange to me. I've never had that happen. How is it doing today?