Flowering in winter - do I water them?

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Armen Tsirunyan
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Flowering in winter - do I water them?

Post by Armen Tsirunyan »

Hi all,

I have a question about cacti (in my case, several Mammillaria species) that start forming buds and flowering during late winter or very early spring, when they are still cold and dry. What is the recommended approach for them? Do I keep them cold and dry or do I move them to a warmer place and start watering them (thinking if they're flowering, they must have woken up)?

Thank you for any input,
A.
george76904
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Re: Flowering in winter - do I water them?

Post by george76904 »

It could be a winter flowering mammillaria. In which case I would recommend doing nothing, but it really depends in the species. What kind are they?
Armen Tsirunyan
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Re: Flowering in winter - do I water them?

Post by Armen Tsirunyan »

Well, one of them is an old Mammillaria brauneana (AKA Mammillaria klissingiana), which started flowering mid-january. The other was Mammillaria lasciacantha, which starts flowering very early march (when the temperature is still +5 degrees Celsius at night).

I did start watering both of them and moved them into a warmer place, but then I am planning to have a greenhouse soon, and want to stop moving plants around so much so I was wondering if some cacti are able to flower while cold and dry.
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RichR
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Re: Flowering in winter - do I water them?

Post by RichR »

Mammillaria lasiacantha is one of the earliest cacti to bloom in Big Bend National Park, often in February. This answer is two years late but I thought there might be a chance you would read this.
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7george
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Re: Flowering in winter - do I water them?

Post by 7george »

I do not water my winter-flowering cacti. Especially Mexican ones, that are considered moisture sensitive. They are located at cool windowsills and I think if they "decided" to bloom they should have enough water supply in their bodies.

Image
M. sanchez-mejoradae
Mammillaria carmenae
Mammillaria carmenae
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P.S. No topic is too old to be revived. 8)
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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