Snowfella's cactus trials

This is a place for members to post on-going topics about their plants and experiences.
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Finally got some decent sunshine this morning that forced the N. ottonis flowers out almost fully. Just what I needed after having spent 2 days crashed out from a headcold.

Image

And someone ought to tell my T. bridgesii monstrose that this isn't the time of year to be putting on new growth. It's been sitting all summer without doing a single thing and now it starts putting out another stem. The one down the bottom hasn't grown all summer but the light green one has popped up in the last week.
Image

And lastly, my seedgrowth experiment seems to be working better than what I had hoped for. Added some M. prolifera seeds a week ago that I found on a recently bought plant and now that I checked the container there's atleast 16 little green heads popping up. :alien:
Image
Hard to see unless you zoom in.
User avatar
Arjen
Posts: 4213
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:12 pm
Location: vught, the netherlands
Contact:

Post by Arjen »

very nice!
With apologies to the late Professor C. D. Darlington the following misquotation springs to
mind ‘cactus taxonomy is the pursuit of the impossible by the incompetent’ - Fearn & Pearcy, Rebutia (1981)
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Must.....Stop....Buying...Cactii!!! :oops:

Went to pick up an M. gracilis monstrose for a small arrangement I'm making for the oldest granddaughter, needs something to cheer her up as she's heading in for surgery next week, and came home will all to darn many again. :roll: Looks like I'm compensating one addiction for another here, first day with a nicotine patch on. :lol:

[center]Image[/center]
Backrow left to right: Tricocereus pasacana, Parodia hazelbergii, Mammillaria sheldonii, Mammillaria senilis.
2nd row: Mammillaria simplex, Lobivia bruchii, Tricocereus candicans, Mammillaria gracilis
3rd row: Mammillaria crinta, Mammillaria viperina, Echiopsis sp, Mammillaria rhodanata, Notocactus scopa.
Front row: Mammillaria hahniana, Mammillaria muehlenpfordtii, Mammillaria mystax.
Least that's what the labels say.

Looks like I have some repotting to do come spring, feels alittle late in the season to be doing it now. Got to put a few of the pups on that M. gracilis that fell off in handling into the ground though, hope they will root ok even with the colder weather.
User avatar
Lazz
Posts: 142
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:23 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Post by Lazz »

Oh Snowfella, I feel for you.
I started out with a couple of plants that I had for years and then one November day went for a visit to Strathmerton Cactus Country and Kapowie!! Totally hooked (or spiked)
Ended up selling the house to get a house with a backyard with enough space for a CACTUS GARDEN!
Now all (most) of my plants are in the ground and growing well. And filling the available space. They just love to get out of pots in central Victoria.
My wife won't let me expand my garden any more (I have expanded 3 times already)(':wink:')
Its slippery down hill spiral
Good luck with it.
Lazz
Cactus Larry Of The Universe
fanaticactus
Posts: 3194
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:44 pm
Location: Grand Isle Co., Vermont

Post by fanaticactus »

What a beautiful group of cacti!! Good size & they look nice & healthy. Thanks for posting the photo--I think it has helped me identify one of my mystery cacti (could be the Lobivia bruchii), which I had bought unmarked. I'll have to do some follow-up with more photos & closer examination. Be careful with the repotting; some of those spines are near-lethal. And, as you've discovered, the M. gracilis is more fragile than an egg. Hope your granddaughter has an easy and successful surgery. I know she'll appreciate what you've done for her.
Catch a falling star--but don't try it with a cactus!
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Cheers.
Was planning on only getting a few yesterday but once I got started I realised it was going to get out of hand quickly, so I tried limiting myself to only Mammillaria's. Didn't fully manage that fully though. Least near all of them are speices that I didn't already have, minus the M. sheldonii. Already had the hooked spined variety so I picked up a straight spined one.

Funny enough both the oldest granddaughter and youngest stepson is going in for surgery the coming week...for the same procedure! :shock: Both are having spleen and gallbladder removed due to a blood disorder caused by funky family genetics.

@Lazz: Cactus garden here is in the planning aswell mate :wink: Luckily I already have enough space in the backyard to fit it in and don't have to swap houses to make it work. lol
A fair bit of what I have will be transplanted out but I guess most of the Mamm's and some Gymno's wouldn't survive the winter rains here.
User avatar
Peterthecactusguy
Posts: 8862
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:49 am
Location: Black Canyon City, Arizona

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

hahaha another person bitten(or in this case Hooked)into the cactophilia.
It's ok Snowfella we all are the same pretty much. We can't help ourselves. If you want blame it on a disease!
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Yup, well and truly hooked...the other day in more places that I'd like to think of when I repotted my Mammillaria senilis, gosh those hooked spines can get a hold of you!

More arrivals in the family :roll: Likely be more tomorrow as I have to head back to the local bigbox store to pick up some more wood for a growing bench I'm building.
Image
2 Mamm's, 2 Tephro's ane one Echinopsis. Naturally only one fully labeled (the M. compressa), the Tephro's I've tried naming myself by online sources. Guessing T. minor on the left and T. articulatus v. papyracanthus on the right.

Image
The unknown Mammillaria.

And lastly some new growth both on my Epi and monstrose brigesii.
ImageImage
If it wasn't pouring with rain right now I'd head out and get some pics of my "flapjacks" that I seriously think is trying to take over the world and an Aloe I had to transplant out of the ground as it was getting to large. Both are kicking up flowerstems at the moment. Seems everything out in the open is growing like crazy down here still.
User avatar
Arjen
Posts: 4213
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:12 pm
Location: vught, the netherlands
Contact:

Post by Arjen »

nice new plants!
With apologies to the late Professor C. D. Darlington the following misquotation springs to
mind ‘cactus taxonomy is the pursuit of the impossible by the incompetent’ - Fearn & Pearcy, Rebutia (1981)
User avatar
Lazz
Posts: 142
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:23 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Post by Lazz »

Hi SnowFella
is the unknown mammillaria 'mammalaria kraehenbuehlii'?
I found it in my book ':)' and on Cactiguide at
http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus ... henbuehlii
I'm no expert, just like books (still) and the web.
I couldn't find it googlin' It kept finding Kraehenbuehl & Krain as species namers.
I bought good plants from 'Advanced Arid Exotics' in North West Sydney a few years ago. Have you been there?
I'm going to Cactus Country on Friday':D'
All this 'Cactusin' recently has got me going again and I feel a buying spree coming on':D'. Its nice to know I'm not alone.':oops:'
Larry
CLOTU
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

:oops: Went to get $7 worth of pine boards and came home with new friends.
Image
5 unknowns. Ferocactus and Matucana at the back and Copiapoa, Dolichothele (guessing variegated M. decipiens) and Rebutia at the front. No soil at all in the Rebutia's pot though so I got it for a steal.

Image
New growth in the temporary outdoor bed, can clearly see where 2 started growing eoliated during our heatwave a few months ago.

ImageImage

And lastly the 2 succulents that are trying to take over the backyard.
Image
Aloe Vera that was bought in a 15cm pot about a year and a half ago. Now in a 60cm pot :shock:

Image
Same with the "flap jacks" (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora), both (yup that was 2 at the begining) came in small pots bought at the same time as the Aloe. There's also some other succuent planted between them that's turned into a sacrificial plant, whatever I do I can't kill off the snails living around that bed but they only go for that plant and nothing else :lol:

Image
Same flowerbed in June last year. :?

@Lazz: Could be mate. I'll have to wait for flowers to find out I guess but it does look similar to that one.
And never been to Advanced Arid Exotics, looks to have a good selection of more mature plants. I instead go to Hamiltons world of cactii out in the west of Sydney, mostly young seedlings and cuttings there but also some larger plants aswell to be found there.
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Finally got all the things needed for the new growing bench and put it all together today. I'm sure most of you will spot the problem with it instantly....it's already just about full. :lol: Luckily a fair bit of what's on it will be going into an outdoors gardenbed come spring. Still it gives me one 180x80cm main bench, a 180x25cm top bench and some space for seedling incubators underneath.
Image

Just pine boards and cinderblocks but as it's right in the main outdoor area I opted to make it alittle "fancy". Rather than pressure treated pine I instead got plain and hit it with 2 coats of dark decking oil. Just got to get rid of those ugly plastic pots now :roll:

Edit: Oh, and it looks like I'll be absolutely swamped with flowers soon. My big christmas/easter whatever it is cactus/hybrid is covered in buds. Every leaf has atleast a single bud, most have 2 or 3 buds forming. From a distance it looked white last year when it was in flower.
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Looks like there's a show of flowers in the near future! Last year it was near white with flowers. :D
Image
Tony
Posts: 10770
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:56 am
Location: Chino, Ca, USA (zone 10)
Contact:

Post by Tony »

Great looking collection you have going. :)
But, I see some open spaces on that new bench... [-X

Welcome to the insanity. :lol:
Forget the dog...Beware of the plants!!!

Tony
User avatar
SnowFella
Posts: 1762
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:27 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SnowFella »

Cheers Tony

Quickly running out of space now though, picked up a few new onces since that photo and with swapping out the square plastic pots with terracotta they now take up more room. :(
Post Reply