Andrew's cacti collection

[AKNicolle]

A bunch of cacti and succulents I ordered from eBay arrived yesterday! I was so pleased with them I thought I'd share some photos

I was a little nervous about the delivery given the temperature in Illinois lately. Things cooled down in a hurry since I originally bid on the plants. The package shipped via USPS 2-day shipping and the seller included some heat packs, but I don't know how effective they were given the package ended up taking 6 days to ship!

I unpacked everything and took photos last night. They still seem to look fine today, so I'm hopeful they didn't freeze during their journey. I'm probably done collecting until Spring, unless I happen to come across something at the local garden store. During winter they mainly sell pet food and indoor plants.

Here's the group shot:

New cacti group - December 9, 2013

cacti_group.jpg (55.85 KiB) Viewed 2783 times

You can find the full resolution photos in the Flickr photo set.

[AKNicolle]

Now for some close-ups!

Aloe variegata

aloe.jpg (42.81 KiB) Viewed 2782 times

Edithcolea grandis

Edithcolea grandis.jpg (344.83 KiB) Viewed 2782 times

Echinofossulocactus multicostatus

Echinofossulocactus multicostatus.jpg (334.24 KiB) Viewed 2782 times

Gymnocalycium damsii v. rotundulum

Gymnocalycium damsii v. rotundulum.jpg (317.26 KiB) Viewed 2782 times

[AKNicolle]

Some huge lithops:

Lithops schwantesii v. marthae

Lithops schwantesii v. marthae 1.jpg (40.62 KiB) Viewed 2780 times

Lithops schwantesii v. marthae

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Lithops schwantesii v. marthae

Lithops schwantesii v. marthae 3.jpg (43.53 KiB) Viewed 2780 times

[AKNicolle]

Uebelmannia pectinifera

Uebelmannia pectinifera.jpg (309.47 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Astrophytum onzuka

Astrophytum onzuka 1.jpg (64.69 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Astrophytum onzuka

Astrophytum onzuka 2.jpg (317.18 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Turbinicarpus alonsoi

Turbinicarpus alonsoi.jpg (261.37 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

[AKNicolle]

Titanopsis hugoschlechteri

Titanopsis hugoschlechteri.jpg (322.61 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Euphorbia suzannae

Euphorbia suzannae.jpg (300.97 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Copiapoa lembckei

Copiapoa lembckei.jpg (302.15 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

Gymnocalycium striglianum

Gymnocalycium striglianum.jpg (314.69 KiB) Viewed 2779 times

[AKNicolle]

Aloinopsis malherbei

Aloinopsis malherbei.jpg (307.76 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

Mammillaria hernandezii

Mammillaria hernandezii.jpg (342.09 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

Faucaria tuberculosa v. japanese

Faucaria tuberculosa v. japanese.jpg (338.29 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

Adromischus herrei

Adromischus herrei.jpg (284.01 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

Euphorbia meloformis

Euphorbia meloformis.jpg (264.09 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

[Snowcat]

Nice plants, really! They were shipping in pots? That's quite unusual as the roots can get damaged...

[sabotenmen]

Nice plants. I'm usually no fan of superkabutos and the like , but your Onzuka looks cool. The Pectinifera looks fantastic, but what about those orange colored spines, is this a subspecies or something? Never seen such a specimen before. Congrats!

[AKNicolle]

Yeah, the seller reckons shipping in pots is less stress on the plants. They wrap the plant and pot in toilet paper, then wrap the lot in packing paper. The bundles are encased in packing peanuts. The arrangement seems to work very well, keeping the plants from moving and protecting the spines. I ordered plants from the same seller 5 years ago (and packed in the same way) that are doing fine today.

The orange spines are indeed cool. They start white on the bottom half, transition to orange, then turn to black at the apex. I'm wondering if it's related to the age of the plant, and whether they'll darken when it's older?

[CactusFanDan]

Nice additions! That Mamm. hernandezii is huuuuuuge!!! One of the biggest I've ever seen. Some very nice species there too. Good luck with them.

[AKNicolle]

The Mammillaria is about an inch in diameter and less than half an inch high. Is it true they shrink down outside the growing season and pop back up once the rain starts again?

[AKNicolle]

Watch this space. I seem to have bought a bunch more from the same seller. Oh dear...

[BRC]

It's OK AKNicolle, it's just cacti fever!!

[coldcactusmontreal]

Wow, I wish I could make my suzannae so healthy. Beautiful

[AKNicolle]

Yeah, this seller has some really incredible plants on offer. I just hope I can keep the new additions happy and healthy for years to come. I've learned a lot of hard lessons over the years.