One man went to grow........2014 Diary

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Wilk
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

These are my humble offerings to date. I can claim little credit for the cacti as they are both plants which I bought last autumn from an E-bay seller. The longiflora had a poor root system but that hasn't stopped it. Plenty of buds on other plants so hoping for a good year:

Pleiospilos nelii - Image

Close up of flower (one of my pet hates is pictures of flowers without any sign of the plant body)
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Mamm Longiflora - Image

Mamm hernandezi - Image
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Minime8484
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Location: Chandler, AZ

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Minime8484 »

Really nice start! Love the Mammillaria longiflora!
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hegar
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Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by hegar »

My favorite is the Mammillaria hernandezii. I tried to grow one of them last year, but perhaps the heat we have here killed it. I had been told to not place it in full sunlight. Perhaps, I shall try to grow this plant again sometime in the future. I love its spines and the blossom size and color too. :)

Harald
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Arjen
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Location: vught, the netherlands
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Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Arjen »

the hernandezii looks amazing!
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)
Wilk
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

A few more taken yesterday:

Echinocereus viridiflorus Image

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Lophophora Williamsii - Image

Mamm duwei - Image

Thelocactus panarottoanus - Image

Some may think I am quite mad when I say I was disappointed with this last plant when I received it last year because it was too big and too near to flowering size. No sense of achievement. I'll get over it.
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Arjen
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Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Arjen »

you will, haha

lovely flowers, I especially like the e. viridiflorus
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)
Wilk
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

Nothing greatly exciting today:

Matucana aureiflora - Image

Mamm Spinosissima - Image

The plant itself. It must be about 30 years old and has survived periods of huge neglect - Image

Rebutia/Aylostera sp - Image

Sulco sp - Image

The last 2 I bought unlabelled from the BCSS stand at Stokesley Show in 2012. I should be grateful for help in identifying them. You may even have grown them!
Eutow_Intermedium
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Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:24 pm
Location: South London baybee !

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Eutow_Intermedium »

Loving the Thelocactus Panarottoanus , wonderful flowers on that and spines are dangerous

:D

Amazing how that Matucana Aureiflorum , you could mistake it for a Gymnocalycium Monvillei very easily. Them < < BAM > >

Whats going on here ? Fire coloured flowers !

That plant is just sexy :oops:
Wilk
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Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

First ever flower on my Ferocactus macrodiscus. Bought it on E-bay a couple of years back since which time it has doubled in diameter. A very nice plant:
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Another favourite, Echinocereus Genrtyii, the ugly sausage stems producing magnificent long-lasing flowers:
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..and a few others:
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Wilk
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Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

2 Acanthocalyium for those who like the genus:

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I like the grey bodies. Glaucum and Aurantiacum.
fanaticactus
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Location: Grand Isle Co., Vermont

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by fanaticactus »

"Humble" though they may be (to use your word), your collection is nicely varied, and you are getting some enviable blooms. Hope it continues to be a good year for you.
Catch a falling star--but don't try it with a cactus!
Wilk
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Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

Thank you Fanaticus for your kind comments. Here's one for you. Echinocereus morricalii, a very large and very rich coloured flower which, as can be seen from the second picture, had not quite opened enough for me to capture its full beauty before I had to go to work.

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fanaticactus
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Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by fanaticactus »

My morricalli spent a very tough winter and I thought it was a goner. It still has an overall terrible look, but the main stem is showing some nice light shiny green growth. It was so bad for so long I found a smaller, younger one at our garden center, but that is still too young to have any buds yet. Last year the old one was beautiful, but then we had that long, frigid winter and even the heated greenhouse was not enough to save many of my cacti. Thanks for the photo. I can still dream.
Catch a falling star--but don't try it with a cactus!
Wilk
Posts: 240
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:54 pm

Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

The long awaited neem oil treatment of all plants took place today. Mixing it was not the ordeal I was expecting it to be and although I watered some of it over the plants it has not made the sticky mess I half expected. I just hope it works as well as other posts suggest it should. I will report again in due course.

Here's a notocactus to end with:

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Wilk
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Re: One man went to grow........2014 Diary

Post by Wilk »

I said I would report back on the outcome of my neem oil treatment. It is now nearly 3 weeks on so I expect effects of the treatment will have subsided by now. As a contact insecticide it appeared to have immediate results and as a systemic..................failure. The little buggers (mealy bugs) are still there , not many, but enough to annoy me intensely. I don't know what to do now. Do I have another go, increase the strength of the dose ( I used 5ml per litre), wait until autumn, just use it as a contact spray or give up and try something else? I don't have a lot of mealies and I try to be very vigilant and inspect plants and pots regularly but I would love to have a clean collection and I had high hopes for the neem oil. Maybe I should have saturated the pots instead of just a generous watering??

If anyone has a miracle remedy I should be pleased to hear about it.
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