A small collection: 2015 and beyond

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Steve Johnson
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Steve Johnson »

keith wrote:I wonder if miles will graft them ?
He told me that he could either root or graft the pups, but he's not sure which way he'll go. As to what happened to the hernandezii -- we can't discount the fact that humidity will factor into the moisture retention properties of any mix. Big difference between the fairly high humidity in my coastal microclimate and your desert-like microclimate in TO, so there's no mystery regarding why my taprooted cacti shouldn't get watered as often as they would in a drier climate. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of such things the hard way. :(
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Steve Johnson
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Surprise!

Post by Steve Johnson »

And I do have a few which I saved up for y'all. These photos were taken at the very end of August...

Since it came in 3 years ago, my Copiapoa tenuissima put up its best summer of flowering to date. But I didn't expect to see this:

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Yuppers, that's a dehisced seed pod!

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I was hoping to harvest the seeds for a local grower, but some enterprising ants stole them before I had the chance. Oh, well -- at least I know that the plant can be self-fertile when it's so inclined. Probably too late for another shot now, although perhaps I'll have the opportunity to snag tenuissima seeds next year.

On 8/27 I showed you my Frailea grahliana with a half-open flower. Its blooms usually last for a day and that's it, but this lovely cactus gave us a 2nd day:

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When I got the Parodia subterranea from Kyle's Plants at the end of July, a wooly bump on the growing point led me to suspect that there might be a bud. Then again maybe not, as the species normally blooms in spring. This is a wonderful surprise -- morning and evening on 8/31:

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Unfortunately I wasn't around to see the flower, although when the opportunity comes around next spring, I'm sure I'll be able to get a lovely, colorful bloom on camera for you.

Another small surprise, my Turb klinkerianus from the Sunset show with 4 (count 'em, 4!) buds about to bloom -- same date morning and evening:

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An aerial view with the evening sun illuminating the buds:

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To prepare for my big End-of-summer review, I'll be photographing a whole bunch of cacti next weekend. It always takes awhile to put these things together, so while my faithful followers wait, I may have a post or two for you before I launch.
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Steve Johnson
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Things 'n stuff 'n such -- September edition

Post by Steve Johnson »

From last weekend...

Copiapoa tenuissima, a gift that keeps on giving:

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Epithelantha gregii -- flowers on top?

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Yes, flowers on top!

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Gymnocalycium vatteri.

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Not the best display I've seen on the plant, although early September wasn't as hot as we'd usually expect. With that said, it's still pretty enough to rate posting these pics:

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Frailea grahliana with another half-open bloom:

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Could the grahliana give us one more day?

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Unfortunately not, but I'll sure take this instead!

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End-of-summer review (Part 1)

Post by Steve Johnson »

Wow, time for another one already? Seems almost like it was yesterday when I posted my first End-of-summer review on CactiGuide 4 years ago. It's been a pleasure to keep it going as an annual event here on the forum, and I hope y'all will enjoy review #5. To set the table, here's a look at the plant bench on September 17:

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A closer look at the "real estate" -- the top shelf...

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...Shady Glen...

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...and Sun Valley:

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Portable GH 3.0 went up temporarily for 2 reasons. First, it acts as a light diffuser to soften the contrast between sun and shade -- better for cactus photography as the sun's angle gets lower heading into fall and winter. And second, there was a very brief, but sharp cool-down in the forecast early that week. How sharp? Well, the daytime high barely cracked 70 on the 20th, although with the front on, the bench hit a high of 83. It came off again the next day, so this feature of 3.0's versatility will come in handy for later days when the cacti may want heat they wouldn't get otherwise. Speaking of heat, things went all cattywampus when a scorching heat wave hit in the last week of the month. I don't mean to distract everyone with a weather report now, so I'll save that part of the story for the concluding post of this review.

Just a few items to keep in mind as you work your way through:

1. Per my standard practice, plants will be identified by genus and species. Most of you already know the names, so this is for new viewers who may not be familiar with them. Our regulars also know that dates on the photos are always helpful as we build a history on each cactus. From here on out I'll "shorthand" it a little -- dates without a year indicate pics that were taken this year.

2. As renowned succulent expert Steve Hammer once said, "horticulture is the art of observation". Digital photos often reveal a lot of detail we may not notice with the bare-nekked eye, and they're indispensible to the observational skill set I've developed over the last 5 years. If I can keep my penchant for TMI under control, I'll confine the commentary to pointing out things which may not be obvious when you see the pics themselves.

3. The more relevant details we have, the more we'll get out of the experience. In that spirit, I'll include sources and dates when the cacti joined my collection. When you look at the before-and-after pics, it should be interesting to see if you can spot differences between the source's growing conditions and mine.

4. We'll cover everything plant by plant -- 65 in all. Mostly good stuff with a few nice surprises along the way, but I won't be shy about reporting on some disappointments too.

Okay, that's the preamble, so we'll start on the cacti beginning with...

The columnars

Espostoa lanata (Armstrong Garden Center, May 2011) -- here on 9/27/11:

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What a tiny little thing it was back then, and the Espostoa's progress has been amazing -- 7/5/14 on the left, 9/20/15 in the middle, and its most recent pic on 9/17:

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I began taking the plant's height in 2013, 3.5" at the end of that summer. At the end of this one, close to 8". Not bad, huh?

Cephalocereus senilis (California Cactus Center, June 2011) -- here on 9/27/11:

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I first fell in love with the species when I was a budding young cactus collector way back in 1970. Easy to come by in those days, although I had horrible luck with them. At least in the US, C. senilis hasn't been so easy to find in recent years, so I was thankful to snag one at the CCC. When I finally ditched my "old school" approach to growing in 2012, it turned out to be a major save. The results speak for themselves -- at the end of 3 summers on 9/20/14, 90/20/15, and 9/17:

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The plant started out as a 4-incher, and now it stands 12" tall. My, the Old Man sure looks grand, doesn't he?

Mammillaria grahamii (CCC, June 2011) -- here on 9/27/11:

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I love fishhook Mamms. Because red central spines seem to predominate among fishhook species, the unusual and lovely burnt-orange centrals on this one immediately caught my eye. What I didn't know at the time was that grahamii can grow into being a big, beautiful columnar under cultivation. The first benchmark photo I took was on 12/21/13, so here it is on the left, then 9/19/15 in the middle, and the latest pic from 9/24 on the right:

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While my grahamii did well enough in a terracotta pot and "dirty" mineral mix, it did even better going into a bigger glazed ceramic pot and clean mix last year. I'm pretty impressed with the growth spurt we're seeing in 2016, and I have a good feeling that we'll see more at the end of next summer.

Echinocereus rigidissimus rubispinus (CoronaCactus Nursery, December 2012) -- here on 12/21/12:

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A beautiful species that broke my heart twice when the efforts I got at the CCC ended in failure. I was already moving toward online sources anyway, and the excellent experience I had with CCN that year led me to be bold about purchasing cacti from Darryl in winter. (The rubispinus came with the Frailea castanea and Gymnocactus ysabelae you'll see later.) A pristine plant with squeaky-clean roots plus his helpful advice gave it a good start on life under my care, and I had a rubispinus that would actually grow for me. In this 4-panel pic, we'll watch its progress going from 4/20 to 9/14/13, then 9/20/14 and 9/20/15:

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The rubispinus went into a high-fired ceramic pot and clean mineral mix on 4/26/15:

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It's worth noting that a good number of cacti didn't seem to be bothered much by the DG fines in "dirty" mix. With that said, clean is always better for optimal root growth, so I believe that my rubispinus took advantage of the opportunity to do most of its growing below-ground last summer. The plant's first flower left behind a handy-dandy belly button for reference, so let's use it to gauge how much growth it put on above-ground during 2016's spring and summer -- 6/4, 7/1, and 9/17:

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Cleaning up the mix was a big priority, and we now have enough time to start evaluating the results of this initiative. Thus far we're 4 for 4 showing definite progress, and I'll add another one momentarily. In the meantime, here's a family portrait lined up on 9/17:

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A columnar Mamm goes horizontal

M. perezdelarosae (Miles' To Go, December 2013) -- here on 12/23/13:

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A dry and relatively warm winter was on tap for the southwest that year, good time to be in the mood for some holiday cactus shopping. While I haven't asked Mr. Anderson about the specific ingredients, there's just enough he leaves in the roots of his plants to tell me that he includes a certain amount soil and organic materials in his mix. Great for the hot, dry climate of the Arizona desert. But here in the Mediterranean-type climate of coastal L.A., pure soil-less mineral mix is just the ticket. The perezdelarosae's first summer on the plant bench (6/28 and 9/21/14), and we'll add another summer on 9/20/15 -- the difference between Miles' growing conditions and mine should be pretty obvious:

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This was one of the last plants still stuck in "dirty" mix, so I did something about that in mid-May. What I'm about to show you requires some interpretation of what you're seeing -- 5/15, 5/28, and 9/24:

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Whenever we repot cacti, it's normal to have them settle in for awhile before they start growing. The perezdelarosae had other ideas, and a nice surprise to see it growing only 2 weeks after it was repotted. But the real surprise came with a big change I didn't expect this summer. Hmmmmm -- the way it's leaning, there must be something wrong with the plant. Au contraire, mon frère! Because the species doesn't have a woody structure in its stem, perezdelarosae will go horizontal if it's grown well under cultivation. You might enjoy this angle for the full horizontal effect:

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Those roots must've gone to town in their potful of clean mix -- oh no, I created a monster! :lol: Seriously, the response is better than I could've imagined, only problem being that the plant appears to be heading straight for my Gymno stenopleurum. To avoid a potential cactus-to-cactus "poke in the eye", I may repot the perezdelarosae to straighten up its base so it'll go over the stenopleurum's head. No reason to worry about this yet, although I'll think about putting it on the list of chores for the next growing season. By the way, a number of my cacti naturally lean toward the south. It's interesting to observe that my perezdelarosae's lean is toward the southwest, which means that it favors afternoon sun. I have a couple of cacti in Sun Valley that do the same thing, so apparently the perezdelarosae has no complaints about the ambient light it's getting in Shady Glen.

I have a whole bunch of photos that need post-production, so I'll rustle up Part 2 for you soon. Rather than work out a "formal" review program as I've done in previous years, I'll just reach into my grab bag and see what strikes our fancy for the next installment.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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Steve Johnson
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End-of-summer review (Part 2)

Post by Steve Johnson »

Totally forgot to mention this earlier, so before we continue -- please feel free to post comments and/or questions as we go along. I do enjoy answering the questions, so ask away whenever you want! :)

I thought it might be nice to look in on my recent acquisitions, so we'll begin today's little presentation with...

The cacti from C and D Plants (December 2015)

Puna clavarioides received from Craig Fry -- when it arrived on 12/18, and an "after" showing its first stubby little new root on 4/24:

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Craig told me that P. clavarioides isn't the easiest thing to root, so it was pretty exciting to have mine grab into the pot a month after I detected that tiny stub. I included the plant in my July progress report, and here's an update for the end of summer -- 5/14, 7/10, and 9/17:

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Ooh, something is pushing it up in the pot! A new taproot, perhaps? Could be, although I wouldn't know for sure until I execute my game plan to unpot the Puna around late February/early March. The idea is to see what the roots look like in case the plant needs an adjustment regarding its mix and/or a deeper pot. Then an "oopsie" led to some unscheduled repotting on the 24th. Dang! #-o Oh, well -- what's done is done, and at least we can see what's been going on in there. Bare-nekked on 4/24, and again 5 months later to the day:

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Negatory on the taproot, and it was a bit disappointing not to see more in the way of new rooting activity. However, I kinda like what the stubby little side root turned into. If we look at the Puna's front and back, more will be revealed:

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That's right, 2 new root stubs hiding behind the one that started on 4/24. A couple of observations worth noting. First, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Puna's response to regular watering even though it's not close to growing a root system yet. Second, the existing side root left behind a fairly long, thin fibrous part that got torn off in the accidental unpotting. In fact, it reminded me of the very fine roots I've seen coming out of my Tephros. They didn't like it at all when I tried growing them in soil-less mix, but once I moved the Tephros into a 50/50 pumice-soil mix, they perked up in a big way. My guess is that the Puna has similar rooting needs. I'm sure I would've found out sooner or later -- maybe the oopsie was a blessing in disguise, and sooner means that I was able to repot the plant in a mix with some soil added while there's still a little time left before the growing season ends. New game plan executed on 9/25:

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Although we haven't seen signs of it yet, I think the Puna is capable of growing a new taproot -- intuition suggests a leaner mix than what I use with the Tephros. In this case, 70% pumice-granite gravel/30% soil culled from the big bag of cactus mix I got from the CCC in 2011. Whenever I repot cacti in the growing season, usual practice is to let them settle in for 2 weeks before watering. But with dormancy on the horizon, I didn't see any point in waiting that long. So the plant got a sip on 10/1, and if the heat holds up this month, it'll get another sip or two before dormancy comes to L.A. in November. Hopefully what I'm doing will give this rare and wonderfully odd cactus a leg up on good growth next year.

Craig was very kind to include a gift that came with my Puna. To give you some perspective on their actual size, both plants are in 2" x 2" pots. Here's the gift on 12/18 -- Cumulopuntia rossiana fuauxiana:

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It arrived with a tiny set of roots, and let's see if root growth below-ground would lead to new growth topside -- 4/30, 5/14, 5/28, and 9/17:

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A bird's-eye view on 6/4 and 9/24:

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I potted up Craig's cacti with pumice and granite gravel basically as a starter mix to give them a toehold on rooting. We already know that the Puna needed an adjustment, but since the Cumulopuntia has been doing so well as-is, it should be fine to keep the plant going in soil-less mix. With that said, a root inspection would be a good idea to see if it could take a bigger pot. I'll leave the Cumulopuntia alone (note to self -- no "oopsie", please!), then unpot it for said inspection when the next growing season is about to begin.

The Sunset show cacti (April 30)

And that would be the 2 plants I purchased from Desert Creations. Remember these?

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The good folks at DC know their stuff when it comes to good cactus growing, so no surprise to see an attractive Turbinicarpus klinkerianus with robust healthy roots. The klinkerianus even came with 2 new buds -- here it is with the buds about to pop on 5/12, then on 9/24:

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From first buds to first blooms (5/14), and once again on 9/24:

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Definitely a summer-growing Turb, so we'll zoom in on the growth point and see what the klinkerianus did in its first summer here at "Casa de Jefferson Park" -- 7/14 on the left:

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While I do miss the klinkerianus that died of old age, I'm so glad to have my young one doing wonderfully.

What about that Melocactus matanzanus? It's a story I'm eager to tell, and a really good one too! I covered the first part of it here, but I'll give you a running start on the rest of this tale as we briefly recap what I posted on 5/15. Going straight from the wholesale nursery to DC's sale tables, I found a rich wet mess coming out of the wholesaler's pot:

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Fine for jungle cacti, and perhaps okay for juvenile Melos. However, one wonders if the wholesale nursery knows how to treat Melos when they become persnickity adults. After cleaning up the mess, it didn't leave much to work with -- here's what's left of a formerly decent set of roots:

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Repotting day on 5/8:

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This was a save situation right from the get-go -- the matanzanus had to regrow a new root system. Conventional wisdom suggests that our prospects aren't good, although I'd suggest otherwise. Putting experience into practice, I came up with an effective strategy that produced excellent results, and sooner than I expected. Now I'll describe what I did...

If DC had enough time, they would've replaced the wholesale nursery's overly rich mix with a leaner one. How lean we can go really depends on your climate. In my rather humid microclimate, the mix I use for Melo matanzanus is as lean as we can get short of being completely soil-less. (If you live in a dry climate, James has a great thread that'll be helpful -- see http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 31&t=37690" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.) The 4" x 3" pot I selected is perfect for the shallow roots of an adult matanzanus. When it comes to watering, most people would soak the pot. Nope, big mistake because those 2 scraggly roots won't take up more than a little. The trick was to moisten the mix just enough to hydrate the roots, let it dry out and give them another sip. Sip, dry out and repeat, and the idea here is that the process will "tease" new roots into growth as they seek out water. "Mr. OCD" was quite methodical about the amount going into each sip. Using a spray bottle with the nozzle set to stream (as opposed to mist -- IMO misting our plants doesn't do much beyond giving them a dewey complexion), I aimed little streams of water down around the base of the plant. First sip was 30 squirts on 5/21, then another 30 on 5/28. I increased the number to 50 on 6/4, and again on 6/12 -- no sign of accidental soaking yet. At that point, I had to give the matanzanus a gentle twist in case it might be grabbing into the pot. And indeed it did -- new roots! I upped the number of squirts to 75 on 6/18 and 6/25, not quite soaks yet, but close. By 7/2 the plant was so solidly in, all I had to do was increase the number of squirts until I saw drops of water coming out the drain hole. Effectively a soak, and the magic number was 100. From then on, it's been full-on soaks once a week. I'm pleased to report that the Melo matanzanus save is -- complete!

The before-and-after results on 5/30 and 9/17:

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7/3 on the "before" and same date on the "after", different angle shows a horizontal crease on 1 rib that disappeared thanks to plumping:

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Aerial view of a happy matanzanus (6/11 on the left):

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I'm thrilled with the outcome, so the last thing I'd want to do is repeat a mistake that killed my C and D matanzanus back in February. Yep, accidentally soaking when I should've been sipping. Best way to avoid it is pay attention and remember -- 30 squirts per sip when the new matanzanus gets it every 3 weeks in winter. Then after winter is done, it'll be fun to track the Melo's cephalium growth next year, so we'll follow its progress over the upcoming spring and summer.

The eBay purchases

Obregonia denegrii (mycactusarecool, 5/22) -- here on 5/28 and 9/18:

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Aside from some shrinkage, the plant doesn't seem to be doing much. However, since Obregonia is related to Ariocarpus, I'm sure it'll be as slow to establish as my Ario fissuratus was. There might be just a touch of new growth showing in the "after" pic. If not, then the plant should be established enough to show clear signs of new growth next summer. A few observations worth noting on this one. First, the Obregonia picked up a nice suntan down in Escondido. Was it caused by sun, heat, or a combination of both? After 4 months of decent midday shade in Shady Glen, the answer is -- heat. Wish I didn't give you such horrible lighting for the "after" photos, because the tan is still there and it makes for a rather attractive Obregonia. I'll get better pics for you later. In the meantime, there was one disappointment, and not so cool -- sending a cactus with scale on it. Luckily, the pests didn't find the thick waxy skin all that tasty, otherwise the situation would've been worse. An Imidacloprid soil soak took care if it, so the scale insects you see now are dead, dead, dead.

Parodia subterranea (Kyle's Plants, 7/30) -- here on repotting day, followed by 9/18:

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Like my Obregonia, this cactus is also shrinking. It would be natural to assume that the plant is going through a bit of a sulk as its roots get established. But there are some details that add a new wrinkle to the story I posted on 8/3...

As I mentioned at the time, Kyle ships his plants bare-root. While he does a good job of prepping the roots, he left enough behind to tell me that he uses organic material in his mix. Nothing wrong with that per se, although different from the mineral mix I use. And the difference shows up in what'll happen when cacti go from someone else's mix to mine. It all starts in the roots as they exploit the open aeration provided by a soil-less mix, growing more extensively than they would in a soil-based mix. I've observed the response many times in my other plants -- of course there might be some sulking involved, but what we have here is the Parodia taking on a form that'll be more compact than we'd see when growers use "traditional" mixes with soil and organic materials. Once again, nothing wrong with this approach, but for people who prefer the hard style of growing (guilty as charged! :wink: ), nothing beats going soil-less if you can do it.

I didn't pick up on the immediate observation at hand until I carefully scrutinized these before-and-after pics, so here's the view from above:

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The apex is becoming more compact, and yes -- it's growing:

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Wow, those new spines look really good. The tiny orange spot in the apical wool looks interesting too. Simply new wool or could it be hiding a bud? I'll leave this as a nice little mystery. Unfortunately no mystery, and not nice at all -- flat mites came by for a visit sometime after I got the Parodia. 2 things that'll encourage them are fresh repotting and tender new growth. I've had run-ins with this pest before, and they're a G-d pain in the a** because they leave their damage behind before we know they were even there. TetraSan is an effective go-to against flat mites, so once I detect their "hit-and-run" damage, I'll reach for the TetraSan spray. Always after the fact, but I won't see them again. Until next year, that is. There's another effective miticide available for home use here in California, so I'll put it into the rotation when springtime returns to SoCal. With an anti-mite strategy in mind, then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to hit them before they have the chance to hit back.

We'll end today's post with...

The most recent arrivals

Since the new cacti were coming in pairs, I have a final twofer to show you. Both were shipped from the wilds of Cortaro AZ on 8/27, so let's see how Mr. Anderson's plants are doing these days.

Echinocereus viridiflorus canus with the "after" shot on 9/17 -- growing already?

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Yes, growing already! This seedling is strong, but obviously thirsty as I watch it on a regular basis. I've been reluctant to give the plant deep watering because I don't think its roots have grown into the pot sufficiently enough for it yet. Using intuitive judgment (hopefully good and sound!), I opted for what Miles calls half-watering -- more than a sip, less than a soak. The first week of October was nice and hot, with more heat likely to continue through the end of the month. Even November can be kinda toasty, so the canus will get half-watering every 2 weeks until more occasional sips are warranted by the cool days and chilly nights of late fall and winter. My experience with E. rubispinus should come in handy -- if I'm treating it right, the canus will be ready for soaks as I ease the little guy into its next growing season.

Here's the other new M2G plant -- Eriosyce duripulpa:

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Going strictly by eye, I didn't expect anything new out of it after only a month. Boy, was I wrong! That's what digital photography can do, and it's fabulous to see pleasant little surprises like this being caught on camera. The duripulpa is now 1 of my 3 Thelocephalas -- watering at the wrong time could be trouble. Although it's been hot enough to give the other 2 regular soaks, my new one hasn't fully established yet, so better safe than sorry as I went with half-watering on 9/10 and 9/24, and a topping-off sip last night. After that watering is out of the question until mid- to late-spring. That'll be the right time to give my duripulpa its first deep watering, and fun to see the plant go from winter shriveling to spring plumping.

Hmmmmmm, where should we go next? Time to reach back into my grab bag for Part 3.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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oldcat61
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by oldcat61 »

Steve - you always make me laugh. That has to be the most fussed-over melo in California! I can't imagine your hand after 100 squirts of a mister; I'd have arthritis for sure. When is it going to occur to you to measure what 100 or 30 squirts is? Maybe a quarter of a cup or 1 tablespoon etc.? Since you like that motion so much, perhaps you milked cows in a previous life? You know I'm teasing you with affection - please keep sharing your adventures.
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Steve Johnson
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Steve Johnson »

Hi Sue,

As "Mr. OCD", I do have a reputation to uphold, don't I? :lol: I have a 29-year background in metrology, and even with my cactus hobby, I've found that the ability to take fairly precise meaurements comes in handy. Such being the case, I can tell you that 100 squirts of the spray bottle equals 3 oz. of water, or a touch less than 3/8 cup. Aside from the Melo, there are 19 cacti that enjoy occasional sips in winter. Easiest to do them all at the same time, but my hand gets fatigued about halfway through. While the spray bottle approach gives me a lot of control for careful winter watering care, I wouldn't be able to do it if I had a larger collection.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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oldcat61
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by oldcat61 »

We're the genetic opposites; I almost never measure anything except by eye. And I tend to overwater, so it's good I like jungle cactus. With two greenhouses I can indulge my misting obsession with a one gallon wand sprayer. I love copiapoas because in their habitat they are misted by morning fog. I keep them away from the cat turd tephros.
dreadnot
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by dreadnot »

Nice Collection,
what kind of sun shade do you use?
Any recommendation?
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Steve Johnson
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Steve Johnson »

dreadnot wrote:Nice Collection,
what kind of sun shade do you use?
Any recommendation?
I've had 40% shade cloth over the entire collection since 2011, and it works really well. Keeps the sun-lovers happy, and for cacti that could use more shade in summer, a 2-shelf bench also works well. Since you've seen my setup, you may want to check out a phenomenal one that Craig and Denise Fry have -- this may give you a few ideas:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 6&p=292567" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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End-of-summer review (Part 3)

Post by Steve Johnson »

2011 figures prominently in these reviews because it was the time when I was able to end a 20 year absence from the hobby. Some of you have heard the backstory many times before (too many, I'm sure), so I'll begin this installment with some catch-up for people who may be new to my work here...

From the humblest of beginnings -- 2 cacti I found at a local Armstrong in May 2011 put me on the road to the California Cactus Center in Pasadena the following month. Wasn't thrilled with the E.B. Stone cactus & succulent mix I bought at Armstrong, so hopefully a dedicated c&s nursery would give us something better. Here's a sample of the CCC's "custom" mix I was using back then:

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The folks there recommended adding some pumice for a few of my cacti, but unfortunately their advice didn't go far enough. Then thanks to the forum, I learned more about cacti in 2012 than I did during my first 21 years as a struggling collector. I'll be eternally grateful to Darryl Craig at CoronaCactus for the recommendations he offered as the collection headed into a wonderful turn-around over the 2012 growing season. A big one was -- pure mineral mix with pumice and decomposed granite:

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You've already seen the latest with a few of my CCC "veterans", so I'll spool out more of them as this review moves forward. A mix of old favorites and species that were new to me at the time, so I'll point out which is which. In today's post we'll look at examples of both, and CCN is part of the story featuring...

The Astrophytums

A. myriostigma, an old favorite. The CCC carried the quadricostatum variety -- not hugely rare, but unusual enough to rate selection over the more common 5-ribbed myriostigmas we see. Here it is on 9/27/11:

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I think the species must be quite forgiving, because mine did pretty well in the CCC mix. Almost forgot that I kept this photo -- the quadricostatum with its first flower under my care on 10/30/11:

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Forgiving yes, but even better to have it thriving in mineral mix -- 3/16/13 on the left:

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As far as my Astros go, this beauty is a prolific bloomer with flowers throughout spring and summer. Fall too? Yep, we could see it again by the end of the month.

A. capricorne -- another old favorite, and I really hoped to find one. Now we'll bring Cactus Data Plants into the picture, because what we're seeing here is a teeny-tiny remnant coming from the "mother of all cactus sales" when Woody Minnich sold the vast amount of his Antelope Valley collection to the CCC as he pulled up stakes for New Mexico in 2007. Don't know who got it after Woody left, but the previous owner wasn't taking good care of the plant. A sunburned, stressed-out little capricorne on 9/27/11:

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Definitely a rescue plant, and it was remarkable to watch what mineral mix, acidified water, and regular applications of Dyna Gro All-Pro 7-7-7 did for the capricorne in 2012. On 7/28 and 9/22/12 -- hard to believe it's even the same cactus!

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From terracotta (9/20/14) to glazed ceramic 2 years later:

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Not quite so prolific as the quadricostatum, but flowers are one of the ways my capricorne keeps thanking me. And that bud may go somewhere nice before October is done.

Generally speaking, I didn't have much trouble with Astrophytums in my younger days, but A. asterias was the one species I could never figure out. Too bad, because it was such a fascinating plant. After all those years, the fascination was still there, so I had to try again as I included a new asterias in the "big buy" I made at the CCC. On 11/28/11, and I still couldn't figure it out:

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What's wrong with this picture? That's what I asked when I discovered the forum in November 2011. The answer came quickly from Ian -- poor thing lost its roots. Oh boy.

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Clearly the soil in the CCC mix was way too heavy. A few experienced members gave me tips on how to regrow the roots, so soil-less mix might help. Although I did try, things didn't look promising. By spring 2012, Darryl proved himself to be a great resource for advice and quality plants (better than the CCC on both counts). Since he had asterias plants for sale that summer, I didn't see any point in wasting more time on an uncertain outcome when I could get this instead (7/21/12):

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As it is with slower-growing cacti, asterias isn't the easiest thing to establish. I'm glad that Darryl was there to guide me through the process, and I finally had one that would grow for me. On 4/9/13 and 7/4/15 -- howzabout this?

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I took that "after" on the day when I moved my asterias from terracotta to a high-fired ceramic pot. The plant didn't seem to be bothered much by the DG fines in "dirty" mix. With that said, clean is always better, so a potful of clean mix went in as well. Same ingredients (minus the fines, of course) -- shouldn't take long to re-establish, right? Hmmmmmmm, let's see if that's true. On 3/26 and 6/24/16:

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I haven't seen the asterias looking that pale before. Appears that I haven't figured it out as well as I thought, so what am I missing? Here are a couple of ideas which are plausible. First, the roots have been slowly re-establishing as the plant concentrates most of its energy on taking advantage of clean wide-open, well aerated mineral mix. And second -- unusual heat this spring. In fact so unusual that a heat wave over Father's Day weekend was capped off by a daytime high of 104 (hot, hot, hot!!!) on 6/20. The species is prone to scorching in full sun, so I've been sure to keep this "nudie cutie" well-shaded in the middle of the day -- the pale skin color is pure heat stress, most likely exacerbated by a root system that was still growing in.

Stressed though it was, the colors are pretty in this shot taken 2 days before the big blast hit:

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Not so pretty showing a delayed effect of that 104-degree day (7/16), but we'll see a nice greening change in the "after" on 9/18:

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There are 2 things we should be looking at from a diagnostic standpoint. Okay, the roots are taking up water and nutrients -- excellent. Is the growth point active? This before-and-after will tell us -- here on 7/4/15 and same date as above on the "after":

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Yuppers, the asterias is growing. Diagnosis -- healthy! I usually show you the plant from above, but here's a view from the side -- 4/6/14 and the end of this summer:

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After producing its first and only flower in July 2013, the asterias was good about blooming over the last 2 years. A bit disappointing to see buds that went nowhere in 2016, but when the plant soldiers on in the new growing season, I have a good feeling that its lovely flowers will return next year.

Darryl kindly included 2 companions to go with my asterias, A. capricorne x myriostigma hybrids AKA 'capristigma'. Both were small enough to share the same 3" pot -- here they are on 7/21 and 9/22/12:

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Fast little growers back then, as Jr. and Sr. were ready for their own pots the following spring (4/28/13):

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Due to limited space on the plant bench, I gave Jr. away and kept Sr. since he was mature enough to flower starting in May 2013. Although Sr.'s growth has slowed down, its growth rate is quite respectable -- 4/4/15 on the left:

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Whether it's buds or blooms, the 'capristigma' is good about giving us both throughout the growing season.

In Part 2 I was lamenting the crappy end-of-summer pics I posted for the Obregonia entry. We'll make up for that now as I end this post with a good little group shot from 9/24:

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At the rate we're going, I'll be posting more installments well into next month. That's okay, though -- we'll just take our time and continue the summer here to help you chase the dormancy blues away.
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by mmcavall »

very interesting, thanks for sharing!
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End-of-summer review (Part 4)

Post by Steve Johnson »

Memories of my first collection are hazy -- so many years ago, but thanks to the Internet and a website called Cactuspedia, it didn't take long to remember the old favorites as I put them at the top of my California Cactus Center shopping list in June 2011. However, if I stopped there, it would've been a short list, and since I had a new collection to build, Cactuspedia gave me lots of ideas on what I should look for to fill it out. (If you need ideas of your own, you can find a newer and vastly improved version of the site here.) Identifying some plants of fond memory by species was easy, although it wasn't so easy to ID others which stood out in my mind way back then. At least I knew the genera, and here's one to springboard us for today's installment...

Turbinicarpus

I was a big film photography buff in the 1970s and '80s, and I've kept everything (including the negatives). One day I'll digitize all the photos from my old collection, but that'll have to be a retirement project. For now, I can show you a pic I recently dug up -- from 1982 and a place called Maleenee Desert Gallery in Pasadena, CA:

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(During my absence from the hobby, Maleenee changed its name to the California Cactus Center. Founded in 1976, the nursery is still owned and operated by the same family.) The first visit there was my introduction to Turbinicarpus. Unfortunately the film photo didn't translate well into a digital image, but good enough to know that it was a Turb. (The plant clearly led a hard life, didn't it?) On my second visit to Pasadena 29 years later, I found an old T. macrochele polaskii with 3 seedling volunteers in tow. Wonderful to see it flowering a few times that summer -- here's one on 7/22/11:

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This polaskii originally came from Woody Minnich's vast Antelope Valley collection, and I was pleased to have it in mine. Then in October 2011, it turned into the new collection's first casualty:

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Those orange spots were the external signs of rot. Really sad to see it happen -- ironic too, because that's how my first try with a Turb went bye-bye. Obviously there was so much about cacti I still didn't know. Thankfully the seedlings were okay, but would they survive? If it weren't for the crash course education I received on the forum, probably not. However, the transition from a soil-heavy "old school" mix to soil-less mineral mix began just in time to increase their odds for long-term survival and growth. Fine as far as it goes, although we have a new problem to solve. The smallest pot I had at the time was a 3-incher -- too big for the seedlings perhaps? The strategy there was getting a new "mama" polaskii to keep them company. The CCC couldn't help, but CoronaCactus certainly did as we see major progress with the T. polaskii family on 5/6 and 9/30/12 (that's mama in flower on the right):

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Great family, but it was a temporary situation because competition for water and nutrients would eventually lead to trouble for at least one of the plants. I could see it on the horizon by the end of the 2014 growing season, so I had to cut something loose. 2 little somethings, actually -- the smallest CCC volunteers went to a member of the Sunset Succulent Society in January 2015:

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Going into their own glazed ceramic pots, here's a side-by-side comparison of the CCC and CCN polaskiis on 3/29/15 and 9/18/16:

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The bud on the CCN polaskii turned into an end-of-summer bloom 6 days later:

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Something to think about next spring -- wider and deeper pots for both!

As sad as it was to lose Woody's old T. polaskii, another one of his Turbs did well enough to produce flowers and a brand-new pup that suddenly popped up in the summer of 2011. T. pseudomacrochele krainzianus on 9/27/11:

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Well, I thought it was a pup, but the tiny guy has been growing from the taproot, which would be rather odd. Let's investigate...

In May 2015 the krainzianus was moved from a terracotta pot and "dirty" mineral mix to clean mix in a glazed ceramic pot. On repotting day (5/18/15), and take a close look at what you see on the left:

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No doubt about it -- this isn't an offset, but a seedling that fused itself to the parent plant's taproot. (Although not technically accurate, we'll keep calling it a pup for descriptive purposes.) After 2 seasons of growing in clean mineral mix -- 5/18/15 and 9/24/16:

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Wish I had before-and-after pics prior to the change, because the comparisons would've shown you a pretty remarkable improvement after I cleaned up the mix. Also, the pup liked to play "hide and seek" in the pot over its first 4 years of existence. In 2016 it's been more seeking and less hiding, so this photo will give us a good bird's-eye view of the parent and pup for initial benchmarking:

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In perusing Cactuspedia's Turbinicarpus page, valdezianus definitely rated an entry on my wish list. After a disappointing experience with one I found at the CCC in March 2012, I decided to try again with a new valdezianus from somewhere else. That "somewhere else" was CCN, here on 7/21/12:

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On 5/16/13 and 11/22/14:

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The plant was in a 3" terracotta pot -- turned out to be a bit too wide and not deep enough. I found a somewhat narrower and deeper pot at the CCC, so I could dig the valdezianus in a little more. Repotting day on 1/18/15, followed by 9/24/16:

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The species usually does its growing in spring and a little in fall, but not during summer. But this particular specimen had other ideas -- springtime growth starting on 3/26 and yes, growing on 9/24:

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Believe it or not, that's a new bud on the right. Already? Yep, and at least 2 months ahead of schedule. Would be neat to see the valdezianus flowering earlier than usual, so I'll be watching the bud with interest. By the way, I think the plant could use a deeper pot.

I have a couple more Turbs to show you, so we'll round out the contingent with...

T. jauernigii (Mesa Garden, July 2013) -- here on 7/27/13 and 9/18/16:

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Going from the extreme desert heat of New Mexico to the relatively moderate summertime temps in semi-coastal L.A., I knew the skin color would change. Looks quite attractive, though. 2 other observations worth noting -- first, the slow disappearance of what we'll call the "powdered sugar" effect may be coming from the high humidity in my area. And second, corking is something we'll normally find on older plants, but IMO the jauernigii is too young for it. What we're seeing here could be premature corking, or the taproot pushing the plant up above the soil line. Like I did for my T. polaskiis, I repotted the jauernigii in a glazed ceramic pot with clean mineral mix at the beginning of last year. Therefore, possibility #2 is more likely given what open, well aerated soil-less mix can do. Such being the case, I think we have not 2, not 3, but 4 Turbs in need of wider and deeper pots. Oh boy, time to go pot shopping next year! In the meantime, here's an aerial view going from 3/29/15 to the end of summer 2016:

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The jauernigii is a reliable bloomer in late fall, so we'll be on the lookout for buds and flowers next month.

T. pseudopectinatus (eBay purchase from Planta Seca, February 2014) -- I chose this species precisely because of its resemblance to Pelecyphora aselliformis. The one I received even came with a bud, as we see here on repotting day (2/23/14):

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A week later, and its first bloom was fantastic!

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As I mentioned here, placing the pseudopectinatus in Shady Glen might've been a miscalculation. Was it? We'll review the before-and-after pics going from 9/21/14 to 9/17/16:

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Yes it was, and we can see 3 distinct bands of growth on the right -- compact tubercles from Planta Seca's care on the base, wider spacing of the tubercles in the middle (too much shade in Shady Glen), then the newest growth after correcting my boo-boo when I moved the pseudopectinatus up to the top shelf in June. Still a young plant, so no harm done in terms of its appearance, and the pseudopectinatus should be on track for excellent growth as it gets older. Same before-and-after dates with a view from the top -- glad I caught this in time, huh?

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We'll end for now with a bit of a taxonomical head-scratcher -- used to be Turbinicarpus, although the currently accepted name for this plant is Gymnocactus saueri ysabelae:

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I'll leave decisions on lumping and splitting to the taxonomists, but regardless of what we want to call it, I was incredibly fortunate to find the beautiful and rare ysabelae through CCN in December 2012. Spanning 3 seasons of growth on 3/16/13 and 7/3/15:

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Not bad considering the burden put on the ysabelae's roots by DG fines in "dirty" mix. Of course clean is always better -- I repotted it in a glazed ceramic pot with clean mix on 7/4, so we'll take the "after", then turn it into a "before" and see the results on 9/24/16:

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Marvelous! The benefits of clean mineral mix are unmistakable, and we'll have more evidence of it as the review moves forward.

Stay tuned for Part 5 in about 2 weeks. Cheers, my friends! :)
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End-of-summer review (Part 5)

Post by Steve Johnson »

"Springboard" is a good word to describe most of the cacti I selected for the collection I've been maintaining over the last 5-plus years. In that spirit, we'll continue with another old favorite and discoveries that were new to me as I built the current collection.

Tephrocactus

T. articulatus papyracanthus (CCC, June 2011). The famous paper-spine was one of my very first plants when I came down with "cactus fever" in 1970. So definitely an old favorite, and I was pleased to find one at the California Cactus Center -- even better knowing that it came from Woody's old Antelope Valley collection. Then a week after I brought it home, a case of accidental propagation turned one plant into two. Jr. and Sr. on 9/27/11:

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When I moved everything from CCC mix to pumice-granite gravel mix in spring 2012, I also wanted to reunite Jr. and Sr. by putting them in the same pot. Good idea? Let's see -- on 4/19 and 9/22/12:

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Sorry, but no bueno growth-wise, although at least the paper-spines appreciated my acidified water/Dyna Gro 7-7-7 regimen. I decided that Jr. and Sr. needed their own pots again, and when I added soil back into their mix in March 2013 (thanks to Ian for the suggestion!), they finally started growing new segments. Since I figured out what they wanted, there was no need to keep both, so Sr. went off to a good home last January. Now it's all about Jr., and here's what happened when the plant dropped its old segment to make room for new growth -- 3/5 and 3/13/14:

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Through the 2014 growing season on 5/25 and 9/1:

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We'll bring another Tephro into the conversation, and it's a species I wasn't aware of in my younger days...

T. articulatus inermis (CCC, March 2012) -- here on 4/10/12:

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Unlike the paper-spines, my "pine cone" seemed to like being in pure mineral mix -- and well enough to grow 2 brand-new segments rather quickly (5/19/12):

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In the height of summer that year, 8/5:

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Without knowing precisely how the pine cone was being grown by the CCC, the photo on 4/10 gives us a clue suggesting the combination of A. overly-rich organic materials in their mix, and B. pumped up Nitrogen from too much fertilizer. Clearly I went too far in the other direction, which would explain a thristy, pruney pine cone with abnormally thin segments. When I repotted the paper-spines in 50/50 pumice-soil mix, my pine cone got the same treatment. Unfortunately it dropped the segment on top in the process, with nothing new to replace it in 2013. Then the plant started growing new segments the following spring. Here' a nice shot of both Tephros having at it on 6/7 and 9/1/14:

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The pine cone's new segments are growing normally, which is the response I hoped for after I added soil to the mix.

We'll shift back to the paper-spine and see what it's been up to this year. The birth of a segment on 5/23, 5/28, and 6/2:

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On time and on target for 1 new segment per branch -- 6/2 and 7/14/16:

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Here we are at the end of summer, 9/17:

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My paper-spine has been good about growing new segments every year since 2013, although the pine cone's growth pattern doesn't appear to be as consistent. Nothing new last year, but certainly something this year -- 5/14:

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Yep, that tiny fluffy white spot on the left is the very beginning of a new segment. We'll watch it grow on 5/14, 5/23, and 7/14:

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The plant at a different angle on 7/14, and this shows off the attractive skin colors of the new segment in wonderful growth:

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And finally, the end-of-summer result on 9/17:

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Generally speaking, I'm pleased with how well the pine cone is doing. However, a critical eye leads me to point out discolorations on the base and the oldest segment. Is it normal, or the plant's way of telling us that it wasn't happy about the CCC's growing practices? Interesting question, but I'm not sure if we'll get the answer. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway -- if (or more likely, when) it drops a segment, I can make choices about what I'll keep and what I'll give away to a local grower.

I've learned a few things about Tephro behavior, so I'll pass along what I know. First, there are 2 reasons why Tephros drop segments. One is a significant change in growing conditions, when the plant will drop older, less healthy segments in favor of growing newer and healthier segments. I saw that in both paper-spines (especially Sr.), and I wouldn't be surprised if the pine cone drops its oldest segment as a consequence of the change under discussion here. The other reason is (and contrary to what you may have heard or read elsewhere) -- keeping your Tephros plump all the time with frequent watering in spring and summer. While it's not a 100% guarantee, letting them get a bit thirsty between waterings can help you keep segment drops down to a minimum. When it does happen (and it eventually will!), at least you'll have material for easy propagation. How easy? Well, it depends on having some basic knowledge of their rooting behavior.

Something I didn't know about until Ian recently posted this -- seed-grown Tephros will develop taproots. If you grow yours from seed, a deep pot and very lean mix should be in your future. The rest of us usually get ours as segments (essentially cuttings) that'll grow only long, thin fibrous roots. As I discovered through trial and error, their growth won't be supported sufficiently in soil-less mix. Paper-spine Jr. gives us a good demonstration of the difference as it went from a year of being in pure mineral (3/16/13) to 2 years in 50/50 mineral-soil mix (4/18/15):

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The root system isn't extensive -- we'll see this with all Tephro species, so it's best if you avoid the temptation of ovepotting rooted segments. I found matching glazed ceramic pots for the paper-spine and pine cone, and to give you a hint, these 3" x 3.5" pots are just about right for them:

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When it's time to root your segments, you'll know what to do.

We'll end today's presentation with...

Stenocactus

Stenos are tough plants that tend to be remarkably forgiving of newbie mistakes -- perfect because I never went past beginner status in my first 21 years as a collector. There wasn't much to choose from during the 1970s and '80s, and I think crispatus and multicostatus were pretty much the only game in town back then. They're still the most common species, although since the days of reliance on the brick-and-mortars are long gone, I was hoping to see more interesting selections available online. Bingo, Cactuspedia and Darryl Craig led me to...

S. zacatecasensis (CoronaCactus Nursery, July 2012) -- seen here on 7/21/12:

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With beautiful spines and all those wavy ribs, IMO it's the most attractive Steno species we'll encounter. Darryl was good about including sowing dates on his plant tags, so I'll tell you that the plant was 4 years old when it arrived. Now we'll put more mileage on the odometer going from 3/16/13 to 9/20/15:

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I moved the zacatecasensis from a terracotta pot and "dirty" mineral mix to a glazed ceramic pot and clean mix at the end of February, so here's the result on 3/26 and 9/17/16:

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A bird's-eye view (3/16/13 on the left):

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The zacatecasensis didn't seem to mind being in "dirty" mix, but Steve's mineral rule #1 still applies -- clean is always better! Normal to have the plant's growth rate slowing down, so we'll switch gears with a Steno that really took off.

S. lloydii (Miles' To Go, December 2013) -- seen here on 12/31/13:

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Truth be told, I'm not a fan of cacti with long spines that can poke an eye out, but the lloydii was too wonderfully wild to resist. Spanning its first 2 seasons under my care on 3/16/14 and 9/20/15:

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The plant outgrew its pot a little more quickly than I expected, so I took care of the situation with a bigger pot in February. (And yes, with clean mineral mix.) On 4/23 and 9/17/16:

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Top view of very active growth this year -- 3/26, 4/24, and 9/17:

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Oddly enough, the Stenos I had in my younger days never bloomed. It was thrilling to see my very first Stenocactus flowers in 2016, and I really hope the lloydii will give us a repeat performance of this display on 3/2:

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The zacatecasensis hasn't bloomed yet, although no reason for disappointment there. But I'll have to admit that I was disappointed to see a brown patch on the south-facing side of the plant when I repotted it on 2/28. Here's a view of the damage then, and the same area on 9/17:

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So what caused the problem, scorching perhaps? Nope, it would've been around the top. There's only one thing consistent with damage along the base -- flat mites. I've had run-ins with those nasty things before, and direct personal experience indicates that late-winter warmth can bring them out for some fun at our expense. That was February here in SoCal, and a distinctly unpleasant surprise to see evidence of flat mites going after a Stenocactus. Okay, live and learn -- they're unpredictable about what and when they'll attack. Based on the before-and-after pics I just showed you, it appears that the damage has reversed itself a little bit. If this is true, the affected skin may continue to heal. Could it completely reverse the damage? I doubt it, so the best I can do is put my zacatecasensis on the watch list for more vigilant inspections whenever mites could go on the prowl again. I have a proactive strategy in mind, but I'll save the details for a post if and when it works.

Another round of good stuff coming your way, my friends! 8)
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End-of-summer review (Part 6)

Post by Steve Johnson »

As a budding young collector, there was a cactus that fascinated the heck out of me. Although the plant didn't last long, I remembered it well enough to put the name on my wish list for the California Cactus Center "big buy" in June 2011. Now it's springboarding time again with...

Epithelanthas

They were incredibly rare during the 1970s, and I was lucky enough to get an E. micromeris from a member of the Los Angeles Cactus & Succulent Society who was known for helping young people wanting to enter the hobby. Maybe not the best choice for me, though, because Epithelanthas are remarkably intolerant of beginner mistakes. Way back then, finding a replacement just wasn't going to happen -- probably for the best, because if I tried another one, I'm sure I would've killed it too. Fast-forward to 2011, and when I went to the CCC, I asked if they had any Epithelanthas. "No, sorry, but we may have some in stock next spring." That spring did come around, and a phone call led me to...

E. micromeris (You-Know-Where, May 2012) -- seen here on 5/6/12:

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No more "old school" CCC mix for me at that point, so the new gem went straight into pure mineral mix. They're slow to establish, which of course I didn't realize at the time. It was quite worrisome to see what happened going from pretty and plump to pretty shriveled in a month:

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Thankfully, a certain veteran member of the forum was there to explain a cactus behavior I hadn't heard of before -- sulking. Normal for Epithelanthas to go through it when they're transplanted, and any worry I had came to an end when the micromeris started taking up water in early 2013. On 2/27 and 3/30/13, howzabout this?

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(By the way, that was my first-ever Epithelantha flower. The micromeris has produced a whole lot more since then.) The mineral mix turned out great, I had the watering/fertilizer regimen down pat, but I miscalculated when I overpotted it in a 3" standard terracotta pot. After abandoning an experiment with plastic pots in 2012, I kept the pots in case they might come in handy for something. Glad I did, so to address a "one step forward, two steps back" situation, I was hoping the micromeris would be happier in this (8/17/13):

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And boy, was it! Hard to keep track of everything going on in the pot when I made that change, so I'll describe the sequence of events before we review the pics: First, micromeris is highly self-fertile. Such being the case, I thought it might be interesting to sow some of its seeds in the pot toward the end of 2013. We're off to the races -- 1 seedling germinated and 1 brand-new pup in September 2014. Another pup detected October 2014. Pup #3 detected February 2015 (it was a hot month!). 2 more seedlings germinated March 2015. Pup #4 sprouting on the base September 2015. From 9/20/15 and 9/24/16, these photos are sorta kinda amazing!

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A bird's-eye view on 7/30/15 and 9/24/16:

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Let's get all 3 seedlings in the picture here -- 5/24/15 and 9/24/16:

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The seedlings will eventually need a good home, but IMO they're not big enough to be cut loose yet. As long as they keep growing, they'll stay put. When the seedlings show signs of struggling, it'll be time to place them with a local grower. I have a few people in mind, and they could end up at Desert Creations in Northridge. If that's where they go, those little beauties will be in good hands. The parent is my last cactus still in "dirty" mineral mix -- as soon as the seedlings leave the nest, it'll be glazed ceramic and a potful of clean mix for the micromeris. Hmmmmmm, I wonder what those roots will look like...

Success emboldened me to add 2 other Epithelantha species when I filled open slots provided by my then-new plant bench in 2013.

E. bokei (Mesa Garden, December 2013) -- seen here on 12/23/13:

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Cute as a button, although my bokei is proving to be a slow grower. Its first 2 seasons on the bench (3/16/14 and 9/20/15):

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The species is a solitary plant in habitat, but they can occasionally grow offsets under cultivation. The new pup tells us that I must be doing something right! We'll check out the pup's progress as my bokei was among the spring growers enjoying an early start with some February heat -- getting ready for dormancy on 10/31/15 and waking up on 2/20/16:

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I think the bokei's roots were getting a bit cramped in its tiny glazed ceramic pot, so I moved it into a somewhat roomier pot at the beginning of March. Let's see the before-and-after results on 3/26 and 9/25/16:

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If I didn't have such good experience with the micromeris, I'd be concerned. But nope, the bokei is just sulking as it re-establishes. Furthermore, the green arrow in the pic on the right points out a change I was pleased to notice this summer. What we're looking at is the base pushing up on the top dressing. There's only one thing that'll do it -- new root growth. The bokei's repot included a change from "dirty" mineral mix to clean mix, so its roots have been busy exploiting all the open airspaces that would've been clogged by DG fines if the mix was still dirty. While the plant was sulking, it was growing on top as well. If your powers of observation are good, you'll notice the signs -- same before-and-after dates with a view from above:

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But wait, there's more! I showed the bokei's repot to you here -- remember this?

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That subterranean pup won't be breaking the surface anytime soon, but it'll be fun to watch when it does. Next summer, perhaps? In the meantime, the bokei should be fully established and ready for action in the 2017 growing season.

Also from MG and arriving at the same time, this Epithelantha may involve a case of misidentification:

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The plant was listed on the MG website as E. gregii 'rufispina'. We'll go by that name for the moment, and unlike my other Epithelanthas, the gregii was fairly quick to establish in its first year under my care. A nice aerial view on 4/26, 5/31, and 9/20/14:

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Side view on 4/26 and 9/20/14 (note the "compass plant" effect as the gregii exhibits a distinct southward tilt -- typical for many cacti that like to lean toward the sun):

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In February 2015, I noticed 2 new teeny-tiny white spots that made the gregii look almost like a space alien:

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On 2/14 and 6/20/15 -- not "alien eyes", those are pups!

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2 pups turned into 4 that summer -- the gregii on 9/20/15:

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Oops, make that 5 -- another one on the right:

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With its thin base and top-heavy appearance, I was concerned if my columnar Epithelantha might continue to lean over too much. Solution, move the plant into a deeper pot so I can dig the base in more for better stability. Did the deed in April, so let's see what we get on 4/24 and 9/25/16:

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Okay, now it wants to sulk. Nothing to worry about, though, and in fact the gregii is pulling double duty by taking advantage of clean mineral mix as it puts some of its energy into growing the pups. Proof in the pudding -- 9/20/15 and 9/25/16:

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Side views on 9/25:

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After reviewing some online research for this installment, I believe that the Epithelantha is actually a micromeris var. dickisoniae. Even the best nurseries sometimes get their plant names wrong, so what you ask for may not necessarily be what you get. However, there's something to be said for pleasant surprises hitting one's doorstep, and I'm grateful for the one MG sent my way. If Epithelanthas were beyond my inexpert reach as a youngster, they certainly aren't now.

In the next installment we'll examine a genus that wasn't quite so challenging in my early collecting years.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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