A small collection: 2015 and beyond

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Steve Johnson
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Flowers of April (Part 1)

Post by Steve Johnson »

And as promised, I have a bunch for you. I'll dispense with specific dates on these photos, but worthy of note that I had something in bloom pretty much from the first to the last day of the month. Ranging from tiny and cute to big and showy, we'll begin today's post with tiny and cute...

Mammillaria crucigera.

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Epithelantha micromeris.

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E. micromeris dickisoniae -- usually a summertime bloomer, but mine decided to get the party started early this year:

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Cute, although not quite so tiny -- Turbinicarpus klinkerianus at the end of its first year under my care:

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My Turb polaskii from CoronaCactus, first bud to first bloom of the 2017 growing season:

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Here it is again, flanked by the other 2 cacti I repotted in March:

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Both polaskiis have been reliable bloomers since 2012. Give it some time, and we'll see a matched pair of polaskii flowers on camera. As to the Copiapoa laui, its flowering time is in fall. Before then more growing should be in evidence, so I'll rustle up new progress pics for you over the rest of spring and summer.

Strombocactus disciformis with its 2nd flush of the year (already!), going from buds...

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...to blooms:

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Big, yes, but not what one would call showy. I'll save the showy for my next post.
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Steve Johnson
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Flowers of April (Part 2)

Post by Steve Johnson »

Eriosyce senilis always provides us with a lovely transition from winter to spring. The elder senilis at the end of its flush with a last blast from "tail-end Charlie" on April 1:

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Here's what the rest of the month had in store...

Sulcorebutia callichroma longispina with its first buds of spring well in progress on 4/7:

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From buds to blooms on 4/7 and 4/9:

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That was merely a warmup to this (4/27):

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Mammillaria deherdtiana gets in on the act:

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The deherdtiana looks on as my Mamm theresae's first buds of spring start pushing through (4/29):

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Did the theresae flower yet? For the answer to that question, you'll find out soon enough. In the meantime -- April wasn't just about flowers, so in my next installment we'll look at selected photos of springtime growing that went along with the blooming.
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Steve Johnson
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Things 'n stuff 'n such -- April edition

Post by Steve Johnson »

Last month wasn't just about flowers, so let's see what else we have going on...

Turbinicarpus valdezianus -- does most of its growing in spring, that wooly little head getting active on 4/9 and 4/29:

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Geohintonia mexicana -- after a curious absence of new spines last year, they're back now (4/1):

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Coryphantha retusa -- I received this plant from CoronaCactus in summer 2013. Unfortunately it went blind after a scale attack the following spring, although maybe not so unfortunate since it responded by growing 2 new heads that summer. The species is a slow grower anyway, and it's no surprise to see how slowly the new heads have been growing too. Looks quite promising, as this is the first time I'm seeing new spines in April:

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I'll have to shoot an update pic so we can check out the before-and-after progress.

Stenocactus zacatecasensis with new central spines turning from purple to black (4/20):

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Eriosyce senilis Sr. -- with its spent flush cleared away, we can view the look of vibrant new springtime growth (4/29):

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Espostoa lanata -- one of the two cacti that got my current collection going way back in May 2011. Here it is on 4/30:

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I noticed a furry little protruberance on the base early last month, and it totally surprised me. We'll zoom in a little closer and investigate:

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What could it be, a flower bud perhaps? Highly unlikely because A. lanata's flowers are much higher up on the stem, and B. I don't think mine is old enough for it. A more logical guess would be that we have a new stem just beginning to grow, so we'll investigate further as we see that furry little bump turn into something more definitive later this season.

Parodia subterranea -- an acquisition I snagged from Kyle's Plants through eBay last summer. We'll rewind a little going from 9/18 to the end of its winter shriveling on 3/25:

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Although that's one thirsty cactus, it was interesting to note the increase in apical wool. Yep, no watering yet, but the growth point is already active. The view from above on 10/22 and 4/29:

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After a few soaks, the subterranea got back some of the water it lost over the winter. The small red patch in the wool was a new feature in April, and I sorta kinda think that may be a bud. Not sure how long it takes going from bud to bloom, but if this is indeed a bud that follows through, we'll find out together. Speaking of buds...

This comes with flowers at no extra charge -- Mammillaria perezdelarosae ending its flush as it romances my Gymnocalycium stenopleurum (4/29):

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Eriosyce odieri shows the very beginning of a new bud (4/7):

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Okay, not the best lighting in that shot, so let's try again (4/15 and 4/29):

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Ooh, more buds! The odieri needs plenty of warmth before it's ready for watering -- after a coolish start to April, the time was right for a soak on the 20th. As we see in the "after" pic, the plant responded fairly well, backed up by a subtle change in skin color as it takes up nutrients from its first dose of fertilizer.

Sulcorebutia rauschii -- usually puts out a flower or two in spring, but no flower(s) last year. This year we see the rauschii with a tiny red nubbin that says "bud!" (4/2):

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Echinocereus rigidissimus rubispinus -- beautiful plant with a lovely bud that keeps growing (4/15, 4/20, and 4/29):

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On track to go from bud to bloom in June. Here it is again on 4/29, flanked by the young E. viridiflorus canus and my 2011 "veteran" Gymno ochoterenae vatteri:

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Trying to catch up on the current month here, so I'll post more springtime activities soon. Until then -- to my fellow Americans, have a wonderful Memorial Day! :usa2:
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K.W.
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Re: Things 'n stuff 'n such -- April edition

Post by K.W. »

[quote="Steve Johnson" >>>

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Trying to catch up on the current month here, so I'll post more springtime activities soon. Until then -- to my fellow Americans, have a wonderful Memorial Day! :usa2:[/quote]

Good evening Steve,

omg what a nice Gymnocalycium!
Thanks for all the wonderful photos!


AND I also wish you a wonderful Memorial Day!


K.W. :usa2:
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Steve Johnson
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Plumping up, Aztekium ritteri-style

Post by Steve Johnson »

I'm working on a big May flower review for y'all, but I couldn't resist taking a break from it to show you this...

I was lucky enough to score an A. ritteri on its own roots through eBay back in January. Announced the event on 1/29 here, but we'll recap a couple of things from that post. First, here's the little gem on repotting day:

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As you can see, the ritteri came with an awfully small set of roots, and experience told me that deep watering was to be avoided until its root system had the chance to grow in more going from spring to summer. My strategy, give the plant a few springtime sips to tease the roots into growing as they seek out moisture. The warmth in April and May was rather uneven, although strategically-timed sips on 4/20 and 5/19 did the trick. Any signs of plumping yet? Not at that point. However, we suddenly went from June gloom to summer heat on 6/13 -- time to give my ritteri its first soak of the growing season. For comparison, here's the difference going from 3/17 to the response 4 days after the plant got a good, deep drink:

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I'll admit that it does take some pretty keen observation to notice plumping in the above pic. The response is more obviously seen in this side view (1/29 on the left):

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Yes, the roots are working! That wooly top is getting woolier too, and we have a growing ritteri ready to take advantage of our nice, hot summer.

May review coming up soon.
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The darling buds of May (Part 1)

Post by Steve Johnson »

There were quite a few of them too, and we'll work our way up from the tiny and demure to the big and showy. Let's begin with the tiny and demure...

Epithelantha micromeris at the end of its springtime blooming on 5/22:

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Also on 5/22 -- E. micromeris dickisoniae usually does its blooming in summer, but this one got the party started early at the end of April. Another down payment on summertime:

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Mammillaria crucigera -- the last of its flowers for the year, with tiny fruits providing an extra touch of color (5/20):

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(By the way -- I don't think the species is self-fertile, since the fruits keep shooting blanks.)

I have 3 Turbinicarpus that are always good about blooming in spring and summer, although not quite so tiny in terms of their flower size. One of my Turb "veterans" from 2012, polaskii on 5/2:

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Another "veteran", this one from 2011 -- Turb pseudomacrochele krainzianus with its first buds of the year on 4/7:

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The flowers were shy about opening, so unfortunately not what one would call photogenic. Shall we try again? Going from buds to blooms on 5/20 and 5/22:

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Ooh, rather impressive for krainzianus! I should also mention that I watered the plant on the night of 5/19, and it was nice being able to include a plumping effect in the before-and-after. Now we'll zoom in on those lovely flowers:

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The Turb klinkerianus I got from Desert Creations last year has been growing wonderfully. First flowers of the year in April, followed by this (5/2)...

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...and this (5/20):

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An interesting detail about klinkerianus is the fact that it displays some variability in petal colors going from flower to flower. But seeing it with 2 flowers literally side-by-side, that's a nice new experience. A "singleton" this time -- as the plant keeps company with E. micromeris and my tiny Pelecyphora aselliformis on 5/22:

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Up next, a Mamm with flowers that are neither tiny nor demure -- unlike crucigera, M. grahamii really puts on a show. As mine warms up on 5/2:

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View from the top on 5/2, and again on 5/20 -- wow!

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While it does start flowering in spring, I've found that Gymnocalycium ochoterenae vatteri needs a lot of summer heat to have its flowers looking their best. However, this is good enough to rate an entry -- going from buds to blooms on 5/13 and 5/20:

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We're moving on to the cacti with big flowers, so I'll sign off for now as we view another Gymno getting busy that same day. Here's my stenopleurum's lead-in with beautiful buds growing on 4/29 and 5/13:

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And the blooms on 5/20:

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C And D
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by C And D »

Hi Steve
We discussed your beautiful Mammillaria crucigera before

One of my Mammillaria crucigera has many flowers every year and the same sterile fruit, and the other one doesn't, which is weird.

The thing that is interesting is that the fruit come up only days (or weeks) after the flowers are finished.

When the 2 plants are crossed, the fruit takes months to appear and do not contain very many seeds.
The second plant doesn't flower freely, so I am not able to cross them very often.

I love to speculate, so my speculation is that the plant produces the sterile fruit when it doesn't get crossed with another plant, the red fruit is used to attract birds to eat the fruit, and then eat some fruit on another plant, and hopefully do some cross pollination on the side.

An alternative scheme for pollination, since the flowers are so puny.
Check out our plant and seed lists
http://www.CandDplants.com

Craig and Denise Fry
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Steve Johnson
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The darling buds of May (Part 2)

Post by Steve Johnson »

Last month was an extraordinary time for flowering, perhaps the best I've seen since 2012. Here's one reason why...

Eriosyce odieri -- I received this plant from CoronaCactus in May 2012, came ready-made with a set of buds that produced a beautiful flush. The flush it sent up the following spring was pretty good, then in subsequent years it was just 1 or 2 flowers. The odieri is doing a "slow burn" this time, and I was pleased to see the number of buds slowly forming over the course of April. A bird's-eye view on 4/29:

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View from the side going from bud to bloom on 4/29 and 5/13:

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Woah, that flower is huge!

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Flower #2 on 5/20, as the odieri keeps company with my Turb krainzianus and Gymnocactus ysabelae:

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As the rest of the flush unfolds on 5/27 and 28:

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I cleared away 3 spent flowers, but I left 2 on since it looked like they could be forming seed pods. Haven't a clue if the species is self-fertile, but if so, I'll have a bunch of odieri seeds going off to a local grower who'd like to have them.

Mammillaria theresae going from buds on 4/29 and 5/8...

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...to blooms on 5/13:

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Rebutia pygmaea going from buds to blooms on 5/20 and 21:

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The pic on the right was a nice early-morning shot as the flowers just started opening. Give it another day, and we'll see this:

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It's my nature to look at things with a critical eye, and as much as I love this cactus, I'm a bit disappointed about what's happening on the base. Is it normal, or could there be nefarious doings at work? In my 4/17 post, I mentioned a phenomenon called the "creeping cruds". Flowers aren't the only things that'll bloom on Rebutias and Sulcos, so we'll expand on this mention by accurately describing it as a completely benign fungal bloom that'll come and go. Although I haven't discussed the matter with other growers, my guess is that humidity in winter and/or spring tends to encourage the "creeping cruds". The record-breaking rains we had in California this winter would certainly apply -- in which case the pygmaea will hopefully de-crudify in the summer heat. If it doesn't, we'll look at 2 other possibilities. One is corking -- typically age-related, but there may be other factors which lead to corking on cacti that aren't exactly "senior citizens" yet. The nefarious possibility would be -- pest mites. My area is too humid for red spider mites, but flat mites are a problem I've been battling off and on over the last several years. With that said, I know what flat mite damage looks look, and I don't think we're seeing it here. However, if I'm wrong and it's evidence of the tiny buggers having fun at my expense, all I can do is keep the situation under whatever control I have. Regardless of what may be going on, I'll continue to enjoy the pygmaea as it keeps on truckin'. Here it is on 5/27, flanked by Mamm guelzowiana and a really nice-looking Turbinicarpus jauernigii:

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Those colors on the flower sure are pretty:

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Speaking of Sulcos...

Sulcorebutia callichroma longispina popping out another flush on 5/13:

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Portable GH 3.0 comes off after the rainy season is done -- normally at the end of April, but with rain that went through in early May, it had to stay there for the time being. When the front goes up, 3.0 acts as a hothouse for those days when springtime tends to be on the cool side. There were more of them than I would've liked last month, so the portable GH was in place all the way through Memorial Day weekend. A peek behind the curtain gave us this tantalizing view on 5/27:

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(By the way, one of the pups displays a major case of the "creeping cruds" to be seen all over the plant. That condition should be clearing up soon.) Not even a hint of rain in the forecast as coastal L.A. finally got a taste of summer on the way, so the collection greeted Memorial Day with its plastic shroud nowhere in sight:

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We'll zoom in on the longispina -- that's right, my friends, more buds!

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Sulco rauschii -- one of my 2011 "veterans", and its transformation from seemingly near-death in early 2012 to the prolifically offsetting beauty we see today has been really quite remarkable. I was blessed to see the rauschii's very first flowers in May and June 2013, although 1 bloom at a time. The plant gave me a twofer in May 2014, then nada in '15 and 1 flower in '16 . Rebutias and Sulcos need a cool winter rest in order for them to flower in spring. S. rauschii may need it colder than other species, so if that's the case, those drought winters weren't going to fill the bill. I think this winter was cold enough to keep mine happy, so let's see if I could be right. First bud of the year emerging on 4/2, joined by another on 4/29:

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More buds on 5/13 and 20:

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Hmmmmm, I think there may be a bud hiding that we can't see. Only one way to find out -- going from buds to blooms on 5/20 and 22:

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Oh, yeah!

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To see not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 lovely, colorful flowers open at once -- well, that made my day. With a few buds still hanging out there, the rauschii show may not be over.

Before we get to the events of June, I'll post a few May odds and ends. Until then, here's the most prolific bloomer among my Astrophytums -- myriostigma quadricostatum with its 3rd flower of the year on Memorial Day weekend:

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Not bad for May, but when we get to the height of summer, you'll see how big those flowers can be.
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Things 'n stuff 'n such, May-June edition

Post by Steve Johnson »

I still need to put together my June flower review, so before we get there, I have a few miscellaneous items of interest covering the previous 2 months. We'll begin today's post with 2 follow-ups.

On 5/28, I showed you a "veteran" Espostoa lanata with a fuzzy little protuberance on the base that announced itself in April. Not sure what it is, but the protuberance has been slowly growing. Let's have a before-and-after look on 4/30 and 6/2:

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The thing hiding inside that wool feels very firm, so I'm sure it's a new stem. And yes, the growth is really slow, although I'm hoping the summertime heat will speed it up a little. I'll keep an eye on this and see what we have for my End-of-summer review.

Puna clavarioides -- received from C & D Plants in December 2015, and getting it to root turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought. (If you'd like the backstory, you can find it in last year's End-of-summer review (Part 2).) Craig Fry told me that summer would be the time to see new growth, but unfortunately last summer wasn't it. No surprise, since the clavarioides wasn't even close to rooting enough for new activity above-ground. This year is a different (and much nicer) story, as I didn't have to wait for summer to notice a tiny nubbin of new growth in early April. Progress on 4/9 and 4/20:

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A view from the side on 4/9, 4/20, and 5/29:

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We have plenty of summer left, so the growth of another new stem is possible. No doubt about the fact that the clavarioides has rooted, although I'm not sure if it has enough of a root system to warrant moving the plant into a somewhat bigger pot now. My intuition says "wait until next year", so this goes on the chore list for spring 2018.

Those are the things, next up the stuff 'n such...

Mammillaria guelzowiana -- a big, lovely puffball from Miles' To Go entering the collection in July 2013. The puffball came with a pup, and I was hoping to see it growing a new one. As the subsequent growing seasons came and went, there was nary a sign of new offsetting activity. Then on 5/20, I noticed a rather odd patch of fluffiness with hooked central spines I hadn't seen before. Here's the guelzowiana's north-facing side:

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Could that be a new pup? Let's turn the plant around and look at the south-facing side:

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Yes, indeed -- that's a brand-new pup! The guelzowiana could use more time under full sun. Unfortunately its spot on the back row of Shady Glen is the only place I can put it, so the plant won't be quite as fluffy as I'd like. However, that's only a minor criticism, and I'm incredibly pleased with how well my beautiful puffball is doing.

I have another M2G Mamm for you, and that would be the perezdelarosae which put on a lovely display of pretty blooms in winter. This is a delayed entry for "winter shriveling/spring plumping", going from 3/25 to 5/28 as the plant was getting regular springtime soaks:

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The "leaning tower of perezdelarosae" leaning not so much. We'll find out if it straightens up a little more as the summer progresses -- perhaps a nice before-and-after for the End-of-summer review. In the meantime, here's a nice shot with the late afternoon sun highlighting Mr. perezdelarosae and his surrounding friends:

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Epithelantha bokei waking up on 3/17, and enjoying its transition from spring to summer (6/18):

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Eriosyce napina ssp. lembckei var. duripulpa -- wow, what a mouthful! And a good example of how convoluted taxonomy can be. Unfortunately it's not helpful to inexperienced growers who don't know that Eriosyce senilis (old name Neoporteria) has watering needs that are different from species like E. napina and odieri (old names are Neochilenia/Thelocephala). In the case of napina, odieri, etc., these cacti are remarkably intolerant of watering in relatively cool springtime weather. The trick is to time it for good stretches of heat during spring, and the only times I had that were acceptable to my Thelocephalas happened to be deep watering on 4/20 and 5/19. The duripulpa from M2G arrived at the end of last August, so the plant spent the rest of its growing season getting its roots established. Can't expect to see signs of new activity above-ground in May anyway, so we'll go straight from 4/29 to the date shortly after the plant's 3rd watering of the year (6/18):

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A view from above -- the duripulpa's arrival date on 8/27/16, then about 10 months later:

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The plant is now on regular summertime watering, so I'll use the "before" photos as benchmarks and compare them with what we'll see at the end of September. By the way, many thanks go to Iann's watering advice re. Thelocephalas when I started posting pics of the odieri in 2012.

Speaking of E. senilis...

Jr. was outgrowing its tiny glazed ceramic pot, so I had to do something about that -- repotting time on 5/29:

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Just a tad rootbound, wasn't it? I had Jr. in soil-less mix as soon as I separated it from Sr. in March 2013. Now it's ready for Sr.'s "big boy" mix of 50/50 pumice and soil from my old bag of California Cactus Center mix. A bird's-eye view of Jr. in its new home:

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If I see any surprises in the repotting process, they'll almost always be pleasant. Unfortunately this one was distinctly unpleasant -- root mealies! AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!! :shock: :evil: How did they get there? I have some suspicions, although it won't be what people would generally think. Wish I had more time to go into proper detail, but given the importance of the subject, I'll post a presentation devoted to what I've discovered coming from my recent mealy encounters in the near future. (Yep, this wasn't the first time one of my cacti got hit in 2017.) However, a fact that we need to know here and now is that root mealies do all their nasty business hidden from plain sight. That in itself is bad enough, but even worse is their ability to spread from pot to pot. Jr. was the proverbial "canary in a coal mine", so I'm very thankful that its repot alerted me to the situation. The best (and only) effective remedy was to give everything in the collection an Imidacloprid soil soak, so mealies won't be a problem for the rest of the growing season.

The next post will be on a definitely more pleasant subject, so stay tuned for the further cactus adventures here at Casa de Jefferson Park!
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Aztekium ritteri -- first flowers!

Post by Steve Johnson »

Believe it or not, I'm still working on the June flower review for y'all. But this is pretty special, and I couldn't wait to show the following now...

As I related in my 6/17 post, the A. ritteri I have on its own roots is doing remarkably well. With that said, I honestly wasn't expecting a flower this year. But boy, oh boy, oh boy -- what a pleasant surprise! Here we are as the plant was already showing signs of activity on 3/17, followed by a brand-new bud poking up through its wooly little head on 8/1:

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From bud to bloom on 8/2 and 8/3:

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The view from above:

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Yep, that's bud #2 hiding under the flower. The bud-to-bloom photos were taken at around 9:45 a.m., and it's interesting to note that the flower was already open at 8. Such being the case, the ritteri is the only early-morning bloomer I have in my collection. Being hip to the situation, I hit the plant bench a bit earlier yesterday morning, and here's a wide-open bloom at 9:

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The ritteri is doing better than I could've imagined, and with plenty of summer left, it'll definitely rate a detailed entry in my End-of-summer review. And now, back to the June program... :)
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by mdpillet »

Love the growth updates!
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June flower review

Post by Steve Johnson »

I used to keep up with my posts as a "current events" thing, but that train obviously left the station a few months ago. However, it's nice to have a growing backlog of new pics that'll keep us entertained well into fall. Now let's work some of it off...

Eriosyce odieri -- its flowers at the end of May still looking good on 6/2:

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Astrophytum 'capristigma' going from bud to bloom on 5/28 and 6/4:

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Sadly, that was as open as the flower would get. I'll have a better one for you in the post covering July.

My Rebutia heliosa started showing brand-new buds in early May, so we'll see them developing on 5/13 and 5/22...

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...then on 5/28 and 5/29:

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First flower just starting to open on 6/1:

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A day later, and now we have 2:

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3 flowers in the full sun on 6/4 -- pretty, aren't they?

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The heliosa at the end of its run on 6/9 and 6/13:

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Here's another Rebutia -- after flowering in May, my pygmaea was a gift that kept on giving (6/2):

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This Sulcorebutia callichroma longispina gave even more -- flowers in April and May, then the plant popped out one more flush at the beginning of June:

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In the 5 years I've had it, I was pleasantly surprised by how prolific the longispina's blooms were this spring. Here's another pleasant surprise, as my "veteran" rauschii continued to produce flowers in June (6/9):

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And a small encore on 6/21:

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Talk about a gift that keeps on giving -- I showed you a Mammillaria theresae sporting 2 lovely flowers in mid-May, and you would've noticed a bud in the pic I posted on 6/24. Well, the plant was just warming up, so here's the view on 5/27:

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Looking better and better as June kicked off with this (6/1 and 2):

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Wait a couple of days, and in terms of showiness, the theresae's flowers gave the Mamm deherdtiana a run for its money:

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While they're not the most colorful, I find that Copiapoa flowers have a certain appeal of their own. And if size counts, then C. tenuissima may rate as being a bit on the showy side. Mine has been good about flowering every year since 2014, although I can't remember ever seeing more than 1 bud at a time. This year we have 2 (6/18):

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This "before and after" demonstrates 3 days of bud growth:

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Flowering day on 6/23, as the tenuissima is surrounded by some of its neighbors in Shady Glen:

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A closeup of the plant showing a nicely-sized bloom:

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We'll have a bigger one coming up in the July set.

Given the beautiful blooms we're seeing here, it's awfully hard to play favorites. With that said, I believe we have a winner...

Echinocereus rigidissimus rubispinus is known for big showy flowers displaying a wonderfully diverse palate of colors. It's also known for taking a long time going from buds to blooms, and just how long? We'll find out as we watch the bud developing on 4/1, 4/15, 4/20, 4/29, 5/13, and 5/28:

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Showtime on 6/2 and 6/4:

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Beautiful? Nope -- drop-dead gorgeous!

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The rubispinus with a few of its friends enjoying the top-shelf treatment:

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The flower has come and gone, so the "belly button" it left behind gives us a handy-dandy way of measuring the amount of new growth my rubispinus is putting on. What an attractive plant, and I can't tell you how pleased I am to see it continuing to do so well. We'll definitely see it again in the End-of-summer review. Speaking of...

Our real-time summer is on the wane, so I'll be shooting a boatload of new pics in a few weeks to prepare for the big review. But we still have plenty of "virtual" summer left to keep this thread going, and I'll post the July doings in a couple of weeks.
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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Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Temporarily on hold

Post by Steve Johnson »

Emphasis on the word temporarily...

I've been semi-retired since March, and I'm making my way toward full retirement. What'll get me all the way there is a business at home that's already bearing fruit (in a manner of speaking). Without going into a lot of detail, I'll just say that my home business pursuit has nothing at all to do with cacti and succulents (I love the hobby, and I'm going to keep it that way). A lot of my free time has been well-spent on getting the business going, although I expect to start posting again soon. In the meantime, a large and growing archive of new photos will be there whenever time allows for posts on a more regular basis.

Cheers, everyone! :)
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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Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

July flower review

Post by Steve Johnson »

Here we are in mid-October, and I still have y'all stuck in my "virtual summer", don't I? I'll do something about that right now...

June gloom is a regular feature of life here in coastal SoCal, although there was very little of it this year. And just a touch at the beginning of July, when the 1st dealt an overnight marine layer that didn't fully burn off until the afternoon. Here's a nice shot inside Shady Glen with clouds acting as a natural light diffuser -- my Copiapoa tenuissima is flowering. Again.

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The "7" on the left of the outdoor thermometer tells us that "high noon" was in the mid-70s. Didn't stay that way for long, though, so let's see a few examples of what a nice hot July did to get summer going in earnest. We'll lead off with the tenuissima as it produced yet another flower, here on 7/18:

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Heat really brings out big blooms on this plant, and the pup down in front showed its approval by putting on some nice new growth.

One of my Turbinicarpus polaskiis produces a flowering twofer (7/15):

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Astrophytum 'capristigma' on the northeast corner of Shady Glen -- I promised you a bigger bloom, and here it is on 7/25:

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There may be a little surprise sitting next to the flower. What could it be? (Sorry, but you'll have to wait and find out what it is in a later post.)

Parodia subterranea in the front row of Shady Glen -- the remains of an old spent flower (6/18) giving way to a sweet crop of buds that were well along on 7/24:

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The buds close to flowering on 7/24 and 7/25:

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From buds (7/26) to blooms (7/28):

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A bird's-eye view of 2 flowers on the 28th, and 2 more a day later:

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The flowers on the left bear closer examination:

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Not nearly as colorful, but Gymnocalycium stenopleurum's flowers have a beauty of their own -- as they open in a late July afternoon (7/29):

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We're slowly making our way over to Sun Valley. Melocactus matanzanus on the "borderlands" showing only 2 of the numerous pretty pink little flowers I saw over the spring and summer (7/2):

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A close-up of the cephalium:

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And now we're in Sun Valley proper -- a good "helicopter shot" of the westside on 7/12:

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Notice something about the Eriosyce odieri on the upper right? Yep, that was a bud sneaking up on me after the plant's wonderful display in June left one in reserve. Going from the reserve bud in its early stage (7/2) to the just-opening bloom on 7/15:

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We'll zoom back for this nice little group shot:

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These pics are all about the odieri -- on 7/15 and 7/16...

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...then a close-up of that big, lovely flower:

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There was some action on the top shelf too. We'll rewind back to June and view what my Astrophytum myriostigma quadricostatum was up to (6/18):

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In the 6 years my "veteran" Astro has been with me, this was the first time seeing it with more than 2 buds at once. Yep, that's 4 -- and 2 of those buds went into fantastic bloom on 7/2:

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Even better a day later, and I was very lucky to catch a winged little visitor on camera for this pic:

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Some sort of bee, perhaps? I know almost nothing about entomology, so if someone can identify what it is, please feel free to post a response right here.

We're not quite done with the July flowers yet, and I'll include the rest along with some miscellaneous items of interest in my 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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toadstar
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by toadstar »

Very nice! What are the "creeping cruds" exactly?
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