A small collection: 2015 and beyond

[Steve Johnson]

Another rainy day today -- one of many this winter!



My latest acquisition arrived 2 days ago, and while I'm eager to show it to you, I can't because the plant is staying safe and dry in the garage. If the rain lets up in time, a repot next weekend will give me the opportunity to post a few photos. And I think you'll enjoy the story behind it too.

For those nights when the low is likely to dip below 40, I'll bring in the handful of cacti that could catch a deathly chill if I kept them outdoors. The space heater in my bedroom comes in handy, so here it is -- Hotel Winter:



Yep, that'll be the Melo matanzanus and my Brazilians (Discocactus buenekeri, D. crystallophilus, and Uebelmannia pectinifera). They've been spending more time indoors than out, and since February is typically the coldest month of the year here in SoCal, they could be more or less "permanent" residents next month. But that's totally okay -- the state's so-called "never-ending drought" has ended with the tremendous amount of rain and snow we've already received, which is great news for everyone in California. If we get the cold, rainy February SoCal is hoping for, Hotel Winter will be put to good use.

[Steve Johnson]

Well, I went and did it...

After insisting that I would never even think about trying to grow one, I found an Aztekium ritteri on its own roots at eBay. Better yet, the plant was being offered by a seller right here in Los Angeles. The story begins on Friday, January 7, when a random "what the heck" eBay search yielded the result that made me do a 180 in my thinking about passing on this opportunity.

While I won't disclose the amount of the opening bid, I'll say that it was a fair valuation for what we're getting. The auction had been going on for awhile, and there should've been at least 1 or 2 bids by the time I got there. But with only a day and a half to go, nada. No bids? Hmmmm, interesting. Learning from my previous experience with eBay auctions, I knew that if I placed a bid right away, it might get potential competitors interested in bidding against me. Then we'd end up in a bidding war, at which point the item could get very expensive. To avoid that possibility, I used an auction sniping tool for the first time. Long story short -- after an exciting time with no bidders nipping at my heels, I won the auction at the opening bid price with only 10 seconds to go. Sweet!

Rain was a problem in terms of when the seller could ship, and I really appreciated his attentiveness to the timing so I wouldn't have a soggy box sitting on my doorstep. 10 days after the auction ended, a break in the weather led to the arrival of my new A. ritteri. Then more rain followed by another break when I could move it out of my garage for repotting this weekend. Now let's see what we have:



A couple of observations immediately come to mind. First, the plant was obviously degrafted. Success rates for rooting degrafts of the species are pretty horrible, so whoever pulled it off did a marvelous job. Second -- from what we see clinging to the roots, we know that the seller had soil in the mix he was using. IMO the plant could do a lot better in pure mineral mix, and it's the excellent experience I've had going soil-less that possessed me to take up the challenge. Step 1, soak the roots in 1% Hydrogen peroxide (even with the tiny amount of soil left on them, we don't want to leave anything to chance!). Then let the plant sit overnight, and it's time for step 2:





Tiny roots need a tiny pot, so this 2" terracotta pot should be okay. (Believe it or not, my tiny glazed ceramic pots would be too deep for the plant.) If they're likely to grow in more, pure mineral should beat any mix with soil in it. However, a careful approach to watering will be required -- we won't know whether or not this hare-brained scheme actually works until we see what happens during the summer. The ritteri's first sip of the year is still months away, so I'm keeping it dry under portable GH 3.0:



While we're here, let's check out the new bud on this Turb valdezianus:



With a bout of rain in the forecast starting Thursday, it looks like SoCal may have a good start on a seasonably cold, wet February. If we do get a lot of rain, hopefully it won't be so much that I can't raise the curtain on 3.0 to show y'all what's going on next month. Okay, we have the 2 winter-blooming Turbs with buds percolating, and they should be joined by Eriosyce senilis Sr. setting buds soon. Assuming that the weather cooperates, some nice new pics shall be posted in the near future.

Cheers, everyone!

[greenknight]

Nice Aztekium, looking forward to seeing it in bloom. You won't see me spending that kind of money for a cactus, barring some incredible financial windfall (I did an ebay search - yikes!). I'm confident it will do well in your care - you definitely know what you're doing, and the hard part is getting them to root.

[Steve Johnson]

Nice Aztekium, looking forward to seeing it in bloom. You won't see me spending that kind of money for a cactus, barring some incredible financial windfall (I did an ebay search - yikes!). I'm confident it will do well in your care - you definitely know what you're doing, and the hard part is getting them to root.

Thanks, Spence! Given what you just said at the end of your comment, you may interested in a small new wrinkle to the Aztekium story...

The front of portable GH 3.0 has been up most of the time, although a week of clear weather gave me the opportunity to take it off before it had to go back up Thursday night. Such being the case, here are a few items of interest from Feb. 2.

Mammillaria spinossissima -- the Irishman with 2 blooms and a headful of buds:







Turbinicarpus valdezianus (1/29 on the left):



Since the bud is growing enough to give us a good side view of the plant, we'll use the pic on the right as a benchmark while it progresses into blooming.

Eriosyce senilis Sr.:



Oddly enough, Sr. has been getting enough daytime heat in the GH to produce touches of new growth. Let's zoom in for a closeup:



While new activity on the growth point may be difficult to spot in this photo, it's definitely there if your observation is keen. If not, wait a couple of weeks, and the growth point should give us a more revealing look -- hopefully with the appearance of buds!

After a series of overnights in the 30s last month, I was sorta kinda expecting the same to start the month. Luckily it wasn't that bad for the residents of Hotel Winter, so they're back outdoors. Here's the fruit-bearing one surrounded by neighbors in Shady Glen:



The bud on my Gymno stenopleurum is slowly growing -- takes awhile on this plant, but figure on a bloom in April or May. It'd be fun to see "the leaning tower of perezdelarosae" in flower, although going by its blooming schedule in previous winters, the Mamm's flowers are overdue. However, my experience with this comes only from drought winters when unseasonable warmth could've led to flowering earlier than what would be normal for the species. Now that SoCal is getting a winter worthy of the name, I wouldn't be surprised if the perezdelarosae shows us a few buds soon.

Aztekium ritteri update -- with regard to my comment about the plant being "obviously" a rooted degraft, I stand corrected. According to the seller, the ritteri was grown from seed. Here's another resident of Hotel Winter coming outside to keep my Aztekium company:

[Grimm]

So, how old is that Aztekium to be that size on it's own roots, from seed?

[Steve Johnson]

So, how old is that Aztekium to be that size on it's own roots, from seed?

That's an interesting question. The seller said that the plant is about 8 years old. Growth rate for the species is 1 mm. per year, and my ritteri has a diameter of 3 cm., so theoretically it should be 30 years old. Something doesn't add up, although more precise info on the plant's history and how it was grown could fill in some blanks we're missing here. While I may ask the seller for further details, his answer would be a matter of curiosity and nothing more. Not a huge priority, but if I do send him a question about this, I'll pass along his response.

[greenknight]

I may try planting some Aztekium ritteri seed myself. I'd thought they were too slow, but Cactus Art has a photo of one in bloom that's only 15 years old, I could have blooming plants by the time I'm 75! That one is half the size of yours, though - would be interesting to find out how he got it to grow almost 4 times as fast.

[Grimm]

That's an interesting question. The seller said that the plant is about 8 years old. Growth rate for the species is 1 mm. per year, and my ritteri has a diameter of 3 cm., so theoretically it should be 30 years old. Something doesn't add up, although more precise info on the plant's history and how it was grown could fill in some blanks we're missing here. While I may ask the seller for further details, his answer would be a matter of curiosity and nothing more. Not a huge priority, but if I do send him a question about this, I'll pass along his response.

I suppose it might be a genetic freak, or the grower might have found ideal growth conditions, but x3 growth rate seems a bit extreme. But then, if he wasn't selling it as having been grown from seed in order to get a better price, then there is no benefit to lying Unless of course it was dug up from the wild.....

Another possibility is that it was grown under lights, giving 24/7 light 12 months a year, although I'm not sure what that would do to a cactus.

EDIT: I should point out, I have very little experience with slow growing cacti, so 3cm in 8 years could be possible as far as I know. But if the internet is correct about 1mm per year then something is up. My money would be on the seller forgetting how old it actually is, or he/she was lucky and found the perfect growing conditions.

[Steve Johnson]

I suppose it might be a genetic freak, or the grower might have found ideal growth conditions, but x3 growth rate seems a bit extreme. But then, if he wasn't selling it as having been grown from seed in order to get a better price, then there is no benefit to lying Unless of course it was dug up from the wild.....

The Aztekium was advertised on eBay only as being on its own roots, nothing further than that. Since it looked like a degraft when I received it, I asked the seller about this, and that's how I found out the plant was grown from seed. A. ritteri growing on its own roots is quite an achievement regardless of whether it was seed-grown or a successful degraft, so the seller had no reason to make a dishonest claim in his response to my question. Aztekium taken from the wild becomes a different matter, although IMO it would be far more likely coming from a non-US source. Unless he's covering up the fact that the ritteri is a habitat plant, then I have a specimen grown under cultivation from seed. I'll take the man at his word, so my curiosity leads me to wonder about his growing conditions. If his approach was different from what we'd expect with "expert" Aztekium growers, he may have a secret worth sharing. Okay, I'll have to email him and see if he's willing to share it. In the event that he responds with the details, whatever he says won't influence the approach I'll be taking, but it could provide some helpful hints to other intrepid A. ritteri people.

By the way, I just saw your edit -- if the seller isn't the original owner, he may only be guessing at how old the ritteri actually is. If/when he replies to my inquiry, we'll find out one way or another.

[Steve Johnson]

The latest bout of rain just came and went, so I took the front of the portable GH down this morning. Now let's see what we have for today...

Mammillaria perezdelarosae -- any sign of new buds yet?



Yes indeed!



Eriosyce senilis Sr. with brand-new buds:



If you had any doubts about the species being a winter grower, the proof is right here -- the difference between the view 10 days ago and today:



Gymnocactus ysabelae:



Strombocactus disciformis -- not surprising to see a bud on the plant now, but it is a pleasant surprise to see 5:



For this outing, my red-headed Irishman will provide the flowers again:





I'm actually seeing touches of new growth on a few other cacti, so the start of this year's growing season may be just a few weeks away. We have more rain in the forecast, and hopefully it won't bring a cold front that could drop my overnight temps down below 40. If we can get through the rest of February without a late-winter chill, then activities here at "Casa de Jefferson Park" should be ramping up very soon!

[Steve Johnson]

A belated one, actually -- I took the following pics today, and I'm dedicating this post to my mother as she enjoys my activities here on CactiGuide...

We'll lead off with the red-headed Irishman having at it yet again:







Mammillaria crucigera with teeny tiny buds and blooms:



Gymnocactus ysabelae with a flower sorta kinda opening:



Mamm perezdelarosae showing more buds than it had last weekend:



Gymnocalycium stenopleurum -- that bud is farther along than I thought:



Stenocactus lloydii:



Believe it or not, new buds are hiding down in there:



And finally, the star of our late winter show preparing for its Day-Glo performance:





Our precipitation year began on October 1 -- as of now my part of L.A is at 18.24 inches, 12.49 of it since New Year's Day. This is really a spectacular winter for California, and I don't mind it at all if more cold, rainy weather delays the start of the growing season. March should be a pretty awesome month for late-winter blooms -- on time instead of early as it was in our recent drought years!

[Steve Johnson]

As we close out February, here are a few items of interest from yesterday...

Gymnocactus ysabelae going from buds to blooms (2/12 on the left):









Mammillaria perezdelarosae -- a wreath of pretty little flowers in the making:







Eriosyce senilis Sr. -- where the action is (2/19 on the left):



Aztekium ritteri update

The seller was kind enough to provide me with the details on how he was growing it, so I'll quote what he had to say:

"Hi Steve, the 1 mm per year growth might be in habitat. My A. hintonii's grow around 2 cm a year, and I get 0.5-0.75 cm per year on A ritteri. (For A. valdezii, I only have grafted ones, so data is irrelevant). I grow in a heavy pumice mix (80%), with 20% compost (with no peat moss or pine park). I use 20-20-20 fertilizer, which I use full strength twice a month in spring, half strength weekly in summer. Grown under 40-50% shade cloth. Good luck!"

According to Cactuspedia, "[Aztekium ritteri] occurs in xerophile shrublands in the semi-desert in vertical cliffs of friable limestone together with Mammillaria winteriae. Elsewhere it has been reported growing on similarly steep gypsum faces." This tends to confirm my belief that Calcium in habitat soils is a natural growth inhibitor, and the absence of it in a cactus mix allows the species to achieve a growth potential that would be impossible if we add limestone or gypsum to the mix. Regarding the seller's fert, "full" and "half strength" are terms that don't mean much unless you know the actual amounts indicated on the fert's label. In my case, I can tell you that I dilute 1/2 tsp. of the Dyna-Gro 7-7-7 I use in a gallon of water. The label indicates 1 tsp. per gallon, so I'm using it at half-strength. I'm probably fertilizing less than what the seller was doing, although I'm not sure if the difference will be all that significant in terms of the ritteri's growth rate under my care. What is significant is the fact that he and I use a fert with a balanced NPK ratio. What will we get out of this rare plant's first growing season on the plant bench? Ah, a tantalizing little mystery for Aztekium fans here on the forum, and it should be interesting to see if before-and-after photos reveal a ritteri growing over the summer. I already have the "before" set up, so I may have some nice progress pics to show you in my end-of-summer review.

[greenknight]

I think the lesson to take from the method of your Aztekium's grower is simply that Aztekium ritteri can utilize a lot more fertilizer than generally assumed, and without becoming bloated and abnormal-looking. That guy fertilizes a lot! I suspect much of that fertilizer is just wasted, but apparently it doesn't hurt anything.

[Steve Johnson]

I think the lesson to take from the method of your Aztekium's grower is simply that Aztekium ritteri can utilize a lot more fertilizer than generally assumed, and without becoming bloated and abnormal-looking. That guy fertilizes a lot! I suspect much of that fertilizer is just wasted, but apparently it doesn't hurt anything.

It could be the seller's fert regimen, although if I was a betting man, I'd put money on the fact that his secret is to avoid supplementing the mix with a touch of Calcium. Some growers insist on doing this for their calciphytes, but it's just a matter of personal preference. Mine is to keep things simple, so the ritteri gets the same pumice and granite gravel I use for the rest of my soil-less cacti -- nothing more. Should be interesting to see what we have in about 7 months.

[greenknight]

It's not calcium per se, it's the pH - adding lime raises the pH, too high a pH makes nutrients less available. You can supply calcium in a form which doesn't raise pH, such as gypsum, and there's no growth suppression. It still comes down to available fertility, a slightly acid soil maximizes the availability of the fertilizer.