A small collection: 2015 and beyond

[Steve Johnson]

Alright, I'm down to showing y'all the last 3 cacti I had ceramic pots for in May, so we'll start this installment by going back all the way to the 9th with a "long tom" Wujcik-style.

Eriosyce napina glabrescens was one of my selections as I inaugurated the plant bench we see today. Now let's have a look at the roots -- when the plant came in on July 13 2 years ago, and today:



Pretty good progress on the root system, I'd say. Here's the repot:



Amazing how much of this cactus is below-ground, isn't it? Here's what we see on top:



I have another example of that for you, and it also happens to be from the summer of 2013 -- Copiapoa tenuissima:



In a pot that's sorta long-tomish:



Yep, that's definitely a Wujcik pot -- can't be mistaken for anyone else, and I love Joe's style! The view from above, this was last weekend and it includes a little something extra on top:



I'll end this project for the moment with yet another Summer 2013 arrival. My Pygmaeocereus bylesianus has been easy from the get-go, and with a rather impressive amount of growth above ground. But little did I know what was lurking in the plant's 3" terracotta pot! There we are with its bare-nekked roots then and now:



The taproot went all the way down and wrapped itself around the bottom of the pot:



The bylesianus in the glazed ceramic pot left empty after I lost my Mammillaria blossfeldiana:





That's a 3.5" x 3.5" pot. The plant could use a little more depth in its pot, which is a good segue to my final comment here...

I had a really nice phone conversation with Joe a few days after the Sunset show. Since I've been enjoying his work so much, I asked him if he could custom-make pots in the specific dimensions I need. He said yes, so I ordered 4 pots. Then the order went from 4 to 6, then 7, and finally 8. (There's a talent I didn't even know I had before -- underestimating what cactus roots can do in mineral mix. ) The next time I'll be able to see him live and in person is at the Huntington show coming up in 4 weeks -- perfect timing since he'll have my pots ready by then. So I'll get to experience my first big CSSA show & sale on the 27th, and take hand-delivery of Joe's new pots too! 5 of the pots go right into use, the other 3 will be added as buy-aheads to anticipate the needs of cacti that'll get bigger over the next few years. And there we are -- the last of the terracotta will be going bye-bye soon! In the meantime, would you like to see some new pics of cacti in flower? If so, I may be able to oblige. Coming soon, my friends!

[Steve Johnson]

The weekend after Memorial Day things sorta cut loose on the plant bench. We'll begin with the small stuff and work our way up.

Frailea castanea -- mine goes from buds straight to seed pods. The species needs a lot of heat to actually flower, so I guess my summers aren't hot enough for it. Oh well, at least the buds look pretty as they develop:



Epithelantha gregii 'rufispina'.



Some really interesting activity going on with this plant. It hasn't started blooming in earnest yet either, and more pics of the gregii will definitely be coming up throughout the rest of the growing season.

After the heartbreaking loss of my first Melocactus matanzanus, it's so wonderful to see how well the one I got from C & D is doing. The plant in its 2nd year under my care -- a tiny bloom leaving behind a trail of 8 newly-spent flowers:





That's right, 8! I haven't seen so many flowers on a matanzanus before, and if I'm lucky enough to catch the event on camera this summer, it'll be the first time when I can show you more than a few in bloom at once.

Mammillaria hernandezii -- remember those off-season buds I showed you?





Yes indeed, out of season by about 6 months!





Pretty special to see these flowers at the end of May. And there are more on the way too.

Copiapoa tenuissima.





I wasn't sure if the flower was fully open on day 1. Give it another day -- there we go!





Strombocactus disciformis.







Eriosyce odieri -- let's watch the buds get bigger starting on May 16:




Now it's blooming time:





Regarding both the Strombocactus and the Eriosyce, I figured that's as open the flowers were going to get. Or maybe not? I'll have a really nice followup post for you shortly, but in the meantime...

The biggest flower I have at the moment also happens to be on a cactus that won't stop blooming. I think you know which one I'm talking about!



Guess I must be doing something right, because my Mamm deherdtiana has gone way beyond anything I could've expected when I got it a little over 3 years ago.

[Arjen]

I love the detailed way you describe your collection, amazing to see your plants grow and develop.
also lovely flowers!

[Steve Johnson]

D-Day? If you don't get the reference, I'll explain later. But first...

I love the detailed way you describe your collection, amazing to see your plants grow and develop.
also lovely flowers!

Thanks, Arjen! A nice thing about maintaining only 64 cacti is that I'm able to spend time on discussing these activities as much as I can. Getting into a lot of detail must be pretty much impossible for our members with hundreds or thousands of plants. Such being the case, it's wonderful just to see all the photos being posted by other growers -- you active guys and gals do a great job on the forum! As for me, I'm back to the details (or TMI? ).

After I deployed the portable GH again 5 weeks ago, it was a good call keeping it up due to our unusually cool May in semi-coastal L.A. The cacti certainly enjoyed their month of artificial heat, and they didn't mind the double-filtered light created by polyfilm on top of 40% shade cloth. But with the first day of summer just a few weeks away, I was hoping to remove the GH so that the only filtered sunlight my plants get would be the shade cloth. The local NWS forecast showed a nice warmup starting at the end of May, so off came portable GH 3.0 on the night of the 29th. And there went the heat, which explains why the flowers on my Strombocactus disciformis and Eriosyce odieri didn't open up fully last weekend. Guess I was a bit premature, because my 7-day forecast for the week suddenly changed from warm and sunny to cool and cloudy. So the GH went back up Sunday night, front and all. I'm glad I did -- of course I couldn't resist taking a peek in there Monday morning, and here's what I saw. The current star that hasn't stopped flowering yet:



The Strombocactus and Eriosyce gave us one more day:













I wish my forecast would settle down to a pattern of consistent heat, although "June gloom" is par for the course, and another week or two with the GH up means that the cacti should appreciate the additional heat-trapping assist. Going day by day, the front can be either up or down depending on temps.

As to the double-filtered sunlight?



I don't know if this photo gives you an accurate representation of the lighting conditions. If the pic doesn't quite do it, I'll just say that I've been in the Huntington's desert GH enough times to know that the lighting under my portable GH is pretty much the same as there. Okay, perhaps not totally optimal, but the GH should be ready to come off by the end of June. It won't be a jarring transition either, and the collection will still be getting plenty of sun before the growing season ends. With that said, there is another issue under consideration...

I'll go back to 2 years ago and "the summer that wasn't". The Home Depot plastic sheeting I used for my previous GHs barely lasted through winter before it went to pieces and had to be replaced. It didn't even occur to me that I had more durable options -- sure could've used the UV-resistant polyfilm then, but at least I have it now. Hope I won't need the current GH again until November, but if I end up with a repeat of "the summer that wasn't" (quite possible!), then 3.0 will be at the ready.

And this finally brings us to the title of today's post. Combining my interests in cacti and World War II history, the following pics are from D-Day plus 71 years -- ooh, something's up early!



Looks like these Mamms are having a confab.



The hernandezii keeps going too.



Smile for the camera!



I thought the hernandezii and my Frailea grahliana would bloom today. Unfortunately the marine layer took a long time to burn off, and since the front of the GH came down last night, a daytime high of only 73 on the plant bench didn't cut it for them. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow, so flowers on these guys will be a safe bet. Pics to follow.

[Steve Johnson]

With the first day of summer now just a week away, it's time for a little cactus action update. First, we'll play catch-up on some nice stuff from last Sunday.

Epithelantha micromeris with a burgeoning fruit crop.



Mammillaria crucigera -- from tiny flowers come more tiny fruits:



Cumarinia odorata in bloom.



Flowers on the species aren't much to look at, but what's notable here is that 3 of the odorata's pups are showing their very first buds:





What they lack in size and color they can make up for in quantity -- hopefully the odorata will give us an attractive display with lots of blooming this summer.

Epithelantha gregii 'rufispina' -- the spinas don't look all that rufi anymore, so maybe I should drop that part of the appellation. Anyway, while its blossoms are small and not all that colorful, I find them irresistable:





If it's colorful you want, Mamm hernandezii always fills the bill. Here's mine doing a good impression of Minnie Mouse:



Moving forward, here's what I saw heading out the door for work Tuesday morning:



Too bad I missed those lovely flowers, but I'm so glad I was able to get the Mamm theresae's first flush on camera. Round 1 came from M2G, I think the better part of round 2 was all mine. And there are brand new buds too -- guess my latest gem kinda likes me!

Okay, now we're up to date. Here's my Astrophytum 'capristigma' showing 2 months of bud development starting with March 28:



Yesterday "June gloom" lived up to its name, and the marine layer didn't burn off until well in the afternoon. As much as the 'capristigma' wanted to open up, even the fully enclosed portable GH didn't give the plant enough heat for it. So this was the best we could get:



Today is much better, as the marine layer burned off shortly before noon -- daytime high in the GH yesterday was 76, then it hit 88 early this afternoon. Let's take off the front and see what we have. Ahhhh, there we go!





Here's a couple of nice shots featuring the Cumarinia/hernandezii combo yesterday and today:





The Mamm hernandezii performing a solo act:



I'll end this weekend's foray with a preview of coming attractions -- Astrophytum capricorne senilis sporting a winter bud, followed by the same bud today:



IMO capricorne is the best of the genus, and when you see this one in flower, I think you'll understand why I call it "queen of the Astrophytums". Definitely something worth looking forward to this summer!

[Steve Johnson]

Finally! And a week from today, I'll get to experience my first CSSA annual show at the Huntington. That'll be the time for taking delivery on the pots Joe Wujcik made for me, so here's one last look at 5 cacti in terracotta before they get outfitted with new glazed ceramic.

Stenocactus zacatecasensis.



Mammillaria guelzowiana.



Astrophytum asterias -- ooh, looks like the bud will get to blossom!



The asterias likes to tease me by flowering when I'm at work. I did get it to bloom on camera for me once last summer, so maybe I'll get lucky again.

This is a twofer -- Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus klinkerianus and Gymnocactus ysabelae.



If I can't get the repots done after the show next weekend, then the nice 3-dayer for our July 4th holiday will be prefect -- just in time to get these plants re-established enough for some visible progress before the growing season ends.

For us cactus fans, no first day of summer would feel complete without at least a few blooms to grace one's collection...

Epithelantha gregii.





That's about as big as Epithelantha flowers get, so I was pretty impressed to see this one. I'm even more impressed by how well the gregii's adventitious pups are growing. (Many thanks to DaveW for introducing the term to me!) And looking at the rust-red tips on all those new spines, I think it may be a 'rufispina' after all.

Mammillaria grahamii.



In the 4 years the plant has been with me, this is the biggest flower I've seen on my grahamii:



If any of our SoCal members are going to the Huntington on the 27th, I'd love to see ya there!

[Steve Johnson]

Actually, the official first day of summer was yesterday:







I call my Melocactus matanzanus "tail-end Charlie" because its flowers start opening when the rest of my day-blooming cacti close up shop in late afternoon. At 5 p.m.:





Always nice to see as we head into the evening. And with that, let the summertime festivities begin!

[Ivan C]

D-Day? If you don't get the reference, I'll explain later. But first....

Mid-June report

With the first day of summer now just a week away, it's time for a little cactus action update. First, we'll play catch-up on some nice stuff from last Sunday.

Hi Steve
I have noticed at my end that all the pictures in these two posts do NOT show up for me. All others as I can see are fine.

[7george]

June 6 - June 20th post are text-only. But Steve still offers us lot of views of spines, hooks and flowers to enjoy.

[Steve Johnson]

I have noticed at my end that all the pictures in these two posts do NOT show up for me. All others as I can see are fine.

I host all my photos on OneDrive, and the service is quite reliable for the most part. But every once in awhile some sort of technical glitch comes up -- sure ticks me off whenever this happens given the amount of time and effort it takes to put these presentations together. Anyway, I just updated the OneDrive URLs for my June 20 post, so you should be able to see the pics now.

@7george -- the photos in my June 6 post come out just fine, so it's not a OneDrive-created problem. Occasionally I've seen images disappear and then reappear later. Could be temporary heartburn coming from the CactiGuide Web server, or a bottleneck somewhere between there and here. If I catch technical problems I can resolve on my end, I'll take care of it. I certainly appreciate the help, so many thanks to you and Ivan C for pointing the situation out to me.

[lopinweapon]

Love your thread. I am very much a novice and threads like this really help!

[Steve Johnson]

Love your thread. I am very much a novice and threads like this really help!

Ah, thanks so much, my friend! Aside from these minor technically glitch-prone annoyances, I'm enjoying the opportunity to put whatever I can offer out there. Which bring us to this...

Did a bit of troubleshooting, and what I found out is that OneDrive will temporarily re-route image URLs, and of course viewers won't be able to see the pics. Definitely a random thing, although I'm not sure about the cause. (It's under the control of the Windows Live servers, so unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that.) Anyway, re-routed image URLs get routed back to the original, usually within a matter of minutes. If you get dropouts with any of my pics, try again later and you should be able to see them.

Since I outsource all my images to OneDrive, we have to take the bad with the good. The good is that I'm able to post pics up to 1200 x 800, which is beyond the 800 x 600 limit for image attachments through the forum's interface. The bad is why I'm posting this advisory, but it's a very occasional problem -- if y'all are willing to put up with it, then all I can say is thank you for your patience!

[Steve Johnson]

As the month wraps up, let's have a look at what went on over the first full weekend of summer.

My Astrophytum asterias teased me. Again. Thursday was the day to see it in bloom, and of course I had to miss it. We'll make do with the aftermath 2 days later:





Here's a familiar face.



A close-up with the gregii showing a brand-new pup on the left:



There goes that word "adventitious" again -- we now have 5 pups in odd places, and I'm eager to see what the plant will look like by the end of the growing season. Speaking of Epithelanthas, here's a full crop on my micromeris:



In the 3 years I've had the plant, to date this is my best pic featuring micromeris fruits.

Mammillaria guelzowiana is usually good for a few spectacular flowers in May, although the one I got 2 years ago didn't produce this time. Interestingly enough, the guelzowiana I found at the Sunset show is setting buds a bit later than usual:



But wait! Could that be a bud on #1?



Yuppers!



With blooms on the guelzowianas imminent, I'll show you a preview of coming attractions as summer gets into full swing.

Gymnocalycium ochoterenae vatteri and stenopleurum.





Astrophytum 'capristigma' with 2 Coryphanthas in the background:



(You'll see the C. retusa again in the very near future.)

Astrophytum capricorne senilis showing 2 buds that'll make it into flower:



A. asterias and capricorne share somthing in common -- it takes a long time for them to go from bud to bloom. If I were a betting man, I'd say the capricorne's biggest bud will flower in early/mid-August, and the smaller one in October. Doesn't really matter if I guess right on the timeframe, and if I can get either one or both on camera, the event will be worth waiting for.

Up next, it's time for the first in an occasional series I call...

Is this cactus growing?

Since I've repotted a bunch during the "terracotta out/glazed ceramic in" project, now would be a good time to ask the question. What we'll be looking for are indications that their roots have established well enough to start working. Obviously we can't see what those roots are doing, so there are only 2 things we can go by. One is response to water as the plant goes from shriveled to plump. Always a great sign, but even better is to see our plants actually putting on new growth. So are these cacti growing? 3 notable examples say "yes!"

Mamm theresae -- didn't take long to establish, and there's already new activity on the growing point.



Rebutia pygmaea -- joined the collection on October 19, and the plant seems to be happy in its first growing season under my care.



Rebutia heliosa.



The heliosa gave me a rough start after I got it in the late fall of 2013. While the mysterious deaths of 2 pups that winter were really unfortunate, the youngest pup we see today certainly makes up for it. Another happy camper for summertime, and moving it from Shady Glen to Sun Valley has definitely been a smart call.

I have 4 more noteworthy examples of repotting success to show you, but I'm holding them in reserve for my next post. And if I'm lucky, I'll include a flower or two in time for our long July 4th weekend. See you then!

[adetheproducer]

Looking good. You vatteri is a particularly nice plant.

[Mertzi]

none of the images in the your latest post works for me :S anyone know why? The old ones show...