Sulco surprise

[Steve Johnson]

I'm down to the last cactus for my March repotting project. This is a Sulcorebutia pulchra, which I have just unpotted. What I saw below-ground was surprising enough, but it came with another one:

Sulcorebutia_pulchra_bud03242013.JPG (234.29 KiB) Viewed 2232 times

Can't see it yet? Look closer:

Sulcorebutia_pulchra_bud03242013_detail.jpg (103.03 KiB) Viewed 2232 times

That's a flower bud I wouldn't have seen myself but for the unpotting.

This species caught my eye when I was perusing the Miles To Go website. Apparently pulchra is kinda hard to come by, so when I found them in stock at my local cactus nursery last March, I just had to get one. Such a lovely, trouble-free plant it's been from the start -- good growth, a couple of new pups, and several flower flushes in June. With its first bud of the year already, more flushes are bound to be on the way as the pulchra gets into high gear during the Spring. A preview of coming attractions:

Sulcorebutia_pulchra06152012_01.JPG (152.87 KiB) Viewed 2229 times

[CactusFanDan]

Awesome flowers and a top notch plant. That's another plant to add to the wishlist, I guess.

[Steve Johnson]

Awesome flowers and a top notch plant. That's another plant to add to the wishlist, I guess.

Thanks, Dan! Now, I was saving this for my upcoming 2013 Member Topics thread, but I couldn't resist giving y'all a sneak peak:

Sulcorebutia_pulchra_03242013_01.JPG (190.24 KiB) Viewed 2216 times

Sulcorebutia_pulchra_03242013_02.JPG (221.25 KiB) Viewed 2216 times

Thus far the pulchra is the only cactus in my collection that was outgrowing its current pot -- still an Azalea pot, but going from 4" to 4-1/2". Think I'll have other plants in the same boat over the next few years. What a nice problem to have, huh?

[Arjen]

great looking plant! those roots, wow!!
did you know that the real pulchra was recently rediscovered and this is now called callichroma?

[Steve Johnson]

great looking plant! those roots, wow!!
did you know that the real pulchra was recently rediscovered and this is now called callichroma?

Uh oh, I think you're right:

http://www.english.sulcopassion.be/2012visit2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like I should tack "var. longispina" on the end of that name, too. Okay, time to rename all the photos and what I have on my plant list...

Thanks, Arjen!

[vbueno]

Congratulations.
It's one of my favorites.
Sometimes the flowers have white center.
Vicent

[Sulcofan]

A nice plant for sure

Sulcorebutia pulchra is now more correctly named Sulcorebutia callichroma http://www.sulcopassion.be/pdf/0116_2012.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Steve Johnson]

A nice plant for sure

Sulcorebutia pulchra is now more correctly named Sulcorebutia callichroma http://www.sulcopassion.be/pdf/0116_2012.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep, Arjen caught that one for me. By the way, I pop in on Cactuspedia from time to time, so I just looked at what they have as pulchra. It appears that they do have the ID right on their photos. Not callichroma, which is what my Sulco is. I now have it officially named as callichroma var. longispina.

Thanks, guys!

[Arjen]

the use of a name is of course only a means to know what we are talking about, but in this case it is very interesting
I for one really want to get myself a true pulchra!

[vbueno]

I get a hybrid Sulcorebutia callichroma x tarabucoensis aureiflora


Sulcorebutia callichroma x tarabucoensis aureiflora cv Preciosa clon 3 01 por buenovic, en Flickr

Vicent

[Steve Johnson]

I get a hybrid Sulcorebutia callichroma x tarabucoensis aureiflora

Vicent

What a beautiful flower. Unusual colors, and the form of the plant itself is lovely. Well done!

Now, this rather jarring transition is courtesy of a Sulco rauschii that turned ugly over Winter 2011/12. It was the subject of numerous posts I put up on the forum last year, and it just appeared again on my 2013 Member Topics thread. I repotted the plant a few weeks ago -- here we are 5 days after its first watering of the year:

Sulcorebutia_rauschii04032013.JPG (166.95 KiB) Viewed 2037 times

Here's a closer look:

Sulcorebutia_rauschii04032013_bud.jpg (65.31 KiB) Viewed 2037 times

Yep, that's a bud, and it wasn't there the day before. This is almost 2 months earlier than the buds I saw last year. Although only 1 bud made it through for my first rauschii flower, I'd say there's a very good prospect that the plant will be healthy enough to flower for me again this year -- and perhaps more than 1 flower. Ugly mama has been making pretty babies, too, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more pups later in the growing season.

[billdee]

Hey Steve, I hope ''Ugly mama" colors back up for you, but I like the yellowish/gold color. Maybe the early buds are a sign of good things to come.

[Steve Johnson]

Hey Steve, I hope ''Ugly mama" colors back up for you, but I like the yellowish/gold color. Maybe the early buds are a sign of good things to come.

Thanks, Bill! What you're seeing in this photo are the effects of severe shriveling and nutrient deficiency coming out of Winter. Same thing happened last Winter, so you may want to check out the section I discussed concerning the rauschii's travails and progress on my 2012 Member Topics thread (see http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 31&t=27550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). The plant is starting out with a healthy root system this time, so I think that regular watering and fertilizing should bring it back a little faster over the growing season. Seeing a bud so early is definitely a good sign. And while the pups also shriveled a bit from the Winter, they're still looking good -- and plumping up after the plant's first watering of the year. We'll see if my rauschii's progress keeps going in the right direction.

[billdee]

Thanks for the link Steve you have a very nice collection. I see what you mean now about the nutrient deficiency and shriveling. I had some shriveling over the winter but its subtle.
I noticed you said you were going to get another E. rubispinus from CoronaCactus, and forgive me if you did and I missed somewhere in your posts, but you're right by saying it would be in pristine condition. Darryl and Jen have great stuff!!! I bought one from them and its beautiful. It didn't bloom for me last season, but its had a nice cool winter rest, so I hope it flowers this year.

I really like the progression photos and detailed descriptions you give. Great job man

[Steve Johnson]

Thanks for the link Steve you have a very nice collection. I see what you mean now about the nutrient deficiency and shriveling. I had some shriveling over the winter but its subtle.
I noticed you said you were going to get another E. rubispinus from CoronaCactus, and forgive me if you did and I missed somewhere in your posts, but you're right by saying it would be in pristine condition. Darryl and Jen have great stuff!!! I bought one from them and its beautiful. It didn't bloom for me last season, but its had a nice cool winter rest, so I hope it flowers this year.

I really like the progression photos and detailed descriptions you give. Great job man

Well, thank you, my friend! I have a lot of fun putting together my presentations, so I'm glad we have some people on the forum who enjoy them. And yes, I did get a rubispinus from CoronaCactus a few days before Christmas. I posted up photos of that plus my new Frailea castanea and Gymnocactus ysabelae right after I potted them up. I followed Darryl's advice for giving the rubispinus some light watering to kick-start the roots on the 11th. Been frustratingly cool in my part of L.A., but it was finally ready for a deep drench over Easter weekend. Here's the most recent photo on drenching day:

Echinocereus_rigidissimus_var_rubispinus03302013.JPG (235.75 KiB) Viewed 2008 times

Way too soon to see any new growth yet, but it looks like a warm-up will finally give me what I've been waiting for -- daytimes consistently in the 70s (with the odd 80-degree day here and there) and overnights in the mid to upper 50s. I'll look forward to seeing some progress with that lovely plant over the next month.