My small collection

[Pompom]

Also the new baby, Einstein the Mammillaria Hahniana, has grown so much! It's still tiny but to me 1cm growth is pretty darn good for such a small creature. Compared to the larger one, this one seems to grow more taller than it is wide. It's now resembling more like a upside down pear than a disk. But it's still so small so basically anything can happen to it as it grow. I love every bit of it!
Speaking of the roots. It seems like M. Hahnianas tend to have rather weak root system. Mine at least. They both are growing so they have to have rooted, but they both are not sitting in the pot like a rock but instead are slightly loose if I touch them. Like a tooth which is slowly starting to fall off.

the plant starts from about 4cm mark

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[WayneByerly]

... and all the magnificent images you are sharing here with us...

As pleasant as it is to rest my eyes upon my own cacti, I cannot help but know how pleasant it is to look at pictures of other people's cacti. I just love coming to this forum and looking at other peoples pictures. Is such a treat for me!

[WayneByerly]

... Mammillaria Hahniana, has grown so much!...

Oooohhh... Quite an amazing bit of growth... you are obviously giving it what it needs!

... this one seems to grow more taller than it is wide...

Despite being a globular Cactus, mine has done the same thing. It is a little bit taller than it is wide. I'm fairly certain posted pictures of mine before so I won't repeat them. Unless you specifically request that I do so.

... not sitting in the pot like a rock but instead are slightly loose...

Last year, mine produced a goodly number of seeds from its flowers. So I planted a bunch of them... So I could have cacti to give away to strangers... in an attempt to brighten their day... Random acts of kindness. And my seedlings are like you described them here... They don't sit Rock steady in the pot... they kind of wiggle back and forth a little bit.

[Pompom]

Here are pictures of my new plants!

I've been wanting to buy an echinocactus grusonii for a whole time I've been collecting cacti. It's a cactus everyone knows and it's beautiful. The reason I've never bought one is they are so common here. "I can get one later", "later", "I can buy just one plant, I'm not going to buy a common echinocactus grusonii now since there are more different cacti too to pick". Basically any place selling cacti have at least one echinocactus grusonii. Now I decided to pick one small. It did cost only 3€ so why not. I love the creamy color of the spines!

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Finally I found a gymnocalycium!! FINALLY! One which will produce super beautiful flowers! Gymnocalycium Baldianum. I found a blog while doing some research about this one. A Finnish blog and the writer seems to be located in the northern Finland too! The writer said that this particular gymno is the only gymno producing flowers for him/her. I'm so happy since this means I might have flowers too! I can't wait! I love the center of the cactus and the blue hue of the stem. And I love the way it blends in the pot and the clayballs.

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The notocactus roseoluteus was kinda random pick. I could carry one more cactus in my hands so I decided to pick one. There was way too many to pick from. Mammillarias, columnars, couple of dead ones, succulents. This one got my eye. I almost didn't pick it since there was some white dust on top of the plant and I was worried it was infected with something. There was other similar but somehow I just couldn't leave this one behind. Later I blew the white stuff and it turned out to be just dust. How long it had been there or somewhere else I wondered. I believe it must've come from Norway or Denmark since there was a care tag written in a language similar to Swedish but wasn't Swedish. I kinda understood what it said but kinda didn't. There's no reason to have a tag in any other language than Finnish or Swedish here in Finland since they are two main languages here. Only reason it had a tag in different language is that the whole plant must've been originally from somewhere else. It has a long journey behind and finally it's home. I can't wait the flowers! In pictures they look awesome!

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[WayneByerly]

Hulloooo Pompom

I have always admired the color of the spines and their density on an E. grusonii

and both the Gymno AND the Notocactus are VERY nice looking specimens. I think that I would be proud to own cacti that come from THAT grower!!!

[teo]

The Noto was probably grown in Denmark - they have an extensive garden plant cultivation industry. The baldianum is a fairly common Gymno (because of their flowers?) and they are reliable (in my experience). The color varies from deep red to pink (and I have also seen white) but they require full sun to open completely - these were not:

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[Pompom]

...and both the Gymno AND the Notocactus are VERY nice looking specimens. I think that I would be proud to own cacti that come from THAT grower!!!

Thank you very much! It seems you have to visit Denmark to get plants from the same grower... At least the notocactus, I'm not sure where the gymno came. It wasn't packed same.
And I AM proud! Not only because these particular plants are beautiful but with the fact I've managed to get here! From where I started it feels I got so far already. And it's all thanks to everyone here! I remember saying it feels like I don't belong here since my collection isn't as large and beautiful as everybody else, but finally it feels like I'm belonging here. I can ID some plants which gives me an opportunity to help people like you help me. I can ID some of the common illnesses in cacti so I can help people. This hobby is not only having a large collection. It's much more.
And I'm proud I'm able to keep the plants alive! I'm happy I found this hobby

The Noto was probably grown in Denmark - they have an extensive garden plant cultivation industry. The baldianum is a fairly common Gymno (because of their flowers?) and they are reliable (in my experience). The color varies from deep red to pink (and I have also seen white) but they require full sun to open completely - these were not:

Denmark it is then! Thanks! I don't know why, but there's not that many gymnos in markets here. Mostly mammillarias and couple of columnars. So finding a gymno is like finding a pearl in mussel to me. This was the only one (of course others might have been sold already).

[WayneByerly]

... finally it feels like I'm belonging here.

Yes, I remember you saying this in the beginning. But you have always belonged here. As long as you're collecting and growing cacti. You may have heard me say that I still feel like a newbie after 9 years. There's so much specific information to learn about this Hobby.

And you may recall, right in the beginning, when you first started posting, that I told you how great the people here were. Some of the best people I've ever met, I met here. I've just never run across a group of people that were so friendly and giving of their time and knowledge. I've even had members here in the states send me plants and seeds. I had one guy send me a bunch of Agaves. The people here are great, and I'm glad you're enjoying your experiences here.

I'm pleased that you're so delighted that your collection is progressing the way it is. I think you've got some nice plants, and have made a very good start on a collection of hundreds of cacti.

I started out with four cacti grown from seed 9 years ago. Now I have more than a hundred containers, and just got a new cacti today. A Gymnocalycium saglionis.

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[TimN]

Wait a minute, did you say that Echinocactus grusonii is common in Finland?

The things you learn!

[Pompom]

Wait a minute, did you say that Echinocactus grusonii is common in Finland?

The things you learn!

Please don't get it wrong. In the stores the E. Grusonii is common. I don't know why, maybe it has something to do with the nickname of the plant ”mother-in-law's stool”
But in the nature we barely have any succulents growing. It seems that out of 600 species of crassulaceae, there's only 6 species found in nature in Finland. For example sedum telephium and sedum spurium. We have also couple of euphorbias here but only one of them (Euphorbia palustris) is naturally growing here, others are introduced species. There's no true cacti growing here naturally since the changes ofthe weather are so harsh.

To be honest, I didn't know that we had any succulents here! I had to use google to know about the sedums and euphorbiars. So, the things you learn!

[WayneByerly]

Learn something new everyday, or you're wasting your life

[WayneByerly]

Learn something new everyday, or you're wasting your life. Learning is one of the finest activities that you can even engage in.

[TimN]

I assumed your meaning as you described. They are a durable and relatively fast growing plant, plus the name thing gives it a lot of interest.

Mother-in-Law's stool isn't used as a common name in the Phoenix, AZ area. They're generally called "that yellow cactus-thing over there." There are literally tens of thousands in the ground in this area.

[Pompom]

So everyone are having their flowers and getting their first flowers.

What do I do?

I'm getting my first weeds! That's something too. Right?


So yesterday I was moving the toppings off the way from the pot of crassula ovata gollum/hobbit (in order to see and feel if the top part of soil is dry already). And then I saw this little green thing pocking from the soil. At first I thought it was a baby crassula but then I examined it from another angle and learned it is just weed. Yay... I think...

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And finally, just finally, I can be really really sure that the stenocereus has began to grow. You can't argue with the picture here. What worries me is that if the stenocereus really needs temperatures over 25C to grow. If it needs it, it might not survive many years with me since usually we get temperatures like this every 5 years or so. But who knows, maybe it really can be in some kind of dormancy for 5 years, waiting for the warmer weather... Maybe it's more likely to die if the weather stays too cold for too long. I don't know...

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[ElieEstephane]

Ow woooow look at how fast it's growing! It looks like it has 3 whole new areoles! Okay sorry you can maybe make a mini greenhouse for it with a pepsi bottle which will keep it warmer. Perhaps that makes it grow faster? I usually use an incandescent lamp to keep plants warm in winter. Maybe you can use a 20-30watts lamp?
And congratulations on your new weed! You can use it as an ecofriendly made humidity sensor