~A glimpse into my cacti world~

[teo]

Looks like Cylindropuntia tunicata or similar

[DesertSun]

Could I ask what this fierce looking fellow is please?

DSCN6085.jpg

Hi Grimm! It is a Cylindropuntia bigelovii. Since the photo it has shown two more growths on top, so glad for it!

[DesertSun]

What a lovely collection...I wish I had a third of your space to grow plants
Enjoy your babies and flowers this and evey next season!

Hello there! Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes! Returning the wish, hope yours thrive also! I have a visit from mealybugs these days and am always on the edge, so it does not spread to all of my collection. The weather conditions over here are the perfect for them this season and many cacti growers deal with the same problem!

[DesertSun]

Hello and hope you are having a great day/night. Everything is fine, despite the mealybug issue, which is at the moment under control.
Some cacti that had a problem seem to be getting better, a Mamm that was rather poorly after winter, has finally shown new growth and her color
improved greatly! I changed her mix to a slightly richer one as the older might had been depleted. I love seeing the beautiful colorful spines, they are so mesmerizing! I purchased a Faucaria tigrina and a new Adromischus, I am very attracted to Andromischus, far more than other succulents.
I am trying to meticulously keep guard as the sun is getting stronger each day and I have info from other growers that they have sunburns on some cacti. At the moment I had incidents on some of the blue columnar ones. They seem to be more prone than other columnars to get sunburns.
But, nothing huge, luckily, at the moment. Something that saddened me, I lost my Frailea, due to a sudden rot. Well, it's all in the journey.
Anyway, showing you some photos I took today and hope you like them!

[DesertSun]

And some other succulents.

[ElieEstephane]

Hello marina. Great additions you got there! Weird what you say about pilosocereus getting sunburned. These have been the most reliable with me in full unblocked sun. The more sun, the bluer they become and grow. Other harsh desert dwelling columnars were not as tolerant of full sun conditions.
DSCN6813 one of my favorite mamms. Took me 3 years to get one (got 3)

[DesertSun]

Hello marina. Great additions you got there! Weird what you say about pilosocereus getting sunburned. These have been the most reliable with me in full unblocked sun. The more sun, the bluer they become and grow. Other harsh desert dwelling columnars were not as tolerant of full sun conditions.
DSCN6813 one of my favorite mamms. Took me 3 years to get one (got 3)

Elie, would you ID this mamm for me? I still haven't got a name for her! As for the sunburns on my Pilosocereus, I couldn't agree with you more, I also thought they would be the least possible to be scarred from the sun, to my surprise both did, and not my other columnars! The myrtillocactus changes color when stressed, but not getting sunburnt, all the others are super fine. Thank you for your comment!

[ElieEstephane]

Oh i thought you knew what it was. It's a mammiaria heyderi. An absolute beauty!
EDIT: on second thought, definitely not heyderi

[DesertSun]

Hello again! We are having amazing days and even some windy ones in June! So my plants seem happy and most of them haven't got the impact of the full summer heat yet, I shall make adjustments slowly to prepare for the time! I have also started planning for overwintering. Some of my remaining cacti from previous years, I mean rescued from the nails of my cats' lol, were staying outside in the terrace all year round, but last winter I wanted to save my newcomers so I overwintered them inside in a cold room as I have mentioned. Next winter I am planning to overwinter in a sheltered area in the stairwell near the roof, so they will have light but the temperature will be cold enough for them to rest. Also, some of them will remain in a balcony, where I am setting two portable mini GHs, for this reason.
Anyway, for now that is all the news. Showing you some old ones and also some additions to the collection as can see below. I have more space to fill and will gladly work towards it with zeal!

[ElieEstephane]

Oh that trichocereus is very beautiful! These spines can reach sometimes 25-30cm on some specimen.

[DesertSun]

Thank you Elie for your nice comment on my Eulychnia castanea, I hope that these spines reach their full potential,
that would be an amazing gift to me!
There have been a few more flowering cacti and some that have buds also. I can't wait to see the flower of my Astrophytum senilis these days! Should be very soon, I think tomorrow is the big day!
My Parodia scopa albispina flowered and still have some buds to open.
I was unlucky not to be able to capture a beautiful flower on my Thelocactus, as when it flowered the weather changed suddenly and it did not open again after that. It was gorgeous while it lasted for only a few hours.
Some Mammillarias are blooming from time to time, I wish I had more to see flowers every day!
I got an ariocarpus, a genus I have never tried before but I really like! And I got another monstrose species as a gift from my soulmate!
Hope you enjoy looking at what is new in my cacti world!

[ElieEstephane]

Hmm thats an eulychnia i would have thought trichocereus chiloensis.

[DesertSun]

Yes, definitely an Eulychnia castanea. It was those spines that got me hooked!

[ElieEstephane]

Btw where are you buying your cacti from? I don't think these are from a regular nursery. Such beautiful specimen!

[DesertSun]

Thank you Elie! I have given up on the regular nurseries, since I can no longer find cacti that I want to add to my collection in them any more, and have turned to more specialized ones and some established growers. I wanted to upgrade my collection a bit for this year and I think I managed that. My next plan is to focus more on some families and some species in the next years and only collect some succulents that I like the most. I am going to give up on sedum and common ones to have more room for my cacti and also add some lithops, which btw I am learning they are finicky, some Adromischus and aloinopsis, frithia, etc. This was a great season for me as a grower, I learnt a lot and I am enjoying my revamped balcony! It was quite a work and is not yet finished. Now we are already starting to plan for the overwintering. I am happy to say I had no major losses except a Frailea that I really liked, and two cacti that have some sunburn marks. Everything else is doing alright, although I am on the edge to keep off the mealybugs. I don't use but alcohol at the moment, but I don't know if that's enough and waiting to see what is going to happen. Glad to know there are members here that know so much about everything that has to do with pests and diseases, it's an invaluable source of knowledge.