MrXeric wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:29 am
Beautiful plants. I like the Eriosyce. More root than stem! Also like the P. valentini. I'd like to try sowing seed one day.
Thank you! I got the Eriosyce from a young grower and seller (@lophonation on Instagram) who had a stand at the plant fair of our cactus society. He mainly grows Lophophora, Turbinicarpus, etc... He does really interesting stagings of his plants. I have no experience with the species, but I'm going to document whether it has a retractive root or not. The grower gave me advice on how to keep the plant growing compact. I think it was the addition of limestone. I'm not sure anymore.
The Pterocactus valentini I got last year along with a whole bunch of Pterocacti cuttings from cactusshop.eu in Hungary. It is very hard to find seeds, because —as I understand it— they don't generate a lot of them. In general, most shops don't offer a large selection of these cacti, if at all. If you lived in Europe, I definitely would have sent you one.
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
ohugal wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 4:07 pm
Thank you! I got the Eriosyce from a young grower and seller (@lophonation on Instagram) who had a stand at the plant fair of our cactus society. He mainly grows Lophophora, Turbinicarpus, etc... He does really interesting stagings of his plants. I have no experience with the species, but I'm going to document whether it has a retractive root or not. The grower gave me advice on how to keep the plant growing compact. I think it was the addition of limestone. I'm not sure anymore.
The Pterocactus valentini I got last year along with a whole bunch of Pterocacti cuttings from cactusshop.eu in Hungary. It is very hard to find seeds, because —as I understand it— they don't generate a lot of them. In general, most shops don't offer a large selection of these cacti, if at all. If you lived in Europe, I definitely would have sent you one.
I guess the limestone will keep the soil on the basic side, slowing growth?
In the States, you'd be lucky to find cuttings of anything other than P. tuberosus. ADBLPS has a good variety of Pterocactus seeds. I bought seeds of P. araucanus and P. australis, but never seen valentini offered in the last three years I've bought seeds from him.
MrXeric wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2023 3:43 amI guess the limestone will keep the soil on the basic side, slowing growth?
Calcium is an important secondary major nutrient for cacti, so limestone inhibits growth if it's the wrong calcium source for a number of species. Read this in detail (and I hope it doesn't make smoke come out of your ears! ):
That post is the list of cacti I'm growing with MikeInOz's recommendations on which ones get limestone, gypsum or both. It sure made smoke come out of my ears, and a nitrogen-free CalMag supplement like the TPS CalMag I'm using makes the situation a lot easier to deal with. Unfortunately Oscar can't get a nitrogen-free CalMag in Europe, so the species I have on my list plus Mike's recommendations may be able give him some general guidance.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
I'll check out ADBLPS for seeds. I'll be more vigilant at ELK this year, but I can't seem to find sellers with Pterocacti seeds. It's one of those genera of which I'd like to have every species. They really spark my imagination. When I look at them, I fantasize what their habitat is like. It's something I don't have with Echinopsis for example.
I'm very thankfull for that list of MikeInOz. I think I copied it somewhere into my notes. Although if anyone knows where to get a nitrogen free CalMag supplement in Europe, I'd be happy to know. Anyways, the sentence: "There is no such thing as too much calcium." is etched into my brain.
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele subs. minimus. This picture is from a few weeks ago. In the meanwhile the sun seems to back and the temperatures are also rising again. There are a lot more buds on it at the moment. I hope they flower. I had to cover the miniature greenhouse with 40% shade cloth because I have some newly repotted succulents in there. Even with the shade cloth there is enough light over a period of 24 hours, but I have the feeling for flowers the intensity of the light plays a part. Let's see.
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Location
Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
The first 4 pictures are a bunch of cuttings I got over the summer. A big thank you to Nachtkrabb for the Selenicereus and Hatoria cuttings. It's still relatively warm here, so I hope to root them before autumn. Let's see. I'm very fascinated by the spination on the S. donkelaari (3rd photo). The stems are a lot more rigid and thinner than other Selenicereus. Last winter my S. grandiflorus hibernated in a room where the temperature drops to min. 10°C. It has put on a lot of new growth this year. I assume these cuttings can withstand similar temperatures. The 2nd photo is Delosperma echinatum and 4th photo is Hatoria salicornioides, which reminds me a bit of an irregular shaped Rhipsalis mesembryanthemoides. 5th is a blooming G. ragonesei (finally!). It looks a bit rugged. Whenever I water it seems to soak up water via it's epidermis. Since my soil contains 1 part loam it deposits on the visible part of the body. Does anybody else have this?
N°6 is M. vetula ssp. gracilis which has finally put on decent growth after 2 years of standstill. I literally picked these up from the ground in the botanical garden of Palermo 3 or 4 years ago. They rooted succesfully, but good growth did not happen until now. It's only the first summer since the new fertilizer regiment, but I already think it's (already) paying off. Last photo is O. zebrina f. reticulata. I'm not great with Opuntia. These seems to be doing great and don't have as many glochids. They also stay relatively small. I have 2 rooted cuttings. If you live in Europe, I'd be happy to send them to those who are interested.
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Location
Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
A view of the miniature coldframe/greenhouse in my garden. Since it is not that sunny anymore I took off the shade cloth (50%). Upcoming summer I will use a 30% cloth, because the 50% blocked too much light. To determine the light levels I used a DLI meter (daily light integral) (https://www.specmeters.com/lightmeters/dli100/). I really helped a lot and I used all around the house for other plants as well.
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Location
Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
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