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Hi guys and gals,

It's that time again, the Cactus of the Month is up on the Forum. For regular vistors to the Forum you will know that the Cactus of the Month for November is very dear to my heart. I hope that you enjoy it too.

In the editorial I have followed where my research has taken me, and said that the plant is not a particularly difficult to one keep. I could argue that point, but cannot in truth set my own personal experience or ineptitude against the weight of expert opinion.

Once again any errors in the text are solely down to me and if they are pointed out to me, I will not be offended in any way. These monthly editorials are for the benefit of the members and it is essential they are as accurate as possible.

I hope you enjoy this genus as much as I do.

John

Hi all,

We are in the middle of a real cold snap in England, so I thought I would cheer myself up by finishing the December Cactus of the Month. It is now up on the Forum and I hope you like it.

As usual all mistakes are mine and if anyone notices any please let me know.

We now have a full 12 months and I have enjoyed doing them enormously. Don't forget the Succulent of the Month will be starting in January next year, for those who like that side of the hobby too.

Best Wishes Everybody and Good Health,

John

Thanks again John, I really like waiting to see which one you're going to pick next!

Hi guys and gals,

It certainly does not seem a year since we started this monthly cactus write up, but here we are on the verge of 2006.

I do not think there will be many members who do not like the January plant, but of course if we all liked the same plants (or anything else for that matter) the world would not be half so interesting.

Some feedback would be nice to see if I am heading in the right direction with this feature. I would like to include some taller columnar plants, but of course I do not have any. I could take some from the net (with permission of course) but because of their size they are not usually close ups and this is pretty much essential for what I am trying to make a good identification photograph for the species featured. I do not think a part of the plant would work well in the monthly feature, but if you think it would, let me know.
Another point I would like to make is that I have tried to stick mostly with younger plants (4 or 5 years old), as I feel that they are less marked with the passage of time and tend to give a better representation of the species when they are nice 'clean' plants.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL AND GOOD GROWING

John

templegatejohn wrote:It certainly does not seem a year since we started this monthly cactus write up, but here we are on the verge of 2006.

That is probably because you actually started in June and filled in backwards to January.

I think you are doing great on the COTM! I look forward to see which one you are going to do next.

As for columnars, I have lots of images in addition to what is on-line that might be helpful. As for the size problem, I think the best approach would be like the tree guys do. See here:

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology ... cfm?ID=223

You hit a home run on this one for sure -keep doing what you're doing!

Daiv
PS> Did you mean to "lock" the COTM post?

John, your doing a great job on COTM.
Nice looking cacti with a great photo and excellent description. As far as I'm concerned you don't need to change anything.

You Da Man

Bill

Thanks for the comments guys and sorry Dominique I did mean to lock the Cactus of the Month and have had to delete your kind comment ( This is indeed a little beauty... Thank you !). Totally my fault.

John

February cactus of the Month is up. Doesn't time pass when you are having fun. Hope you like the choice, not the most exotic cactus you will find, but I think a good looker, and an excellent flowering plant.

John

John,
Excellent choice! Rare and exotic plants are great, but not as practical. I like that you are mixing in some very common species too!

Daiv

Nice pick John. One of my favorites as well. This one was beautiful until a snail had a part of a rib for lunch.

Hi all,

Cactus of the Month for March is posted. This is one of my favourite Mammillaria and i'm pretty sure you will like it too, I hope so. One again if you spot a mistake, please don't hesitate to let me know.

John

Nice looking mamm . I'm constantly amazed at some of the cacti. This one is no exception with the size of the flowers compared to the cacti itself.

Keep them coming John, I love the pictures even if the don't have real spines

Good stuff John! I always look forward to this feature. It really adds to the forum!

Thanks guys, it's appreciated.
John

Hi guys and gals,

No it is not that time just yet, but just a few lines to try to clarify a small matter with the Cactus of the Month.

I have had several members contact me to ask why I always use younger specimens of the plants and do not put in phtographs of larger plants. I will do my best to put down my reasons.

I asked Daiv if he thought it would be a good idea to start a Cactus of the Month feature and he agreed. My initial thoughts were to provide as much information as possible about a particular cactus or succulent and I hope that in a small way, I have been able to achieve this. Once I started the feature I realised that a secondary benefit would be the fact that some members may see a photograph of a particular plant and wish to purchase it.

As most plants are sold as young specimens I thought that these were probably the best examples to show in the photographs. They look fresh, spine colouration is usually good and the body of the plant is in most cases unmarked.

Although we all love our older plants dearly, they usually cannot compete with the younger ones in the good looks department. A little like humans, or so my sons keep telling me.

If members would like to see the odd 'tree' in the feature, let me know and I will try to provide one.

John