Growing strategy ?

[7george]

What is your strategy as cactus & succulent collectors?

A few pots for the living room? Every species you can get? One or two plants of every genus? Everything that would fit in your greenhouse or hose or maybe all types of plants seen in the stores. Big plants, small plants, bloomers, spiny or spineless maybe. Jungle, North-American or cold-hardy? I know that point of view and preferences change with time.

I will wright about my present perception later on.

[DaveW]

I specialised in Cacti since it gave me a better concept of the family as a whole. Vague terms like "Other Succulents" simply meant growing an untypical section of many plant families unless you simply specialise in a succulent genus within a family. There are few plant families where all the genera are succulent and even the Cactaceae has Pereskia.

Mind you it would be difficult to specialise in the Euphorbiaceae as its such a diverse family.

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/g ... orbiaceae/

As they say "each to their own!".

[keith]

Mostly smaller Mexican cactus and African mesembs . Mostly from seeds the last 10 years .

[Holunder]

I started sowing cacti a year and a half ago. Since then I have sown many different seeds of rather smaller species and many of them have germinated wonderfully. I also bought some plants, then mostly two of a kind to produce seeds.

[zpeckler]

My strong preference is for North American cacti. I have a diverse collection of cacti from both the American Southwest and Mexico, mostly Ferocactus, Echinocactus, Echinocereus, Chollas, Bergerocactus, and Mammilarias. I have a few of the larger marquis species such as Saguaro, Cardon, and Organ Pipe that will not grow to appreciable size in my lifetime, but I also have lots of smaller and medium growers to round things out. I've started sowing seeds of some of the native California species that are rarer in cultivation: E. polycephalus, M. tetrancistra, M. dioica, and E. johnsonii, but these guys are all little seedlings less than a year old. I'm most excited about growing the species that are from where I'm from, or at least to places I frequently travel to and have a "personal relationship" with. Genuses like Copiapoa seem to be all the rage these days, but a well-grown and mature Echinocereus engelmanii excites me a lot more even though it's a lot more common and "everyday" because I can go out and find it in local-ish places I love.

That being said, I do also have a few South American species--Espostoa, Rebutia, Oreocereus, Gymno, and Cleistocereus--just because they're cool plants.

[Sonoran Jackalope]

Most of my focus is southwestern US species and northern mexican species. I also like growing lots of plants from seeds. Cultivars don’t really do it for me and I prefer a plant with locality information over a variegated specimen. Also, I prefer seed-grown plants and not a fan of grafted plants (I do have some grafts of Aztekium and Geohintonia.)

Then from there, I keep mostly plants of certain genuses that do well without too much extra care in the Phoenix area (thus, why I mostly keep borderland species.)
Examples:
Ariocarpus
Astrophytum
Aztekium
Echinocactus
Epithelantha
Escobaria
Geohintonia
Strombocactus
Turbinicarpus
and some other odds and ends

Furthermore, I keep a bunch of specimens of my favorite species (and those I’ll try to keep several localities) such as:
Ariocarpus fissuratus (mostly Texas locales)
Astrophytum asterias (TX locale)
Astrophytum coahuilense
Aztekium ritteri
Aztekium valdezii
Bursera microphylla (not a cacti-but one of my fav trees!)
Echinocactus horizonthalonius (mostly TX and MX locales)
Epithelantha bokei
Epithelantha chihuahuaensis and cryptica
Yucca rigida (Yuccas are very easy to care for in Phx area and tough{take heat and cold well!])

I know I said I don’t really like cultivars but my dream plants would be a crested Epithelantha bokei and/or Astrophytum coahuilense. My plan is to sow lots of seeds and see what happens! The fun part of growing is getting some random cool stuff growing!

Looking at these lists, it looks like I mostly keep Chihuahuan desert species (trans-pecos is one of my favorite places to explore) and a touch of Sonoran species (I love the sky islands!) I grow a lot of native stuff and will trade/ give them away. Also, I love growing because then I have more things to trade!

Always looking for more seeds and plants of:
Any Aztekium (no grafts)
Epithelantha bokei
Epithelantha chihuahuaensis/cryptica
Epithelantha greggii potosina
Epithelantha ilariae
Epithelantha polycephala
Let me know!

Sorry for the long posts, but once the ball got rolling- it took a while to stop!

[Mrs.Green]

It’s not more than three years since I started ‘seriously’ growing cacti again , so I am very much a beginner yet. I only grow indoors on my windowsills. Knowing what I now knows, that even on windowsills, far north- you can get a lot more cacti to bloom than I initially thought. I wouldn’t have bought so many columnars or Opuntias, which are higly unlikely to ever bloom on a windowsill.

I don’t live in ‘cactiland’ which in this case means that there aren’t any nurseries or shops that specialises in cacti or even has many cacti in their sortiment. So most of my cacti/succulents come from garden centers/flowershops. Unfortunately I seems to be the only ‘gay in town’ when it comes to cacti . I have asked the staff in the local flowershops if there are anybody else asking for more cacti, which they denies. Seeing how long the cacti ( I don’t buy..) stand on the shelves, I have no reason to not belive in them.

This lack of ‘real’ interest in cacti here , means that the shops don’t have many cacti for sale and re-stock seldom.

Even though I now have a preference for windowsill sized cacti that I can get to bloom, I have a weak spot for ‘hairy’ cacti and cacti with extra long spines..so there are a few of those too, competing for the space.. Mammillarias ,Parodias and Lobivias are my favourites so far. They actually grows and bloom for me. Not to forget the christmas/easter cacti off course. The latter ones still are blooming. Rare/expencive means nothing to me, if I am not attracted to the species for some reason.

[DaveW]

If there are cactus nurserymen in your country Mrs Green buying by post from online dealers lists is a better way of obtaining more uncommon species?

http://www.cactus-mall.com/nursery.html

For those in the EU I think you can still import from any EU country?

[Kipody]

I grow cacti with my son. He is 5 and he is super into it. He drags me to our greenhouse every day to look at the cacti, check who is flowering, look at the seedlings or collects seeds. We grow lots of stuff from seeds and we then trade with local nurseries offering them 2 of our cacti for every one of theirs. This way we are able to diversify our collection. Its some how a nicer experience than going in and paying for the cacti. I guess that the feeling of ownership and achievement that we get with our own plants, spills over on to the ones we get when we trade. It also always prompts a much more meaningful relationship with the nursery staff compared to regular shoppers. We try to get at least 2 of every species so we can make more seedlings in the future.

[7george]

My growing strategy is simple: to keep small cacti and some succulents that are well adaptable to my house conditions and mostly fit to the windowsills. A few outdoors' hardy plants are rather exception. Also potted plants moved seasonally on my deck are part of the solution due to the lack of optimal conditions indoors. Not forcing myself to grow species needing special or different environment. If I end up one day with the same tint clones of some Echinopsis or another lucky species will be also OK.

today's bloom

53015682916_06da9ddb35_h.jpg (63.49 KiB) Viewed 6618 times

[MrXeric]

My strategy is to grow whatever interests me, primarily from seed. The majority of my collection is cactus, but I like other succulents (and non-succulents) too. I prefer miniatures over large or columnar plants, the typical forms of naturally occurring plants over crests/monstrose/cultivars/hybrids, the price equivalent number of less desired plants I like over the single, expensive and "rare" plant I and everyone else wants.

I find new interests online, mostly by going through seed lists and researching the family of plants of something that caught my eye. Also by scrolling through social media, like reddit. Recently I became interested in the plant family Montiaceae; mostly the miniature, geophytic, alpine plants, especially the species with succulent leaves. Like Lewisia rediviva or Phemaranthus brevifolius. Also part of the family are two monotypic species that I have no hope of ever growing because they do not exist in cultivation, Lenzia chamaepitys and Lyallia kerguelensis. The latter grows on the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands, desolate and uninhabited except for scientists conducting research.

I keep track of everything I grow through a spreadsheet: Cactaceae (47 genera, roughly half North American half South American, 185 species and subspecies total, 53 of which are Mammillaria/Cochemiea), Aizoaceae (15 genera, 44 species, almost half of which are species of Conophytum), and Miscellaneous (36 species, roughly half from various genera of Crassulaceae). It sounds like a lot, but most of these are seedlings in 2 or 3in pots on either one larger (about 6ft wide 5ft tall) wooden shelving unit or one smaller (about 4ft wide 3 ft tall) wooden frame. A handful of larger pots are spread around the backyard. Since I grow mostly miniatures, at most I would need to build one more larger shelving unit to fit everything once they are more mature. I just need to make sure to get rid of the extra seedlings!

[jerrytheplater]

Just getting back from a week in Boston with our Trail Life USA troop and just seeing this now.

I am growing plants that I can keep overwinter in one way or another. I'm still trying to figure that out.

I have a bunch of small very cold and dry hardy plants that can overwinter in the detached garage without supplemental light:

Cacti: Echinocereus reichenbachii miniature, Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. perbellus, Echinocereus triglochidiatus CCSS 4-23 show, Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. inermis M2G, Escobaria minima, Escobaria missouriensis, Escobaria sneedii, Escobaria sneedii ssp. leeii, Escobaria vivipara, Pediocactus simpsonii.

Other succulents: Delosperma cooperi, Sedum sp., Sempervivum arachnoidieum, Sempervivum calcareum, Sempervivum pirenaicum.

I have plants that need winter temps above freezing and bright which I can currently store at my friends greenhouse:

Cacti: Chamaeocereus silvestrii, Copiapoa humilis, Echinocereus rigidissimus M2G, Echinocereus rigidissimus ssp rubispinus L088 M2G, Echinopsis huascha var. purpureominiata M2G, Epithelantha micromeris M2G, Eriosyce (Neoporteria) senilis, Lophophora diffusa var. koehresii, Maihueniopsis darwinii CCSS, Mammillaria gracilis, Mammillaria grahamii, Mammillaria haageana HD 1, Sulcorebutia arenacea, Tephrocactus articulatus var. papyracanthus.

And I have plants that need warm bright winter conditions which I stored last year under LED light in an unused upstairs bedroom:

Cacti: Discocactus zehntneri ssp. araniespinus M2G, Ferocactus latispinus, Ferocactus pilosus, Ferocactus wislizeni, Frailea castanea, Frailea parviflora, Gymnocalycium pflanzii, Leuchtenbergia principis, Mammillaria marksiana HD 2, Mammillaria nivosa HD 3, Matucana ritteri M2G, Parodia haselbergii, Parodia magnifica, Parodia mammulosa ssp. submammulosa, Schlumbergera Christmas Cactus.

Madagascar Euphorbia: Euphorbia ambovombensis, E. cylindrifolia, E. cylindrifolia ssp tuberifera, E. decaryi var. cap-saintemariensis, E. decaryi v. decaryi, E. decaryi v. spirosticha, E. francoisii, E. tulearensis.

Other succulents: Delosperma echinatum, Titanopsis hugo-schlecteri M2G, Trichodiadema bulbosum, Trichodiadema densum.

[FredBW]

My problem is I have had no strategy I am going to have to develop one because I have more plants than I know what to do with.
It's one of those things where you wake up one day and go "how in the *&%^ did this happen". Seedlings,off sets,plants growing faster than I thought they would. I need to do like Jerry and overwinter some in the garage,or maybe just move to a desert
I am sure there are others on this forum that went overboard also. But I'm afraid my future strategy will be downsizing

[7george]

My problem is I have had no strategy I am going to have to develop one because I have more plants than I know what to do with.

(some) Neglecting of the collection can bring it to more manageable size... Just do not miss the moment when you need to start to focus again on fat pricks.

[nachtkrabb]

Oh, you do have a strategy...?
Well, I live together with about 150 cacti & succulents plus maybe 40 other plants.
* Either I got them as gifts from friends or from people (I usually like) here in the forum.
* Or I brought them home with me because I thought they look really nice.
So I admit I "collect" only plants close to my heart and I am not ashamed for not having any other strategy since I was about 8years old (meaning since about 45years).

Yes, the space in my flat plus unheated stairwell (winter) resp. balconies (summer) is restricted. During the winter we are rather crowded. But as the spikeys usually crowd the stairwell, nobody gets hurt. Somehow we manage from season to season.

But it is really interesting to read about your very different strategies, thank you.
N.