Cacti we've lost

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ohugal
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by ohugal »

All mineral soil. Only watered it on sunny days. Humidity was very high this summer (70-80%). Temperature was around 24 degrees celcius. Went on vacation for 2 weeks and probably didn’t leave the window open wide enough. During the week I have a fan running on a timer with the windows open or a dehumidifier with the windows closed. I don’t trust the fan enough to have running for 2 weeks without supervision. Also had an echinocereus russanthus which developed some type of mould. Never had issues like this before. Summer was expectionally wet this year. A lot of my tropicals also had mould on the top soil.
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Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
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7george
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Cacti we've lost in 2023

Post by 7george »

These five of my plants are among those perished at some point this year.
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IMG_926.JPG (169.15 KiB) Viewed 4004 times
Not counting numerous seedlings or segments that did not make it through the year. Pests or diseases, natural factors or just bad care. From some of those I have seedlings or offsets left.

BTW, some of the obituaries can be posted too early, before the body in question has turned to dust. ꜜ↓
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Like two of these Frailea declared lost, that survived and even bloomed in year or two afterwards.
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Nature needs stuff to recycle and provide nutrients and sunny spots to be freed for the next generations.
So we continue with the rest of the collections ahead.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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MrXeric
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Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by MrXeric »

Some of my losses this year.

Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae seedling
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Coryphantha echinoidea 'schwarziana'
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Conophytum pellucidum 'neohallii'. A bird pulled it out of its pot 2 years ago, repotted last year to find no root growth, this year it finally dried out.
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Lost all three from watering too soon after repotting late in winter, Astrophytum asterias and a hybrid.
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Kept the "skeletons" :lol:
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zpeckler
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Location: Butte County, California, Zone 9b

Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by zpeckler »

Raise a toast for our honored dead...
https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47989

...And a near-miss. Fortunately survived!
https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47720
--------------------
Zac

Butte County, CA, USA
USDA Zone 9b
Mediterranean climate; hot, dry, sunny summers with rainy, moist, mild winters.
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Nino_G
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Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Re: Cacti we've lost in 2023

Post by Nino_G »

7george wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2023 5:16 pm Image



Hello 7george, I'm interested what species/subspecies/form/hybrid is (was) the Turbinicarpus in the picture? I really like the black spines!
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7george
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Re: Cacti we've lost in 2023

Post by 7george »

Nino_G wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2023 4:54 pm
Hello 7george, I'm interested what species/subspecies/form/hybrid is (was) the Turbinicarpus in the picture? I really like the black spines!
Hi, Nino, That was Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus, possibly ssp. rubriflorus.
Turbinicarpus_schmiedickeanus.jpg
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Adult plants of Turbinicarpus are very sensitive to overwatering, need just a few sips in a year, maybe their resistance also drops with age.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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Nino_G
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by Nino_G »

Thank you for the quick answer 7george. It's certainly schmiedickeanus but what confuses me is the combination of the relatively long tubercles (characteristic of T. s. gracilis) and pink flowers that might be present in number of the forms in "T. schmiedickeanus" group (but not in gracilis). I asked because I currently sowed some seeds of Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus "pintares" VM 805, Santa Rita, SLP which suppose to have long-ish tubercles and pink flowers, but lacks black spines of your specimen. :-k
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7george
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by 7george »

Tubercles change with age, spines differ in color when wet or sun-bleached, also from variety or field number. Don't have seeds from those even I have had 2 plants for many years.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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Nino_G
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by Nino_G »

7george wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2023 12:38 am Tubercles change with age, spines differ in color when wet or sun-bleached, also from variety or field number.
I'm aware of that, I have several Turbinicarpi in my care for over 30 years (some of them grown from seed by myself 35 years ago).
Recently I managed to acquire seeds from a Czech grower of T. s. schwarzii from Charco Blanco region in SLP, apparently a form with distinctive black spines. They germinated well, we shall see the results in couple of years.
Best regards,
Nino
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madkactus
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by madkactus »

I was away for a month late in the year. When I returned the cactus was affected with mealies . I picked off as many as possible. The mealies in hard to get areas I lightly zapped off the cactus with water from water bottle. A couple weeks later the cactus started rotting at the bottom. I know Melocacti can be sensitive to water during winter and it's usually prudent to keep them dry during the winter.
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jerrytheplater
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by jerrytheplater »

madkactus wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:27 pm I was away for a month late in the year. When I returned the cactus was affected with mealies . I picked off as many as possible. The mealies in hard to get areas I lightly zapped off the cactus with water from water bottle. A couple weeks later the cactus started rotting at the bottom. I know Melocacti can be sensitive to water during winter and it's usually prudent to keep them dry during the winter.
That hurts. Sorry for that.
Jerry Smith
Bloomingdale, NJ
45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
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madkactus
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by madkactus »

jerrytheplater wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:23 pm
madkactus wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:27 pm I was away for a month late in the year. When I returned the cactus was affected with mealies . I picked off as many as possible. The mealies in hard to get areas I lightly zapped off the cactus with water from water bottle. A couple weeks later the cactus started rotting at the bottom. I know Melocacti can be sensitive to water during winter and it's usually prudent to keep them dry during the winter.
That hurts. Sorry for that.
Thanks Jerry. Actually I'm not too bummed out about it. I've had an unlucky stretch with Melo's for the past several years. Irronically my first Melo was problem free, very sturdy and I had it over 8 years until I repotted it. Since then I've lost every single one. I have a very nice matazanus and hopefully it will be with me a long time.
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anttisepp
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by anttisepp »

I think melos aren't sensitive to water but to mealies undoubtedly. Have you treated them by water only?
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by Steve Johnson »

We had a Melocactus expert on the forum who gave us the benefit of his long experience. Unfortunately the photos in his presentation disappeared some years ago, but the detailed thread he started in 2014 is still instructive:

https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33959

If nothing else, his first post will bust a few myths many growers have regarding the genus.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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madkactus
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Re: Cacti we've lost

Post by madkactus »

anttisepp wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2024 3:38 pm I think melos aren't sensitive to water but to mealies undoubtedly. Have you treated them by water only?
Yes. only water. I didn't use that much. When I disgarded the plant I broke it open to inspect and it was pretty rotten on the inside. I think now that it was perhaps already not in good health. The little streams of water I used should not have rotted it so easy . This melo had mealy problems ever since I got it a couple of years ago that I had to combat from time to time. The mealies would be in the cephalium and then spread out from there. When I was gone for a month the mealies had a good opportunity to spread out over most of the cactus.
Last edited by madkactus on Thu Feb 01, 2024 4:57 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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