What's up with this Mammillaria hahniana

[WayneByerly]

I bought this M. hahniana back in Aug of 2013. Which would make it about 6 years older than when I first acquired it. When I first got it, it was, like all other hahniana's i've seen, globular in shape. Now it looks more like a beer keg than anything. And it has done the most peculiar thing. Just like when they flower and produce flowers in a circular crown around the top of the plant, it has also produced something like 19 offsets/pups in a circle around the top of the cactus. I've used Google Search to find pictures of this cactus, and after having looked at hundreds of photos of this species, have as yet to see another hahniana do what this one has done. I've seen them pup at ground level, but never so high up the side.

Does this one particular cactus inspire any comment from any of the other members here?

And while I'm thinking of it, do cactus grow in value as they put on years? And if they do, What would a cactus I paid about $8 for, six years ago, be worth today. This is idle curiosity. I've some 86 or so pots of cacti and have a MINOR interest in what they might be worth.

Anyway, this is what it looks like as of this morning. Pardon my hand ... it's there for scale. For all the good it does ... the cactus actually looks smaller in the picture than it actually is.

20191017_124139-1024x768.jpg (106.43 KiB) Viewed 2112 times

[ElieEstephane]

Awesome plant! Can't wait till mine are as big. Growing habit is normal. They should in general pup much closer to the soil level but it's not unlikely to pup higher up so it should grow into a very interesting plant.
As for value, it can get a very good price since you can mostly only buy small seedlings from nurseries and shops

[wilsontucker]

Cactus prices are so variable, by location, store, online/offline etc. Could find it somewhere for $10-30 probably. All those extra pups make it a bit unique, and when it grows out all weird in the coming years it could be a nice showpiece and worth something to people who like weirdos/clumpers.

[TimN]

Cactus are definitely more expensive now than they were 6 or so years ago. Since getting back into collecting I've been shocked by the prices. Prices depend on a number of factors, but large specimens in good condition are going to fetch more than the rest. Finding the audience is the key part. Not everyone is going to pay stupid money for a plant.

There is a nursery that has plants about that size (gallon pots) for $15-20. They go up quickly from there.

That is definitely a weird hahniana. I had a plant I thought was a hanhniana (it was in a pot with two other hahnianas, after all). It has less felt that normal hahnianas and has a similar ring of offsets around the base of the plant. I"m interested to see what it turns into.

[WayneByerly]

Cactus are definitely more expensive now than they were 6 or so years ago. Since getting back into collecting I've been shocked by the prices. Prices depend on a number of factors, but large specimens in good condition are going to fetch more than the rest. Finding the audience is the key part. Not everyone is going to pay stupid money for a plant.

When I first started buying cacti about 9 years ago I regularly bought cacti that were a good four inches across for somewhere between 8 and $12. Now what you buy for 8 to $12 is a little tiny two inch thing. It's quiet frustrating to me.

There is a nursery that has plants about that size (gallon pots) for $15-20. They go up quickly from there. .

You want to provide a URL for them? THAT is a good deal! And like I said ... it LOOKS smaller than it really is. I THINK that the pot is a good 2 gallon pot and the cactus is about 10 inches tall and is something like 6 years old (6 yrs post acquisition). You'd pay almost that much for a new specimen. At least from what i'm seeing these days. I don't mean to be argumentative, but am just speaking about what i see these days.

That is definitely a weird hahniana. I had a plant I thought was a hanhniana (it was in a pot with two other hahnianas, after all). It has less felt that normal hahnianas and has a similar ring of offsets around the base of the plant. I"m interested to see what it turns into.

Ive seen pictures of M. hahniata that pup at soil level ... but not too many. I've never seen one pup anywhere near the top like this one has. And the fact is there are so many pups around the circumference of the plant is just incredible to me. As for what it turns into ... Its October now ... but i'll probab post pix of this cactus again next growing season.