Visiting Kaktusy

Share info and Pictures about gardens, parks, nurseries, and other locations with cacti.
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Steve Johnson
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Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Visiting Kaktusy

Post by Steve Johnson »

I have relatives in the Czech Republic, and it was a distinct pleasure to spend a week with them when I went there for the 3rd time in September 2019. I knew of at least 1 cactus nursery in the Czech Republic, so I did some research on the matter beforehand. What I turned up is a nursery some of our European members may already know about -- Kaktusy, located in the town of Chrudim. My cousins kindly arranged for a visit to Kaktusy on September 16, and here's what the place looks like:

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2 of my cousins and I were the only people there when we arrived to greet our hosts Lida and Pavel Pavlicek:

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The Pavliceks don't speak English, but my cousins do, so they translated as I had a simply wonderful conversation with them talking cacti that afternoon. Lida and Pavel are in their 70s, so part of that conversation was asking him if he was able to build a cactus collection during the Communist era. He said "yes", but grown plants were impossible to obtain, so all he could get were seeds. And he had to pay for them in US dollars, which were hard to come by back in those days. After the "Iron Curtain" fell, everything changed for cactus and succulent fans in central and eastern Europe. What the Pavliceks have been accomplishing since then is absolutely amazing, so if you ever make it to the Czech Republic, go to Kaktusy and the experience will give you cactus dreams!

Of course I had a camera with me, coming home with 40-some-odd hi-res photos when I returned to L.A. I took those pics and turned them into 110, so I have a 5 part gallery for you. Before we begin Part 1, I just wanted to mention that if you live in the EU, you can buy seeds and plants from Kaktusy. If you live outside the EU, the headache involved with importing cacti may not be worth it, but buying seeds is another matter -- if you grow cacti from seed, Kaktusy is a source very much worth looking into. Here's the website:

https://www.cact.cz/

The site is in Czech, but it has built-in English, German, and Russian translators with Google to make things a little easier.

Now for some photos, as I give you an overview of the Pavliceks' collection:

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That's one of my cousins in the process of being fascinated. By the way, she got her very first cactus as we ended our afternoon -- sweet! The cloudy day (with a touch of late-summer rain) was perfect for the photo session, so I think you'll enjoy the results as we move through the rest of the gallery.

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Before we continue on to Part 2, here are a couple of plants with flowers that are unusually spectacular:

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Definitely not cacti, and I'm not sure if they're succulents either -- does anyone happen to know what they are? If you do, please let me know!
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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Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Visiting Kaktusy (Part 2)

Post by Steve Johnson »

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If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Visiting Kaktusy (Part 3)

Post by Steve Johnson »

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If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Visiting Kaktusy (Part 4)

Post by Steve Johnson »

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If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Visiting Kaktusy (Part 5)

Post by Steve Johnson »

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I hope you enjoyed my photo gallery -- maybe it'll give you cactus dreams of your own! :D
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Jangaudi
Posts: 457
Joined: Sun Aug 04, 2019 2:21 pm
Location: Gent, Belgium

Re: Visiting Kaktusy

Post by Jangaudi »

that flowering bulb is probably a Scadoxus multiflorus
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Steve Johnson
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Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Re: Visiting Kaktusy

Post by Steve Johnson »

Jangaudi wrote: Sun Oct 27, 2019 7:44 pm that flowering bulb is probably a Scadoxus multiflorus
Thanks!
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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gemhunter178
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Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:10 pm
Location: Massachusetts,USA. Zone 6A

Re: Visiting Kaktusy

Post by gemhunter178 »

Geez, what an impressive amount and size of plants!
Nice to know how some of the seeds I bought a few years ago come to be!

Thanks for sharing!
A cactus and succulent collector who especially likes Ariocarpus. …Though I have a bit of everything! Want some pictures? See my flickr! I also do art and such.
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BennieAnTheJets
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Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:38 pm
Location: Virginia, USA (Zone 7a)

Re: Visiting Kaktusy

Post by BennieAnTheJets »

Thanks for sharing the pics! Awesome!
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