21August2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Other Succulents.
Apologies for the protracted silence; it has after all been peak growing season and it’s a good deal more entertaining to be faffing about with plants than faffing about with computers.
Last weekend saw the 2008 British Cactus and Succulent Society National Show in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire - and what a show it was. Needless to say I brought back some new greenhouse inhabitants, including a couple of beautiful Mammillaria luethyi on their own roots from David Quail.
Click the massive Pterocactus tuberosus to see my pictures from the show!
17July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Propagation.
For the first time, I have enough surplus cactus seedlings to actually need to get rid of some. It’s quite a source of pride.
This batch of Echinocactus grusonii seedlings sown in 2006 are destined for the Gardeners’ Weekend held in King’s Heath Park on the 30th and 31st of August, where they’ll be sitting among plants for sale from other members of the Birmingham Branch of the British Cactus and Succulent Society.
15July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’m currently experimenting with a few plants of Rhipsalis pilocarpa outdoors; I’ve cut holes in the bottom of some pots just big enough to thread the plants’ root balls through, and then packed them in with a mixture of sphagnum moss and compost.
I’ve read that the capillary action of rhipsalis is quite poor if they are grown normally and that this method, with the roots above the stems of the plants, keeps them much happier. Time will tell…
15July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’ve noticed this week that the small piece of Puna clavarioides that I’ve been establishing has begun to grow, sending a small shoot out of its side. It took a good long while to want to send roots out, and in fact several pieces from the same cutting are still yet to root, more than 7 months after I received them.
It does seem to be behaving slightly differently to a single-joint piece of Puna bonnieae that I’ve rooted. It seems to have diverted most of its energy into the production of a tuber, and has shown no signs of vegetative growth this year, although it’s clearly reasonably happy and plump. The clavarioides is on the left, of course.
7July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Propagation.
I know it’s received wisdom that opuntias generally grow like weeds, but I always find it interesting that so many of the smaller members of the Opuntioideae can sit around for such a long time before they deign to throw down roots. Bottom warmth doesn’t always help, either.
All three of these cuttings were received towards the end of last year, and it’s only in the past month that they have done anything other than sitting there grinning.
As quite often happens (I have an Airampoa erectoclada cutting currently doing the same thing) the Airampoa nigrispina pictured below came into growth before rooting.
From left to right: Tephrocactus weberi, Cumulopuntia sphaerica, and Airampoa nigrispina.
6July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I recently picked up a small collection of opuntioids that were being disposed of - a handful of tunillas, a very short-spined form of Cumulopuntia sphaerica, a Tephrocactus molinensis and this Maihueniopsis minuta WG299 (the WG number indicating a René Geissler accession code).
Quite where it had been growing, I’m not sure, but it clearly hadn’t had enough light.
If you think the basal joints are elongated you should have seen the top growth that I pruned off it!
However, it’s obviously a pretty robust specimen as just a few weeks later it has sprung into growth, and this time round it’s up on the top shelf, and the new segments are that pleasing egg-shape that they’re supposed to be.
For contrast, here’s a plant that I’ve had for years, bought directly from René Geissler himself, which I’ve grown in strong light throughout. As a result its habit is far more compact.
6July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that the plant I have labelled as Selenicereus pteranthus is in fact the same thing as the one I have labelled as Selenicereus spinulosus. The "pteranthus" has proved to be self-fertile, with almost identical flowers, and it looks as though even the fruits are identical.
On the left, Selenicereus spinulosus, with a fruit from last year, and on the right, S. "pteranthus".
6July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
It’s been another one of those years for my ariocarpus. I’ve lost an Ariocarpus fissuratus which seemingly never re-established its feeder roots after the winter, and my A. lloydii is looking distinctly peaky, having apparently decided to discard all but a couple of tubercles in the centre of the plant. They both came from the same source, and I must admit when I see plants like the one on the left flourishing, I wonder whether the sickliness of those plants is related.
It’s reassuring when a plant as slow-growing as Ariocarpus scapharostris is very obviously in growth, showing the lovely fresh green colour of a new tubercle. It will of course be a good long while before these tubercles reach their full size, but at least it’s moving!
6July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Other Succulents; Propagation.
My Lithops julii ssp fulleri seedlings have reached an important milestone: the production of their first true leaf pair. The split cotyledons are particularly evident if you look at the two plants to the left of this picture.
Given that I nearly managed to cook these little plants when I first transferred them to the greenhouse I’ve been pleased with their progress. I’m still pushing them along with regular watering - in fact, to be honest, I’m not really letting them dry out. For scale, that’s a 2" pot.
5July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Books; Cacti.
Until I came across this book by borrowing it from the library of my local branch of the BCSS, I had never before come across anything with such detailed cultivation advice for opuntioids.
I was sufficiently impressed with Michael Kießling’s work on this book that I was moved to order my own copy (from Uhlig Kakteen, who got it to me in impressive time).
What you get for your money is a really spectacular set of photographs illustrating a broad cross-section of (mostly) dwarf opuntioids, with cultivation advice given on a per-species basis, and particular attention paid to the treatment needed to induce flowering.
Kießling also provides some really helpful information on pests and diseases to which this group of plants is susceptible, including a bacterial disorder which has been puzzling me for years. If you are interested in opuntioids in general I can’t recommend this book highly enough, even though some of the classifications used may now raise a few eyebrows in the light of the taxonomy in the New Cactus Lexicon.
I’d also strongly recommend visiting Michael’s website, www.tephrowelt.de for another feast of visual delights and a great selection of plants and cuttings for sale.
5July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’ve had contact from Allard Bax at cactusplaza.com, and aside from the fact that he said some nice things about this site, he’s let me know that he too is planning to write a grower’s blog, which is great news. Check out his website - particularly his selection of ariocarpus.
5July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
I’ve read that maihuenias in general can be quite stubborn to root, but have had no trouble propagating Maihuenia poeppigii. One of my three plants lost its roots and rotted at the base, and all of the sound branches that I removed rooted quickly and without any trouble; what I did with those was wait until they were fully callused and then water thoroughly and often - in effect treating them as I would the adult plant.
I received this cutting of Mahuenia patagonica, the other species now recognised in this rather enigmatic genus, a few months ago, before the parent plant had really had chance to fully hydrate itself. I wondered then whether it would oblige, and wasn’t at all surprised when the cutting began steadily to lose water mass.
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4July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
Pterocacti are fascinating things indeed.
Here is my plant of Pterocactus kuntzei resuming growth after flowering.
You can see that the new stems are forming around the edges of the end of the terminal flower stem. Whether or not these too will flower remains to be seen.
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3July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti.
It shouldn’t be long now before my Opuntia macrorhiza opens these flowers. It’s been very noticeable that while the buds have been developing, the plant has diverted energy away from new growth; the handful of new pads that it has produced are coming along far more slowly than usual.
3July2008
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Pests & Diseases.
The Ectotropis alpina seedlings that I sowed on the 23rd of February this year are now in flower.
In their seed tray they’re well-camouflaged from a distance (and, annoyingly, easy pickings for slugs - there’s slug-bait down now!) and it’s hard to believe that they’re only four months old, and that they were just little green blobs back in March.
They’re thirsty little plants, and aren’t particularly succulent above-ground; they do, though, have thick fleshy roots for water storage.
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