Conophytum is winter growing - summer dormant. They should look almost dead in summer. No water!
In autumn they shed their skin and become plump and green again. You can water then but not too much.

Steve Johnson wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 5:17 am

Looks good to me. How about you, Mike? Dexter -- if Mike gives us the thumbs-up, go for it.

Looks fine as long as Ca and Mg are coming from somewhere...

A few thoughts.. -50/50 perlite/cactus mix is very lean. These are heavy feeders. I would suggest a gravel, loam, organic mix for them with good drainage. They may be growing too slowly. -The organic part of the potting mix may have broken down too much and hold too much water and not enough air. pe...

C And D wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 4:01 pm The Turbinicarpus that no one likes
Turbinicarpus horripilus
IMG_1762.JPG

Gymnocactus horripilus is a beautiful plant.

It need nitrogen. If you cannot afford ferts at this time, use 1 part urine to 10 parts water. No joke. Only suitable for outdoors.

I would sow aztekium, pelecyphora and lots of ariocarpus. As many as I could get. But it's never too late......

Most Mexican and Sth Texas species should be given a late start. Mid to late spring regardless of the temperature. They are not really active until it's regularly quite warm. Astrophyum asterias and Ariocarpus come to mind. They get their first drenching in summer in my area. Rebutias etc should not...

Thanks for the pictures. They are very collectable!

I never spray cacti because they aren't orchids neither bromeliads, no practical use at all. I water them when they are moved to greenhouse and temps are high enough, never give them "some drops" but good amount of water. Better later and much than earlier and little. I spray my cacti alm...

Must have been about 30 to 40 years old as my plants don't grow very quickly. Alas it decided it had lived long enough and with no discernible change in growing conditions died two years ago. A species that does not show much visible signs if rotting since it does not go soft but you find out it is...

DaveW wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:44 am


Pelecyphora.jpg

Pretty much my all time favourite cactus. How old is this one Dave?

which species can absorb calcium from limestone vs. the species which can't. Just to clarify Steve, all pants can absorb Ca from any source as long as it is in solution. The problem arises with Calcium carbonate raising the pH and interfering with uptake of the metals like Fe, Mn, Cu etc, by plants...

We used to use a pre emergent herbicide (Oxadiazon granulas) for pots in the nursery. It's designed to kill germinating seeds only and did not affect the trees. As for the grass in the beds, you can safely spray glyphosate around the cacti as long as you don't wet the plants too much. Their waxy coa...

I've ad this plant for many years. During the last few it produced almost no growth and very few flowers. So I bit the bullet and cut off all the shoots (maybe 8 or 10 of them). Then I decided to cut even deeper and leave just a couple of stubs from the original shoots. After repotting into a fresh ...

The title of the post kinda says it all. For my North American calciphile plants I don't think I'm at a point in my cultivation skill where I should be adding limestone to the substrate itself, but would a few large-ish pieces of limestone (1/2" to 1") on top just to give a nod to the pla...