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Huge mammillaria (gracilis?) in 328062! How old is it? Beautiful cat as well

memememe wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 8:59 am Huge mammillaria (gracilis?) in 328062! How old is it? Beautiful cat as well

Frau Klein, the cat, may be 14 to 15 years.
Mammillaria 35 to 40 years.

Best wishes
K.W.

Good evening dear cacti-friends,

I was "indisposed" for a few weeks - but now it goes on. . .
The weather of the past weeks was very different;
Rain, snow, frost, storm, sun, plus 20°C and minus 6°C, crazy. . .
All plants are still indoors, tomorrow Haworthia & Co will come to the summer quarters.
And tomorrow I will water for the first time, water after five months, with double fertilizer concentration.
Now some photos from today, April 4, 2023.
There are also pictures from the last weeks, I was not the whole time in the hospital, I still have to sort.





Here we go!!!


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end of post 1/2

photos from 4.April 2023, post 2/2


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Courage dear friends!



Best wishes

K.W.

K.W. wrote: ↑Tue Apr 04, 2023 8:42 pm Good evening dear cacti-friends,

I was "indisposed" for a few weeks - but now it goes on. . .
The weather of the past weeks was very different;
Rain, snow, frost, storm, sun, plus 20°C and minus 6°C, crazy. . .
All plants are still indoors, tomorrow Haworthia & Co will come to the summer quarters.
And tomorrow I will water for the first time, water after five months, with double fertilizer concentration.
Now some photos from today, April 4, 2023.
There are also pictures from the last weeks, I was not the whole time in the hospital, I still have to sort.

Sorry to hear about the hospital. It seems you are OK now. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of my heart attack. 4 stents.

Question: You are fertilizing at double strength for the first water after winter dormancy? That seems like a shock to me. But your plants say otherwise.

Hi Jerry,
this is the opposite of shock.
After five months without watering, the concentration of minerals, salts, etc. in the plants is very high.
The plants absorb water / food via osmosis.
If the concentration gradient is very high - and it is when you water clear pure water - the plant will take up a lot of water and burst.
It has to balance the concentration.
With fertilizer there are no problems, the plants take only what they need.
The sun will do the rest in the next few weeks!!!

To avoid bursting you can first spray the plants lightly - preferably with warm water.
After three or four times you can water.
Fertilizer then later in the year.
But as normal I do not feel that.
The plants come out of hibernation and want to eat and drink - and plenty!!!
0,6 % fertilizer should be ok.

I wish you the best - four stents are not little.
K.W.

That makes perfect sense and I never thought about it. I just sprayed all of my cold tolerant cacti this AM with warm water as they are outside in the full sun and today went up to 70F (21C). It is going down to the 50's or so at night. Forecast is the same for the next 10 days. Rain tomorrow. Plants are inside the garage still at night.

Good evening dear cacti-friends,

a few photos from yesterday - 16.April 2023.


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photos from 16.April 2023, post 2/2


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Courage dear friends!


Best wishes
K.W.

K.W., you've got an amazing collection you've obviously been curating for many years. With so many plants in such a densely packed space, how do you manage pests effectively? Do you preventatively treat all of your plants with anything? Do you use beneficial predatory insects?

Thank you for all of the photos, they are a joy to look through.

Good evening SDK1,
thank you very much for your kind words!

I use very little insecticides and other poisons on my plants. It is irresponsible to apply poison only as a prophylaxis twice a year.
I think very much of fresh air for the plants, and air movement in the greenhouse with fans.
Especially in winter when watering is not done, this is important.
If I water, then with the shower from above. Strong water on the plants, the aphids and mites do not like.
There are also beneficial insects such as ladybugs on my terrace. That's why I don't use poison on the roses or fruit trees.
The birds also eat the aphids from the green plants, so I can not spray poison.

My greenhouses are too small for beneficial insects, I tried with predatory mites, they starved to death.

If I find aphids or mites on a plant, I try to remove them mechanically. This usually does not work. . .
Then there is a systemic poison on that plant and the neighboring plants. After ten days, a repeat.
If that doesn't help I sometimes have to part with a plant. . .

Best wishes
K.W.

Good evening dear cacti-friends,
a few photos from the last day's.
As is known, spring, the plants need to get out of the winter shelter and into the fresh air.
Here are some photos from the outdoor dining. Few flowers are already there. . .



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photos from end of April 2023, post 2/2


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Courage dear friends!



Best wishes

K.W.




Bonus-Track
This overview of my "little farm" was made by a friend and sent to me.
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extra Bonus-Track
Frau Klein
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It is interesting to see your own greenhouses from a distance and an angle you might never have seen before, right?
When one of the neighbours were moving, they had a drone making pictures of their house to post online for potential buyers to see. Some of the pictures included my two greenhouses. It's nothing special (mostly because of the distance), but still fun to look at them from that angle.

Very nice Aiko,
of course I would prefer the greenhouses in the countryside!

Best wishes
K.W.