A small collection: 2015 and beyond

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Mrs.Green
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Mrs.Green »

Lovely flowers on that little Cumulopuntia!
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Steve Johnson
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Steve Johnson »

Mrs.Green wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 7:32 pm Lovely flowers on that little Cumulopuntia!
Thanks, Mrs. Green!

Truth be told, Opuntioid flowers aren't all that colorful, so I'll give you some beautiful colors from late spring/early summer 2022.

Mamillaria theresae and friends on 6/11:

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The friends are:
1. Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus 2. Frailea castanea 3. Stenocactus zacatecasensis 4. Frailea grahliana
You'll see each of them in more (and better detail) when I get to my 2022 end-of-summer review. In the meantime, here's a nice shot including the castanea:

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The theresae showing off its flower anatomy:

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Sulcorebutia rauschii on 6/27:

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Those flowers are just glowing, aren't they?

Echinocereus rigidissimus rubispinus on 7/7 and 7/11, with Gymnocalycium ochoterenae vatteri going from buds to blooms on the lower right:

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The biggest flowers and most interesting colors I see in the collection happen to be on my rubispinus, so let's give this wonderful bloom a closer inspection:

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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)
Mrs.Green
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Mrs.Green »

Steve Johnson wrote: Sun Sep 04, 2022 9:47 pm
Mrs.Green wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 7:32 pm Lovely flowers on that little Cumulopuntia!
Thanks, Mrs. Green!

Truth be told, Opuntioid flowers aren't all that colorful, so I'll give you some beautiful colors from late spring/early summer 2022.

Mamillaria theresae and friends on 6/11:

Image

The friends are:
1. Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus 2. Frailea castanea 3. Stenocactus zacatecasensis 4. Frailea grahliana
You'll see each of them in more (and better detail) when I get to my 2022 end-of-summer review. In the meantime, here's a nice shot including the castanea:

Image

The theresae showing off its flower anatomy:

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Sulcorebutia rauschii on 6/27:

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Those flowers are just glowing, aren't they?

Echinocereus rigidissimus rubispinus on 7/7 and 7/11, with Gymnocalycium ochoterenae vatteri going from buds to blooms on the lower right:

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The biggest flowers and most interesting colors I see in the collection happen to be on my rubispinus, so let's give this wonderful bloom a closer inspection:

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Great flowers and colours! 😃 E.r.rubispinus was on my wishlist but I have read several posts from different people all mentioning what a mealy magnet it is.. :idea:
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JCcares
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Re: Discocactus buenekeri gets a haircut

Post by JCcares »

Steve Johnson wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:17 am And what do we mean by that? If you wade through my End-of-summer review (Part 12), you'll know the backstory of today's post.

The long winter rainy season finally came to an end at the beginning of March, so the opportunity was right for repotting on 3/4. Let's see what came out of the pot:

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Those roots look pretty good, but I was hoping to see more of them. A couple of explanations are in order. First, yeah -- that "dirty" mineral problem. Again. The buenekeri had been sitting in it since December 2013, so I'm not surprised. And the second is dieback over the course of winter, as evidenced by dead roots sitting in the mix that tipped out. The live roots on the plant are there thanks to the sips it was getting every 3 weeks over wintertime -- healthy material that'll grow new roots during spring. Now we know what's been going on below-ground over the last 3-plus years. With the repot done, here we are before and after the haircut:

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Here's what was left on the babershop floor (in a manner of speaking):

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Since the buenekeri won't have to support quite so many pups, its nutritive energies should be going more to the parent stem, the biggest pup (maybe starting on a cephalium soon?), and the others that are left. On the following day, I took the excess pups off to Desert Creations in Northridge, CA -- a nice little donation, and while I was there, I snagged 3 pots I needed:

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They'll be gainfully employed very soon. In the meantime...

The buenekeri got clean pumice and granite gravel going into the 4-to-1 mineral-soil recipe I've been using for my other Disco and the Melo matanzanus. Should be happier now, although its root system needs to grow in more before the plant is ready for soaks. That being the case, it'll be sips once a week for a few
weeks -- basically teasing the roots into growing as they seek out moisture. This really does work well when the situation calls for it, and in the near future what we'll look for is a buenekeri going from shriveled to plump. Will I pull it off? I'll certainly let y'all know!
Thanks Steve 👍👍
My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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7george
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by 7george »

Good move, Steve!
My biggest Disco is overfilling the pot but I'm not ready for such a drastic intervention yet...
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
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Steve Johnson
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Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Leaning Tower of Pisa?

Post by Steve Johnson »

Nope, Casa de Jefferson Park right here in Los Angeles. Believe it or not, this is a Sulcorebutia callichroma longispina I got 10 years ago -- the view from today:

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The plant stands up straight during spring and summer, but when the sun's angle gets lower and lower in the fall, it'll take on a distinct southward tilt as demonstrated above. With regular watering in the next growing season, it'll stand up straight again. Some of my cacti lean to the south, others lean to the east, and the rest of my "leaners" do it to the west. Why this happens I don't know, but it's one of the wonderful mysteries that come with the hobby.

And this post, my friends, is also a teaser...

The growing season in my part of L.A. will finally come to an end soon, so I'll get out the camera for a big photo shoot this weekend. After that's done, I'll get to work on a long overdue end-of-summer review. The longispina's growth exceeded all expectations this year -- I'll tell you why as I give you the inside scoop on what I did to up my fertilizer game in 2021 and '22. And it's by no means the only cactus that benefited in a pretty big way.

By the by, when my Discocactus buenekeri comes up in the 2022 review, what you see might blow your mind a little bit. :D
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
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Is this what I think it is?

Post by Steve Johnson »

Yes, Discocactus buenekeri flowering tonight:

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For those who aren't familiar with the genus, Discos are summertime bloomers, but it was an unexpected pleasure to see this here on November 2. And there are a couple of reasons -- first, summer temps all the way through until the very end of October, so the buenekeri still had some gas in its tank. The second reason shall be revealed in the near future.
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
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A touch of fall loveliness

Post by Steve Johnson »

Here's a little something I got from CoronaCactus Nursery back in July 2013:

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Yes indeed, Ariocarpus fissuratus. First flower in November 2014, blooming every 2 years since then -- and right on schedule this year. A bud poppiing its little head up on 10/29:

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Going from bud to bloom on 11/3:

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That's also the day after my Discocactus buenekeri gave us the unexpected pleasure of night-blooming magic:

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The Ario's flower was a bit shy about opening, so let's give it a day:

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There we go! We'll end for now with a good close-up look at A. fissuratus flower anatomy:

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If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
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Minnesota
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Minnesota »

Good Evening, Mr. Johnson,

Thoroughly enjoy many of your posts--lots to be gleaned from the information within them. Thank you for so much experience and knowledge that you share.

The Sulcorebutia and those magenta flowers are super, and the Disco is really gorgeous. The fascination I have is with the Ario: I'm a little surprised at the slow growth over nine years, although I understand that they are very slow. The flower is amazing.

Thanks again for the excellent demonstration!

Bret
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Steve Johnson
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by Steve Johnson »

Minnesota wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:33 am Good Evening, Mr. Johnson,

Thoroughly enjoy many of your posts--lots to be gleaned from the information within them. Thank you for so much experience and knowledge that you share.

The Sulcorebutia and those magenta flowers are super, and the Disco is really gorgeous. The fascination I have is with the Ario: I'm a little surprised at the slow growth over nine years, although I understand that they are very slow. The flower is amazing.

Thanks again for the excellent demonstration!

Bret
You're welcome, Bret! And we don't need to be so formal -- call me Steve, just don't call me late for dinner! :lol:
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
memememe
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by memememe »

Beautiful collection! I just found this yesterday, and speed-read through it. My collection is about the same size, but is not even half as interesting. I mostly keep mammillarias and cactus with cephaliums.
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Steve Johnson
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Merry Christmas from Casa de Jefferson Park!

Post by Steve Johnson »

memememe wrote: Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:38 am Beautiful collection! I just found this yesterday, and speed-read through it.
Thanks, and I do appreciate your kind feedback! :D

I was hoping to start my 2022 end-of-summer review, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to post the first installment before the holidays are over. If not, I'll take the opportunity to say...

Very best wishes to all of you and your families for a merry Christmas!

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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)
memememe
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Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond

Post by memememe »

Merry Christmas to you too! I'll definitely keep an eye on this for your next post :D
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Steve Johnson
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Looking ahead and looking back

Post by Steve Johnson »

As we look ahead to 2023, here's a look back at a couple of cacti that bloomed in the 1st quarter of 2022 here in Casa de Jefferson Park.

Turbinicarpus valdezianus on 2/12...

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...2/26...

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...and 2/27:

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Eriosyce senilis Jr. on 3/19:

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E. senilis Sr. usually puts up a gorgeous flush in late February/early March, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a whole bunch of buds already setting about 2 weeks ago. Is there a reason for that? I think so, but I'll save the details for a later post.

January should be a good time to start working on my 2022 end-of-summer review, so hopefully that'll give you a nice little something to help chase the winter "cactus blues" away. In the meantime, my very best wishes to you and your families for a...

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Cheers! :D
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
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Upping my fertilizer game

Post by Steve Johnson »

Uh oh, "Mr. OCD" is back! :lol:

Dyna-Gro All-Pro 7-7-7 has been my fertilizer of choice since 2012. Thanks to what I learned from MikeInOz, I upped the game by supplementing it with potassium sulfate starting in summer 2020 and TPS CalMag starting in spring 2022. That's only part of the story, so I'll give you the full story here:

viewtopic.php?t=47603

Unfortunately Dyna-Gro decided to discontinue the 7-7-7, but it was a blessing in disguise as I'll be upping my fert game even further with this:

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That, my friends, comes as a result of everything you'll find when you click on the link. After going through an unusually and persistently cold winter in SoCal, the collection got its first deep watering of the year a couple of weeks ago -- rainwater and nothing more. A bit too cool for watering this weekend, but next weekend will be the first time for feeding the cacti under the new regimen. Improvements in growth over 2021 and '22 were pretty remarkable, so I thought about giving you "before and after" examples for a 2022 end-of-summer review. However, the improvements should be even better with the new fert regimen, and I'd rather hold out for a full-on review with photos I'll take at the end of this summer. In the meantime, let's begin a mini-review of select cacti from 2021 and '22...

Copiapoa tenuissima (received from CoronaCactus Nursery July 2013)

First photo on 7/7/13:

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Darryl Craig gave me a spot-on piece of advice in 2012 when he recommended using a hydroponic pumice and granite gravel mix, although he was growing his cacti in a SuperSoil-pumice mix at the time. Now we'll get to see what happened after the plant went straight from his mix to mine -- 9/29/18, 10/6/19, 10/21/20, and 10/16/21:

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Same dates with a view from above:

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Something I noticed regarding the new top growth in 2018 -- denser, more compact tubercles that made the older growth look flabby by comparison. Those long central spines weren't there in 2017 either. With a year of higher potassium in 2021, the difference between newer and older growth was obvious, and IMO a remarkable improvement. The last remnant of old-growth tubercles still looking bloated and flabby on 10/16/21:

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C. tenuissima is self-fertile, as evidenced by a nice little bonus that sprouted in 2020 (left), survived the winter, and put on some nice growth in 2021:

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Just add CalMag, and the tenuissima not only thrived last year, it gave me the biggest flowers I've ever seen on the plant. Too bad I didn't get them on camera, but with plenty of growing season left this year, I won't miss that opportunity again.

Speaking of flowers, here are a few flowers from the end of 2022 -- if you've seen them before, they're worth seeing again...

Ariocarpus fissuratus (also received from CoronaCactus Nursery in July 2013) -- I was blessed to see my very first Ario flower on 11/6/14:

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For reasons unknown to me (maybe no reason at all?), the fissuratus blooms every 2 years, and 2022 was its time again -- a bud on 10/29:

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From bud to bloom on 11/3:

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The flower was a bit shy about opening, so just give it a day:

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Letting it all hang out -- a close-up with Ario fissuratus flower anatomy:

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Discocactus buenekeri (received from Miles' To Go December 2013) -- Discos are usually summertime bloomers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see mine flowering the night before the Ario's bud opened for business:

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1 night only, but those flowers are still beautiful on their way out:

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The plant itself is going absolutely nuts, and you'll read all about it here:

viewtopic.php?p=398841#p398841

In my next post, we'll go through more "before and after" examples of select cacti from 2021 and '22.
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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