Re: A small collection: 2015 and beyond
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 7:32 pm
Lovely flowers on that little Cumulopuntia!
On-line Guide to the positive identification of Members of the Cactus Family
https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/
Thanks, Mrs. Green!
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..Steve Johnson wrote: ↑Sun Sep 04, 2022 9:47 pmThanks, 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:
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:
The theresae showing off its flower anatomy:
Sulcorebutia rauschii on 6/27:
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:
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:
Thanks SteveSteve 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:
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:
Here's what was left on the babershop floor (in a manner of speaking):
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:
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!
You're welcome, Bret! And we don't need to be so formal -- call me Steve, just don't call me late for dinner!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
Thanks, and I do appreciate your kind feedback!