Growth Over Time - Mammillaria fraileana

[WayneByerly]

I've been posting these "Growth Over Time" topics individually. Starting a New Topic for each species that I'm wanting to illustrate. I thought about putting all subsequent species in ONE TOPIC ... and let the "Pages" function of the forum take care of how many postings/replies you can see on any one screen. But I now think that THAT would allow intermixing of comments, replies, and postings of other pictures of the same species ... so I think I'm just going to continue the way I have been, and putting each species that I do this for in their own separate "Topic".

I do this ... make these "Growth" topics ... so that people can see what species look like and how fast they grow (or how SLOW they grow, depending on your point of view) over the space of time. And invite other people to post THEIR pictures of that species. I've gotten good responses from other members here at the Forum, so I think I'll continue what I've been doing. At least until people start to complain.

Today, I'm going to showcase my Mammillaria fraileana.

2014
I got this cactus in 2014, and it was a tiny thing when I got it. Maybe 2-2.5 inches tall. It flowered the very FIRST year that I had it. Notice the curved hooked central spines. Not very stiff or thick, but unnervingly ... mmm ... attaching.

2014-05-05 DSCF3172.jpg (112.66 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

2014-05-05 DSCF3173.jpg (135.29 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

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2015
Only one picture for 2015. A substantial amount of growth for just 1 year.

2015-12-27 (2).jpg (124.76 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

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2016
Not much vertical growth in 2016, but it put out a really substantial number of offsets. I am SO excited ... I'll be able to plant them with the original in the next year and have a NICE clump!

2016-10-05 DSCF6843 (just before overwatering).jpg (109.82 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

2016-10-05.jpg (105.46 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

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2017
I was SO excited about being able to plant all the offsets together in a clump that I made some bad choices, or didn't pay enough attention to what I was doing, and I over watered it. Root rot set in. And as I'm sure you know, by the time it sets in, by the time you notice it, its too late to do anything about it. Except cut off the spots that aren't rotting, let them callus over and plant them. So that's what I did. And managed to save two pieces... The cutting off the top, and ONE of the offsets.

2017-11-11 (after overwatering) 115300.jpg (130.7 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

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2018
And now it's taken a year for the cutting and the ONE offset to root good and just begin to grow. Not much size increase from last year, but I expect for it to do well THIS year...

2018-02-08 DSCF3729.jpg (124.64 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

2018-03-18 192738.jpg (166.72 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

... now that it has a good set of roots ... AND now that I'm fertilizing this year. Hopefully it will put on some vertical growth like it did for 2015. Or maybe BOTH vertical growth AND offsets.