Cacti in the tropics

This is a place for members to post on-going topics about their plants and experiences.
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Hello to everyone using the forum! My name is John, I live in the Philippines and I would like to share some of the plants I have growing here. It's only been a few years since I started growing these beautiful plants and it's quite a challenge keeping these plants from rotting in this high humidity climate especially in the rainy season nevertheless I'm always looking for new additions to my collection. I love looking at the other plants of this forum's members and I appreciate them sharing their experiences and knowledge with growing these plants.

1. Gymnocalycium mihanovichii with some flower buds
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2. Gymnocalycium mesopotamicum? with a flower
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3. Frailea phaeodisca with two seedpods
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4.Frailea grahliana
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5. Two Astropytum asterias
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6. Gymnocalycium horstii?
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7. Discocactus bueneckeri
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8. Gymnocalycium anisitsii
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9.Melocactus curvispinus
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10. Obregonia denegrii
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11. Gymnocalycium griseo-pallidum
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12. Mammllaria sheldonii
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13. Mammillaria surculosa
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14. Mammillaria prolifera
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15. Parodia ottonis
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Attachments
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Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Here are some more
16. Gymnocalycium hybrid
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17. Dorstenia foetida
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18. Edithcolea grandis
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19. Euphorbia aeruguinosa
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20. Euphorbia cylindrifolia
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21. Sansevieria pinguicula
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22 . Here are some 19 month old F. grahliana seedlings enduring an intentional drought to see how they would respond.
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ElieEstephane
Posts: 2909
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:10 am
Location: Lebanon (zone 11a)

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by ElieEstephane »

Very nice collection! Thanks for sharing
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
Pompom
Posts: 421
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:59 pm
Location: Northern Finland

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Pompom »

WOW! I never thought there were cacti like 1. 8. and 16!! I want these now. You should've seen my eyes popping when I opened this thread. Such beautiful plants you have there!
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Thank you! for the wonderful comments especially coming from such experienced growers.

Pompom you should try to find those plants as they're very easy and rewarding to grow.
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hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by hegar »

Hello John,
I am joining the forum members ElieEstephane and Pompom praising your collection. So, while I have to watch out, that my plants are not shriveling up and dying because of dryness, you have to be careful because of an excess of precipitation. Do you keep your plants in a greenhouse or do you use some other means of keeping the cacti from drowning (rotting)?
At least your Sanseviera pinguicola should be OK, because it seems to be growing on stilts. :)
I do like especially those Gymnocalycium members, the Gymnocalycium hybrid and the G. anisitsii. Other plants, that I find attractive and worth collecting are Obregonia denegrii and of course Astrophytum asterias. At one time I did have both of these cacti, but I did lose them both to root rot during thw winter months. We do get some rain and snow when it is cold and I believe, that this caused these plants to die. My A. asterias hybrids were not affected and are still alive.

Harald
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Thank you wonderful compliment Harald!
My cacti are grown outside year round protected by the house's roof so the wind has to blow at a certain direction for the rain to reach my plants. I also use pure mineral mix with my plants that are moisture sensitive for superior drainage and aeration to help during the rainy season and the plants, so far, are loving it although I'm especially worried about the Obregonia and Astrophytums as the rainy season is predicted to sart at the end of May, that's about three months earlier than usual!
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Here are today's blooms!
1. Thelocactus setispinus
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2. G. mihanovichii
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Most cacti don't flower abundantly here because they need a cool and dry rest period but these two species flower very well the G. mihanovichii especially, this one has been blooming since November.
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Today I would like to share some photos of things to come. Here I have two plants preparing to bloom for the first time. One is an Orbea the other a Stapelia both don't have a ID's yet as these genera are notoriously difficult to ID without flowers. What I find unusual is that the stems of these plants have more than one inflorescence which none of the other members of the family I have have done.
Hopefully they do bloom despite the lack of direct sunlight they get due to the monsoon.

1. This Orbea sp. which I think could be Orbea caudata which , If all of the flowers bloom, will be my most prolific flowering plant. So far I have counted 7 inflorescenes and each inflorescense usually produces 4 to 5 flowers so this will, hopefully, put on quite a show.

1.1 In this photo there are about 8 flower buds visible and 5 infloresecences
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1.2 This second photo is at the back of the plant and there are 4 flower buds and 2 inflorescences though only one is visible, they're on the same stem.
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2. This Stapelia could be any member of the genus and all I know about it is that it supposedly has red flowers which a number of species do have so until it blooms it doesn't have an ID. It has 3 flower buds on two stems and one syem has two inflorescences.
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Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Hi! It's been a while since I posted something since nothing much happens during the rainy season but since summer started some plants have begun blooming.

•Here's my ever reliable Thelocactus setispinus.
This one has 6 more buds on the way.
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•Another regular bloomer is Gymnocalycium mihanovichii.
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•Here's a first time bloomer; a Matucana krahnii though I'm no completly sure.
This took two months from bud to bloom and has another bud on the way.
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•A Gymnocalycium anisitsii in bud.
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abhikjha
Posts: 292
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:57 am

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by abhikjha »

Impressive collection Salazar!
I am also in a tropical climate like yours (Mumbai) and it would really help me if you can let me know few tips and tricks mainly on following topics:
1. Soil
2. Winter care
3. Rainy season care
4. Watering schedule

Thanks in advance!!
Tropical weather, no winters! :roll:
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Hello everyone it's been a while since I last updated here, things got busy but that's life I suppose. I thought I might give an update to some of the plants posted here.

1) Obregonia denegrii
O.denegrii
O.denegrii
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This one has been surprisingly easy to grow, much easier than I thought it would be. I have had no problems with anything so far aside from root issues when back when I first got it and minor sunburn but that's my fault 😅.

2) Sansevieria pinguicula
S. pinguicula
S. pinguicula
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Again, no issues with this one either although when it started growing that offset the mother plant stopped growing no idea why though, the offset is growing much larger than the mother plant though.
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Good day

For the first time ever my Frailea grahlianas bloomed!

These are around five year old seedlings I grew myself and are actually the first seeds I've sown so this is quite a special day for me.
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RorBurg56
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:09 pm
Location: U. K, Scotland, Midlothian

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by RorBurg56 »

Beautiful and kinda cheerful actually :), pots nicely dressed and I like how the cacti themselves actually blend into their settings so the flowers pop even more. Ps very jealous of how nice your stapeliads look, I guess they love your climate.
Growing some succs and cacs in mid/coastal Scotland.
Salazar
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:02 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Cacti in the tropics

Post by Salazar »

Thought I might share this little weirdo as I don't know of any specimens like this of this species.

This Frailea phaeodisca has grown two offsets halfway up the stem.
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