Oldest plant in your collection

This is a place for members to post on-going topics about their plants and experiences.
User avatar
mikethecactusguy
Posts: 2173
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:51 am
Location: Indio Ca
Contact:

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by mikethecactusguy »

All are least 20 yrs old
IMG_20190112_153813.jpg
IMG_20190112_153813.jpg (117.82 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_153821.jpg
IMG_20190112_153821.jpg (103.83 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_153838.jpg
IMG_20190112_153838.jpg (113.6 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_153852.jpg
IMG_20190112_153852.jpg (110.16 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_153907.jpg
IMG_20190112_153907.jpg (109.47 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_154151.jpg
IMG_20190112_154151.jpg (129.78 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20190112_154312.jpg
IMG_20190112_154312.jpg (95.44 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
Sadly this on has started to shed arms.
All 5 arms on the left in picture have died. I has been able to save 4 of them.
IMG_20190112_153832.jpg
IMG_20190112_153832.jpg (120.78 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
I think its a combination of rain and cold. Since we have had below 40 degree nights.
When I pull an arm off this is what you see on the base and the grey on the arm where it attached.
IMG_20200120_134759 (1).jpg
IMG_20200120_134759 (1).jpg (164.63 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
IMG_20200120_134807 (1).jpg
IMG_20200120_134807 (1).jpg (143.55 KiB) Viewed 5634 times
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
User avatar
Hanazono
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:21 pm
Location: Adelaide SA
Contact:

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Hanazono »

My oldest cactus is an Echinocactus grusonii.
I sowed seeds in 2000 and the current size is about 60 cm in diameter.
Attachments
Echinocactus grusonii
Echinocactus grusonii
IMG_0382 - Copy.JPG (264.54 KiB) Viewed 5611 times
User avatar
Aiko
Posts: 2367
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:26 pm
Location: the Netherlands

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Aiko »

Hanazono wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:58 pm My oldest cactus is an Echinocactus grusonii.
I sowed seeds in 2000 and the current size is about 60 cm in diameter.
Wow. My 2003 sown plants are still about 8 centimeters wide...
User avatar
Hanazono
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:21 pm
Location: Adelaide SA
Contact:

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Hanazono »

G'morning Aiko,
My 2003 sown plants are still about 8 centimeters wide...
Grusoniis on the photo are sown seeds on a same day in year 2000.
I moved them out from greenhouse to outdoor when they were around 15 cm in diameter.
The climate in here meets well for their growing, I think.
Attachments
Echinocactus grusonii
Echinocactus grusonii
IMG_0383 - Copy.JPG (170.13 KiB) Viewed 5595 times
User avatar
anttisepp
Posts: 1347
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Suomi - Finland

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by anttisepp »

My oldest seedlings from 1980 are Astrophytum myriostigma, Gymnocalycium saglionis, G. spegazzinii.
I was a 15 year old boy then.
Newton
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 1:51 pm

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Newton »

Some plants never age though like metheuselah

It's like if you take a cutting from a mother plant ad infinitum then that plant is still the same plant isn't it?

Food for thought for today
User avatar
Shane
Posts: 1075
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:55 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA (zone 10b)

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Shane »

Newton wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:22 am Some plants never age though like metheuselah

It's like if you take a cutting from a mother plant ad infinitum then that plant is still the same plant isn't it?

Food for thought for today
Yes, it can be thought of that way. I like to count "age" of a cutting grown plant as time passes since the cutting was made. This doesn't work as well with large cuttings

Some of our plants are clones that have been propagated for hundreds of years. I have one hybrid succulent that's been propagated by cutting since the late 1800s and there are some much older than that. The Smooth Cayenne pineapple cultivar has been around since ancient times. And Epipremnum aureum (commonly called pothos) lost the ability to flower as a species and has been growing as a clone of a single individual since its inception
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
Newton
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 1:51 pm

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Newton »

I suppose that because some plants can continually clone themselves. Only their DNA can show their true age. Whilst an individual growth may be only so many years old some of the rootstock could be dated back millennia...
keith
Posts: 1854
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:50 am
Location: S. CA USA

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by keith »

The big Echinocactus horizonthalonius are probably the oldest cacti I own , I've had them since I lived in AZ that was 10 years ago and they were old when I bought them.
Attachments
Bench of cactus
Bench of cactus
IMG_3983.JPG (92.99 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Epithelantha greggii
Epithelantha greggii
IMG_3988.JPG (72.62 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Bench of cactus 2
Bench of cactus 2
IMG_3982.JPG (90.32 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Echinocereus coahuilense
Echinocereus coahuilense
IMG_3985.JPG (117.38 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Astrophytum coahuilense
Astrophytum coahuilense
IMG_3986.JPG (110.33 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Mammillaria carmenae
Mammillaria carmenae
IMG_3987.JPG (97.52 KiB) Viewed 5375 times
Last edited by keith on Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Cactus76
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2020 8:15 pm
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Cactus76 »

My Cereus jamacaru is 44 Years old that i got as a kid it reach a hight of 10 feet before i had to painfully cut it to move it... It wouldn't fit in the U-haul. My second oldest is a Euphorbia lactea cristata that's10 years old.
Attachments
20200804_231617_Film1_copy_600x1067.jpg
20200804_231617_Film1_copy_600x1067.jpg (45.13 KiB) Viewed 5204 times
20200726_164432_Film1-1_copy_600x878.jpg
20200726_164432_Film1-1_copy_600x878.jpg (71.76 KiB) Viewed 5204 times
20200719_000444_Film1_copy_1024x1820.jpg
20200719_000444_Film1_copy_1024x1820.jpg (50.35 KiB) Viewed 5204 times
20200726_164153_Film1-1_copy_642x979.jpg
20200726_164153_Film1-1_copy_642x979.jpg (143.21 KiB) Viewed 5204 times
User avatar
Shane
Posts: 1075
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:55 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA (zone 10b)

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Shane »

Cactus76 wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 4:57 am My Cereus jamacaru is 44 Years old that i got as a kid it reach a hight of 10 feet before i had to painfully cut it to move it... It wouldn't fit in the U-haul. My second oldest is a Euphorbia lactea cristata that's10 years old.
I've seen several other old E. lactea crests on the internet. They seem do well in cultivation. Very cool Cereus too. It's much older than I am
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
User avatar
splitchestnut
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:45 pm
Location: Rockville, Maryland

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by splitchestnut »

A bit late to the game but this gasteria armstrongii is at least 20 years old. I went through a phase in high school where I was obsessed with cacti and succulents, especially lithops, but knew nothing about caring for them. I ordered many plants from this mail order company (don't remember the name) in Arizona and this tiny armstrongii came as a freebie in an order with a bunch of other plants. This is the only plant that survived my care from that time 🤣. The original plant is now the large central plant on the right, and all the other plants in the pot are pups from the mother plant. I revived my interest in succulents and cacti a few years ago (I have a better survival rate now lol) and have added more astrongii to the collection but this one will always be my favorite.
Attachments
20210427_170115_copy_725x853.jpg
20210427_170115_copy_725x853.jpg (143.49 KiB) Viewed 4052 times
Trying to keep cacti alive in Maryland
User avatar
madkactus
Posts: 168
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 4:22 pm
Location: Hessen, Germany

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by madkactus »

This is the oldest (cactus ?) plant in my collection. Ironically when I first bought it in 2006 I thought it was a cactus. As I later found out it's not a cactus. Perhaps someone can shed light on what it is. Speaking of light. When I first got this plant I set it outside in hot April weather and it scorched. Yes it can get very hot in Germany. :sunny: All the growth you see happended after 2007. In fact, for the last 7 years or so I've purposely restricted it's growth.
Attachments
plant(m).JPG
plant(m).JPG (49.84 KiB) Viewed 4028 times
Traveller
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:54 pm

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Traveller »

I know this post has not been active for a year, but I have a Mammillaria bocasana that was planted in 1972. I can take a.photo if anyone is interested.
On a similar topic, one of my mates has an Ariocarpus that was site collected as an already ancient plant in the 1950's. They believe this one is as old as 120 years.
Zone 10, Sydney Australia
I love the Mexican Miniatures best!
User avatar
Shane
Posts: 1075
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:55 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA (zone 10b)

Re: Oldest plant in your collection

Post by Shane »

Traveller wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 3:04 pm I have a Mammillaria bocasana that was planted in 1972. I can take a.photo if anyone is interested
I'd definitely be interested is seeing a photo. Did you plant it yourself?
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
Post Reply