new ball-formed cactus

[nachtkrabb]

Hi folks,
I haven't been here for too long. Awful time. Now loads of cacti are flowering plus there are two new ones, so I finally have to manage to come back.

Yesterday, I got this at a DIY market. I expect this is a Ferocactus pilosus var. pilosus. It came in a 12cm-pot (5in) and has already gotten some space for its roots.

Ferocactus pilosus var. pilosus

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Interesting are the red-coloured ribs.

Today, this came home with me: "cactus mix, random selection", 8.5cm pot (3.5in). I have no idea what this might be, they gave no hint at all. As I would like to give that one more space, too, I would be happy to know its name. How to mix the correct soil without?

unknown cactus

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unknown cactus

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Between 8 and 10 smaller spines surround a slightly bigger and darker middle spine.
Just hope the pictures are clear enough...

I do appreciate your help.
Nachtkrabb

[anttisepp]

Ferocactus pringlei
Melocactus broadwayi

[nachtkrabb]

Hallo Antti ,
you are a genius indeed! I had never-ever thought my small new ball might be something as grand as a Melocactus broadwayi (Britton & Rose) A.Berger. I had searched through four lexika/lexikons, but that never occurred to me.
I just hope to manage to make a Melocactus happy. I read that that is not too easy... (Any suggestions?)

And Mr. Red-Spines is a Ferocactus pringlei? Checking: According to LLIFLE that is a synonym for F. pilosus, but they are sometimes not too accurate. Desert-tropicals says
Mexican Fire Barrel Cactus
Scientific Name: Ferocactus pilosus var. pringlei (J. M. Coult.)
Synonym: Ferocactus pringlei, Ferocactus stainesii var. pringlei
...so now we have all the variants!

Thank you very much.
Nachtkrabb

[anttisepp]

Guten abend!
I'm not a genious, but have reed many wrong books in my youth
F pringlei hasn't hair-like spines as pilosus.
Melocactus better to overwinter in room, this tropical plant is very sensitive to cold.

[nachtkrabb]

Hello Antti,
then you had a good reading of the right books.

I have just read that those Feros have those hairs or not according to the place where they come from...? And in some places there were both versions but not mixed...? See http://www.kuas-kettinger.de/index.php/ ... us-pilosus; you will understand the German.

Do you have further advice for the Melo? I once had a M.glaucescens, but only for a couple of years. No idea what killed it. It spent not too dry winters in my living room.
I would like this nice ball to stay with me for many long years.
Thanks,
Nachtkrabb

[greenknight]

My F. pilosus lacked hair-like radial spines when it was the size of this one, and developed red color on the ribs in summer just like this. As it's grown older, hair-like spines have gradually appeared, and the red color on the ribs no longer appears. It takes many year for the spination to reach its mature form. Yours may yet grow "hairs", or not.

[zpeckler]

I agree that the Ferocactus is not a pilosus. Mine is about the same size and has multiple thin hair-like radials that shade the body, not the "strong" radials like that one.

[greenknight]

The "hairs" are a variable trait, and it's too soon to know whether there will be any.

[nachtkrabb]

Very interesting. Thank you very much, everybody.
N.

[nachtkrabb]

Oh bother...! I never had such a THING going on when a new plant entered my home. But with this Melo everything seems to be difficult.

Yesterday I have put the cactus into a water bath & started to perk the peat-like stuff from the roots but gave up: I would kill too many roots...
The plant was even potted 1cm / 0.4in too deep into the soil. Mpf.
Some of the stuff came off, by far not all. Mpf. No idea if I did something wrong. I try to post a picture in the thread, feel so helpless. No it is lying there with wet roots & still lot of bad soil & I just can't do anything without hurting it further.

Those are very fine, healthy, but NOT bare roots in still strange so called soil:

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I give up, let it dry for a couple of days & plant it into something well (60% pumice, 40% soil without peat). I would do too much damage...
N.

In the background: Sel. donkelaari from a beach wood in Mexico. A former friend brought me cutlings from his holiday.

[anttisepp]

No need to fight. Give it bigger pot and you'll see how grateful it will be. Melo- have ony one "difficulty": cold sensivity, many growers don't understand.

[nachtkrabb]

Thanks, Antti. I have repotted it today. About 60% pumice + 40% soil without peat as promised.
From 8.5 by 7cm to 13 by 9cm.

.

...finally!

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