Welcome Craig Fry!

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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

This plant came up in my succulent garden last year
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And at first I thought it was a Cleistocactus winteri colademono
Since it was just a spiny arm at first.
And since I had thrown in many seeds of that plant, since they hang above the garden and are loaded with seeds in the summer.

But as it grew, it started to change shape, the arms first elongated so it wasn't as spiny, then the new branches were flattened.
I was able to figure early on that it was my first Epiphyllum Seedling, since I had threw in some seeds of that last year.

The question arises?
Why didn't any Cleistocactus winteri colademono seeds germinate?
And why didn't more Epiphyllum seeds germinate as well?

I came to the conclusion that both of these seeds need acid treatment for germination.
The one Epiphyllum seedling that did germinate was able to do so through the massive rinsing by daily watering to crack it's protection after a year or so in the garden.
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Craig and Denise Fry
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

Another photo of Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus
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Stenocactus multicostatus, quad headed
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Selenicereus testudo
This thing is weird, it has 3 leaf (stem) morphologies
It has never flowered for me yet, maybe in a couple more years
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I saw a photo of this plant in habitat 20 years ago and was intrigued by the unusual leaves (stems) and it's habit of it climbing trees and always wanted one of my own.

Wow
and here is a photo of it's flower, it's called a "Dog Tail Cactus"
not my photo
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

More photos

Echinocereus triglochidiatus inermis
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Echinocereus pulchellus
clustering form
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Escobaria sneedii
First flowers after 15 years
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Craig and Denise Fry
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

I post a photo of this plant every year, since it out does itself every year with more flowers
Mammillaria zeilmanniana
which I just found out is extremely endangered with only 250 individuals left in the wild
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40855/2937303
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Mammillaria hahniana
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Maihueniopsis subterranea
I'm surprised that this plant isn't more popular
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Echinopsis hybrid "Mars"
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Mammillaria bertholdii
New for me
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Justin Heathcoat gave me this last year
It's grafted on Astrophytum myriostigma!
I took pictures last week, and what a surprise to see the same plant in this issue of the Cactus and Succulent Journal that came in the mail on Weds.
Gymnocalycium friedrichii LB2178
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hegar
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by hegar »

Hello Craig,

you really did acquire a rare gem with that Mammillaria bertholdii. I am quite certain, that it will do very well in your expert care. If I were to purchase this cactus, I would most likely have to report the sad news of its demise not too long after. :(

Harald
DaveW
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by DaveW »

Mammillaria bertholdii grows quite quickly on a graft Hegar and came through the winter in the house OK without the scion drying up as Mammillaria luethyi often does. It also offsets freely on a graft, but the offsets are not large enough to try rooting one down yet. As it is freely offsetting I don't think it will remain uncommon for long, even if only initially available as a graft to propagate it.

Both flowering last year, M. theresae (own root left) and M. bertholdii (grafted right) for flower comparison.

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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

Here's my M. theresae this week
It needs to be repotted badly, but I fear that repotting may kill it.
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This Escobaria minima has a nice bloom this year
I call this clone "Minima Maxima", since it's the biggest minima I have ever seen, and It will just keep getting bigger and bigger
I lost the main root of a Big mound about five years, and started this plant from a small cutting
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I have four small seedlings (3-4 years old) that are the regular form, small, but they flowered this year as well, so I will tons of seed.
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

Every other month or so we get some kind of critter that finds our backyard, and finds a whole buffet of tasty treats

They usually nimble on seed pods, Gibbaeum and soft Copiapoa outside and only rarely do they get into greenhouses

But for some reason, they always find your most precious baby for a taste or two
We had just rid the area of the last mouse/rat/possum and we had relaxed our diligence for countering new invasions

Then one morning I look at my new M. bertholdii and I see something odd, could it be new Flower buds??
No, it became a nibble delight for some adventurous mouse
Who found his way up unto the center area benches inside the greenhouse that are harder to reach, and then find this plant out of the other 100
The damage was minor and has healed, hopefully.
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Some more plants
This Neoporteria floccosa seedling has the deepest pink flowers of any other clone
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Echinopsis hybrid, Pastel Peach
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Echinopsis (Lobivia) hualfinensis amblayensis,
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keith
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by keith »

I caught a small worm eating the top of my only M. leuthyi now its a double but still no flowers. Same happened to a M herrerea years ago must have been a mouse or rat. It clumped eventually and only recently I divided it up . I don't know how to mouse proof a large collection. wire mesh everywhere like a Aviary ?
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

The Greenhouses are supposedly sealed, but they can find small spots with old rotted wood that they can chew out a hole big enough to crawl in

Here's last night's damage
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

A new plant for me

Sulcorebutia tarabucoensis ssp. patriciae
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melocactus matanzanus
looking very fat this year
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

Fall Ariocarpus flowers

A. fissuatus
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A. bravoanus on the left,
A. hintoii on the right
Hard to tell the difference when they get this big
No use cross pollinating them, who would want something that's in between something that's barely different.
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A. agavoides
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A. retusus that used to form grooved tubercles with wool, but stopped for the last 10 years
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weird retusus, maybe hybrids with trigonus
no areoles, ridged tubercles, and the most different aspect from the species is the flowers do not form in the center of the plant, but from between already formed tubercles
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Mammillaria schumannii
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

My Astrophytum caput-medusae hydrid update

I grafted it as a seedling, and it grew fast.
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It throws off offsets unlike any normal Astrophytum, I guess its the arms from the caput DNA
The new heads start off looking like flowers, then turn into a head.
It did have 2 flowers last summer, but I didn't have any other plants to cross it with.
They were pure yellow and smaller than any other species



I cut one off and it rooted quite fast, with very thick fat tuberous roots
it stays very compact with compact clustering heads
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I cut a bunch of heads off last summer
This plant is hardy!! I haven't killed a cutting yet.
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I need to come up with cool name for it.
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C And D
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by C And D »

Frailea angelesii
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K.W.
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Re: Welcome Craig Fry!

Post by K.W. »

Good evening Craig,

very, very nice astrophytum!
It's a shame that you don't live around the corner from me.

I would try to talk you off a plant. . . :wink:


Best wishes

K.W.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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