A-Z OF CACTI SPECIES

[mickthecactus]

Starting next week. Keep watching this space.

[mickthecactus]

OK, here we go. Obviously I cannot cover every single genus which would take too long and would bore you all to tears but I will pick out the most interesting and add one or 2 a day:-

ARIOCARPUS - North American and highly sought after by collectors. The Japanese have extensively hybdidized and have some very strange plants. These definitely do not want to be overwatered or its goodbye Ariocarpus and they are probably one of the last to start growing so no watering until decent late April weather. Need exceptionally well drained soil. Flower very late in the year in October/ November.

A good site is www.living-rocks.com



Ariocarpus fissuratus ssp. fissuratus



Ariocarpus fissuratus va. lloydii

[mickthecactus]

Comments as we go would be appreciated!

[Deleted]

Some of the Ariocarpus remind me of Houseleek, but with flowers ;D

[Dutchy]

Hey Mick,
Not Margi's kind of plant. Most flowers are pink ;D
I noticed they even have a tour described on where to go and see them in the wild.
Who ever made the site must be in love with these plants.
Do you know if they all stay that small?
And the major wanna know. Do you have them, when yes how do you fare with them.
Dutchy

[mickthecactus]

Morning Dutchy. Actually you also get white, yellow and mauve flowers (which I guess is pinkish). I wil give a link for one of the Japanese sites as well later on.

Yes, they all stay small, yes I do have them (all but one grown from seed) and they are doing fine at present although I have lost a couple over the years. Off the top of my head I think I have 5 at present.

[mickthecactus]

Here's todays cactus:_

ASTROPHTUM - Again, a very popular cactus, most varieties of which are covered in silvery flecks. Flowers are showy, mainly yellow but some have red throats. Not difficult to grow in well drained soil and full sun although Astrophytum asterias can be touchy.

Again, the Japanese have taken them to an art form and the third link below is a Japanese site:-

www.astrobase.de/index.html (lots of habitat pictures)
suvisith.tripod.com (Thai site)
www.shaboten.com/




Astrophum Capricorne





Astrophtum Asterias





Astrophum Ornatum

[Dutchy]

suvisith.tripod.com/asterias/pages/superkabuto9.htm

Mick, love this one. They are all such intrigueing funny plants.
I love the colour and shapes.
Mind I have a weakness for the Capricorn ones on the German site. Beeing a bit astro feeble there ;D
So how many of these. Self seeded again?
I get the feeling that you might be more than able to help me get the cacti seeds I have on their way ( somewhere in March).
Dutchy

[mickthecactus]

Hi Dutchy. I have about 15 all told with one very old (and a regular prize winner) - A. ornatum.

That was the only one I bought as a plant - the others all came from seed. If you saw A. asterias superkabuto I also have a variegated seedling which I have to graft this year. Something I haven't done before.

[Dutchy]

pictures?

[mickthecactus]

Dutchy, I have a problem with pictures as I am on the office computer which doesn't have the facilities. However, I am trying to sort out something with my daughter but she has only just moved house and only got her computer up and running again last week.

[Dutchy]

Ah pitty,
Keep the sites coming than.
Somehow pictures of plants make your mouth water. Even if you are never ever going to grow them. It is just the sheer pleasure of seeing them.
Which, as you may understand, is why I prefer this board to the Beep

[mickthecactus]

Good for you dutchy.

[Dutchy]

What
No complaints about me not telling people on here are so nice etc. etc. etc.
Sorry, drifting of topic

[Dutchy]

images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=ARIOCARPUS&btnG=Search+Images

Forgot to place this and somehow the modify post bit has crumpled again.

[mickthecactus]

Good link Dutchy. Thanks.

[mickthecactus]

COLUMNAR CACTI - I have lumped together a whole range of cacti which grow tall. Unfortunately, the majority do not flower until quite old with ine exception being Cleistocactus.
They do however give a good balance in the greenhouse against all the smaller globular cacti. The hairy ones look excellent even without flower and many have beautiful coloured stems in various shades of blue and one (which I have) is covered in white powder (farina) - Hertrichocereus beneckei.

Most are easy to grow in average cactus soil at 40f but Brazilian species should be a minimum of 50f.

See www.columnar-cacti.org/



Columnar- Cacti 1




Columnar - Cacti

[Dutchy]

Just another cactus site for you to browse Mick.
www.cactus-art.biz/index.htm
The site before was just Google Image Search.
Very useful but without information

[mickthecactus]

I know that one Dutchy.

[mickthecactus]

ECHINOCEREUS - one of my favourite genera. Easy to grow, don't take too much space and with beautiful flowers. Normal cactus soil and watering and full sun. Can take temperatures down to freezing in winter and below if absolutely dry so a good choice for an unheated greenhouse. Just don't water after mid September. They may shrivel alot but they respond very quickly to the first watering in spring.

See www.echinocereus.de/
www.lisowski58.freeserve.co.uk
images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=echinocereus&btnG=Search+Images.




Echinocereus




Echinocereus 1




Echinocereus 2




Echinocereus scherii gentrii




Echinocereus primolanat...

[Dutchy]

Mick how on earth do you manage to see the difference.
They are all cacti and they are all within the species so different.
Are the blooms a give away?
My cacti have little flowers the ones on this site all have big ones.
I might have one but it has not flowered.
Any Idea when cacti generally begin flowering, how old do they have to be?

[mickthecactus]

Morning Dutchy. Thats a lot of questions! To some degree the blooms are a give away but I guess that I have been growing them for so long now that it just comes automatically.

If yours have little flowers they are probably mammillarias and I haven't got that far in the alphabet yet.

Some cacti will flower the year after sowing i.e. plants sown in 2007 can flower in 2008. For some though it will be many, many years.

[Dutchy]

Hi Mick,
thank you for answering my barrage of questions.
I think I will go and get me some of those larger flowered cacti for my south facing window as well.

[mickthecactus]

ECHINOPSIS - globular S. American cacti. Easy to grow and extensively hybridised.

See echinopsis.hobby-site.com/



Echinopsis Aurea ssp...Shaferi




Echinopsis eyrisii



Echinopsis calorubra

[Deleted]

Hi Mick, Can you give my poor little cactus a name please.

He just sits in the bathroom, totally ignored but this is the second year that he's produced some lovely flowers.

I haven't got a clue about him and I'd like to learn more. ;D

i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/missusKP/100_1825.jpg?t=1171699016

ta muchly.

[Chuckles]

Hi Mick, love the pics on here, it's really starting to come together now.

So......are you up for a customer ;D This is my motley crew of cacti I have to confess I don't look after them very well. The 2 troughs are in proper Cacti compost, the other is in Seramis and I don't over water

The very tall one on the left is going a strange colour at the top, just as it looks in the photo I'm sure this isn't normal...any ideas.

The other pot also has a problem with the one on the left, its started to go a bit dull looking and and thinner at the top. I've poked it and it's still firm so not going rotten



This one is a pain, it flops over contiuosly, I have stuck a cane in the pot to try and support it but not sure if I should be doing anything else.

[Deleted]

Chuckles - Wow they look great! Any reason why the bottom one is in baked beans?

(The serious question is what is the orange stuff?)

[Chuckles]

Baked Beans

Its Seramis CC, a natural clay based product (hate the colour). You use it in a a sealed pot as in no holes. I've had it for years and started a thread on it a while ago

Heres the site which will tell you more about it Seramis

This is the Thread I started a while ago

Mick mentioned he may try it this year

Baked Beans

[mickthecactus]

Hi y'all - miss me?

Mrskp - thats a Mammillaria, spinosissima I think.

Chuckles, the one that you think is a funny colour at the top - that's the right colour. The colour below is wrong. Thet are generally showing problems of inadequate light levels which is why they etiolate (get thinner at the top). You need the sunniest position available with somewhere cool and bright for winter.

[Deleted]

thanks mick, i shall do some googling and write a label for my "Mammillaria, spinosissima I think" right now.

isn't it exciting !

;D