🌸 Desert.plants.passion / Spring flowers (4)
Rebutia marsoneri
Rebutia marsoneri
One of the most common Rebutia’s in the collections is R. marsoneri. I got this one from a friend who is also a cacti enthusiast. Considering that this plant came from mass cultivation; was planted in peat and regularly fertilized with strong chemicals, after what I planted it in a mineral soil, it took several years to get used to new conditions. It was necessary to develop a rich root system and immunity. Last year it began to blossom and now, as it is expected of this species, impresses with a generous amount of flowers.
Thelocactus conothelos ssp. argenteus
Thelocactus conothelos ssp. argenteus
This cactus is one of the first to come to my life. It is one of the most common Thelocactus in the collections, as it is easy to grow. I have planted mine in mineral substrate and keep it from spring to fall in the open; in the rain and the sun, and I can tell it is very satisfied and healthy. Although it can withstand long periods without water, it is not sensitive to excess moisture if it is kept in place with very good airflow. As it is getting older, it’is even more beautiful; it turns into a spiny sphere though somewhat elongated from the bottom of the body. Compared to other plants of the genus Thelocactus, T. conothelos is apparently different from other Thelocacti for flower morphology. Easy blooming, every spring spruce itself with the flowers of magenta-purple color.
Gymnocalycium bruchii
Gymnocalycium bruchii var. lafaldense
One of the things I love to see in the genus Gymnocalycium are their buds. Specifically, they have no spines, they are naked, with impeccable arrangement of petals.
Gymnocalycium andreae var. doppianum
Mammillariae candida, 2018
This beauty was a gift from a friend who is growing cacti for a long time. I really love this plant, I always pay particular attention to the ones I received as a gift. Except this adult M. candida, which spines are all completely white, I have also a smaller one from different source, whose central spine is yellowish-brown. Still, they both leave the impression of snowball, so it's no wonder they are named just like that; 'Snowball'. M. candida, like many cacti of this genus, is native to Mexico. In habitat it is widespread and not endangered species. It is interesting that the color of a flower is not the same every day of flowering. The first day flowers are yellow with darker strips, and the second day they turned into pinkish with darker strips.
If you compare photos, you’ll notice how in 2016. (photo below) it’s blossom was much richer than this year (photo above).
Mammillariae candida, 2016
On the photo below is one more Rebutia hybrid, that I sowed five years ago, and was writing more about them here.
Rebutia hybrid
Echinocereus rigidissimus (pectinatus var. rigidissimus)
Cacti from the genus Echinocereus are mostly frost hardy and where the minimum temp is not falling below -10 C (like in the place where I live) they can overwinter outside. However, there are some members of this species that should be protected from frost such as E. subinermis or do not like strong frosts such as E. pentalophus.
Now is the time when the first Echinocerei are blooming like E. viridiflorus (photo below), while others are making buds. Each plant that will bloom for the first time makes me particularly happy like this E.rigidissimus (pectinatus var. rigidissimus) that you can see in the photo above. It's the first Echinocereus I've got in my collectin, I’m waiting for more than 10 years to see it’s flower!
Echinocereus viridiflorus SB 117
Thank you for your attention!
Some of my other cacti & other succulents stories:
Rebutia hybrid
Spring flowers (3)
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus
Turbinicarpus valdezianus
Cacti spring flowers
Cacti collection waking up
Growing Stone Eaters
If you are interested in reading about desert plants from my own growing experience fell free to follow and enjoy!
@andrijana
Very beautiful photos of cacti!
I like cacti very much!
I have many, but still want more!
:-)
That is cacti addiction :) It is very familiar to me ;)
Well, when this dependence is only one.
And I have a few :-)
A few .. hahah ! But that makes your life a few times more beautiful!
More beautiful - I do not argue!
But there is practically no free time!
:-)
Ohhhh more and more.. I am almost afraid to ask how many cacti do you have?
Love the first Rebutia marsoneri- gorgeous flowers and a very nice pot ;)
And Mammillariae candida... I don't any f those very white ones (yet). I tend to get mealybugs on my plants and I am afraid that on those white I simply wont see them on time.
And Echinocereus rigidissimus for it's shrimpy colour and hedgehog appearance :)
And I see you have Dragon balls too :p
Hhaha Well, I don't know how to count? Every pot? Every cactus? Every species? All ssp.? All var.? Not all authors agree about ssp. and var.! If I count all species what should I do with so many Lithops that I do not know exact name? ... There are about 1000 species, but I have to count them again this year... Maybe there are more of them.
The pot is hand made of tiles adhesive and newspapers. :)
When it comes to mealybugs there is very practice solution... Use mineral soil and keep cacti on place with good airflow then they won't come. I was reading about how mealybugs avoid plants planted in mineral soil and I can confirm that from my own experience. When I was using bought soil for cacti or was mixing soil of peat, molehill and sand... I had problems with them, and that was really annoying.
When I started to use mineral soil they never come back again. Only problem that I have is red spider mites-- usually I have one plant a year under attack, and that is is negligible...
Oh I dunno :D But that tells me you have lots :p
I have some aeonium plants that I keep on an open balcony, one is in a hanging basket so I'd say there is a lot of air flow and I keep getting mealybugs on them. So frustrating!
You mix yourself mineral soil, or it is possible to get it somewhere? That is so cool! I will have to try it :) Thank you. Now you are my cactus guru :p
I have planted my Aeoniums in mineral soil, and there is no bugs of any kind! I had cacti on balcony also, a small one where I kept about 700 species. Three years ago I have moved in a house so now they are outside, waiting for a glasshouse to come. And when I kept them on balcony they had no mealybugs since I planted them in mineral soil.... (before that it was invasion and I had to use insecticide regularly).
I see you're living in Portugal.. I live in Croatia where most of the land is clay, but still I managed to find a place where is perfect soil for cacti- containing very small green, blue stones, and about 10% humus! Than I mix it with zeolite. I'm sure!!! that you can find some mineral soil in Portugal also. That soil from nature will be the best choice. But if you have no time for that you can buy pumice, zeolite, vermiculite...
For more info read this: http://xerophilia.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/The-Stone-Eaters.pdf
That is the best written article for cacti soil.
Wow, thank you! I guess this will be mu mission for this summer. Find the right soil and repot the babies :)
So basically the more stones and other kind of pebbles the better. I have been mixing some regular shop-bought soil with perlite and lots of sand for them.
"a small one where I kept about 700 species" - wow!!
Yes, the more stones the better, but not any kind of stones. Nor any kind of sand. Perlite is ok. Just read that link, that guy really understood the point of cacti soil.
The shop-bought soil is the worse for cacti. Only young seedlings will appreciate it, for the rest use just anything else. Heavy clay is also not recommended.
Oh yes, I did manage to tuck them in, but was collecting only small growing species. Yet this year I'm sawing some columnar cacti. Now I have enough space :)
Yes, I read to that part that if we don't know what to use... more stones is better than more organic material. That is already a great tip (looking towards one baby that probably rotted).
I have 2 columnar cacti. But I prefer the smaller ones and the barrel ones that can grow to massive sizes.
Always beautiful your cacti,
Conothelos interesting to grow outdoors!
All the flowers are beautiful!
Thank you! :)
In winter I protect conothelos from frost, but Echinocerei (and some Opuntias and Escobarias) can be grown outdoor with no fear.
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