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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 2, 2020 12:41:50 GMT
Aloe pseudoparvula
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 2, 2020 17:17:15 GMT
That Huernia should be called bullseye huernia.
So many of the small Aloes and Haworthias send up those coral bell-like flowers on very tall stalks in relation to the plant. It always seems so cheerful and stalwart.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 16, 2020 16:36:55 GMT
Orbea pulchella Huernia guttata
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 16, 2020 16:54:56 GMT
The darlings!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 17, 2020 5:57:20 GMT
more alien lifeforms!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2020 5:30:43 GMT
So yaaay ~ tonight was the big night! I posted pictures of the Epiphyllum oxypetalum in bud over in the In Bud thread, but of course the flower is the big show. Earlier this evening it looked as though something was happening ~
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 7:37:18 GMT
Those are superb pictures!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 10:32:17 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 10:40:23 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2020 13:37:39 GMT
Thanks, Mick! At 7 this morning the flowers had already closed their petals and were drooping.
How old is that Ariocarpus and what is the 2nd picture with the outer space flowers?
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 14:32:46 GMT
I’m not sure of the age but probably 10-15 years old.
Orbea wissmannii v eremastrum IAS1155
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2020 15:11:06 GMT
Thanks, Mick. You have the nicest collection of Orbeas -- I love when you show them here.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 16:25:43 GMT
There’s a nice one coming up in a few days.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 24, 2020 17:11:35 GMT
Stapelia hirsuta
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 24, 2020 18:06:53 GMT
Another winner!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 24, 2020 19:06:42 GMT
I am intrigued by how a lot of these plants seem to bloom at the bottom rather than doing so at the top of a stalk.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 25, 2020 17:09:08 GMT
Orbea gilbertii
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 25, 2020 17:25:43 GMT
It's a bloom-a-thon at your house, Mick!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 25, 2020 20:17:05 GMT
Ah, there's a higher blossom!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 29, 2020 16:42:49 GMT
Stapelia hirsuta ssp gariepensis
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 8, 2020 7:54:16 GMT
Stapelia flavopurpurea
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 8, 2020 14:32:20 GMT
Wow! How many different Stapelia do you have? Not much to report on from my patio. Two or three weeks ago I vigorously pruned that night-blooming jungle cactus shown in reply @1483 and it responded by putting out lots of buds, so I've been getting blooms from it. Also, I was given a dragon fruit cactus -- Hylocereus undatus. Whereas I was greedily delighted to accept this gift, I'm already worried about how to handle it once it takes off. They get big.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 8, 2020 16:29:51 GMT
Quite a few now.
They get very big.....
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 13, 2020 18:19:38 GMT
I continue to find those vegetal starfish both lovely and frightening.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 17, 2020 22:42:26 GMT
I spent most of yesterday repotting and renovating two enormous and overgrown Agaves -- A.gypsophila and A.vilmoriniana, plus my big Echinocactus grusonii. They were well overdue, but by the time I managed to score some potting soil it had rained so much that the big succulents were too heavy to work with easily.
I had two vilmorinianas, but managed to give one away. They really belong in the ground, not potted in a patio. The one I kept looked really parched despite all the rain. When I moved the big thorny things in front of it so I could grab it and turn it out of the pot, I found out why -- a colony of ants had taken over. That meant that any water just ran on through and the plant wasn't getting any. It only had one teeny baby, smaller than my little finger. I saved that, then did major surgery on the parent by cutting off all the dead trunk and up into the green portion. I cut off all the leaves except the upright middle ones. I put it into dry soil in the shade and will see what happens.
The gypsophila had too many babies pushing it this way and that. I saved two & gave the rest away. The parent got cut way back, including most of the roots, and then repotted into a smaller pot.
As you can imagine, I always approach Echinocactus grusonii repotting with trepidation. Through the course of the seasons it works its way down inside the pot. If it didn't do that, I'd probably leave it alone. It was good I got at it, though, since the soil was heavy and compacted & the roots were more on the outside, between the soil an the pot wall. I ditched the old soil, cleaned up the roots, then potted it in a smaller pot. God, it's a heavy thing! I used doubled cardboard egg cartons as "hands" to lift and shift it in order to get the soil in nicely.
I am full of puncture wounds now, but also flushed with success.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 18, 2020 11:41:12 GMT
I have always avoided grusonii for that reason. It's a monster!
I have gypsophila Ivory Curls but I keep it to just one head or it would take over. it's a lovely Agave.
I don't know vilmoriniana though but I do know ants. The biggest pests in my greenhouse. If ever I see them I know they are up to no good.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2020 13:49:40 GMT
It is a monster, true, but such a beauty.
You showed a picture of your Ivory Curls, which is gorgeous. The plain one I have is also wonderful, with its exceptional color and twisting habit, but boy does it grow. I have given enough babies from it away that if this radical repotting fails, I know where I can get a replacement.
When I lived in Nazareno I had a vilmoriniana in the ground which grew to an astounding size and had a monster baby as well. Even in the landscape they need a lot of space, but are truly dramatic & earn their nickname of "octopus agave".
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 18, 2020 14:09:57 GMT
Ah yes! The Octopus Agave.
More suited to the ground than a pot but nevertheless very impressive.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 18, 2020 16:48:33 GMT
Orbea baldratii
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 18, 2020 17:27:20 GMT
A beautiful selection Mick...astonishing. Bixa that flower is spectacular...so glad that you caught a photo of it
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