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Post by tod2 on Dec 15, 2010 6:39:48 GMT
Thanks for the tip Mick - does it apply to ALL seeds? I have millions hanging about in packets! Lots brought back from OZ, and UK. Also my recently acquired seeds from the USA are not ALL going to be planted this year, so should I stick the lot in the veg drawer of my fridge?
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 15, 2010 13:09:46 GMT
Thanks for the tip Mick - does it apply to ALL seeds? I have millions hanging about in packets! Lots brought back from OZ, and UK. Also my recently acquired seeds from the USA are not ALL going to be planted this year, so should I stick the lot in the veg drawer of my fridge? No, they all have their own variations. Echinocactus can wait for years whereas Astrophytum have had it after 12 months. What else have you got? Yes, into the fridge for them.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 15, 2010 13:16:57 GMT
Those photos are not from December, are they? No. Spring and summer earlier this year. Here's some more - Echinopsis ancistrophora v cardenasianum Stenocactus dichroacanthus (this one is about 18" across) Acanthocalycium violaceum. Gymnocalycium denudatum
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Post by tod2 on Dec 15, 2010 13:27:59 GMT
For their size I think those cactii are doing brilliantly with their blooms! Puts lots of other plants to shame.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 15, 2010 16:25:54 GMT
Ohhhhh, Mick ~~ can't wait for Spring to come again! You WILL show us what they do this year, won't you?
That first one is a perfect bouquet, with each flower perfect as well.
I love the way the flowers of S. dichroacanthus sort of match the plant, not always the case with cactus.
Do you keep your Gymnocalycium in shade or dappled light?
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 15, 2010 16:34:50 GMT
Ohhhhh, Mick ~~ can't wait for Spring to come again! You WILL show us what they do this year, won't you? That first one is a perfect bouquet, with each flower perfect as well. I love the way the flowers of S. dichroacanthus sort of match the plant, not always the case with cactus. Do you keep your Gymnocalycium in shade or dappled light? Course I will Bixa... Our sun doesn't have the strength of yours so they are always in full sun. I don't shade at all, even Haworthias. The only problem arises in, say late March, we can get a high pressure system bringing very clear (but often chilly) weather from the East but cloudless skies for days on end and as the plants have been in the winter dullness for months they can burn.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 16, 2010 1:45:12 GMT
Our cloudless sky was beautifully blue today ~~
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Post by bjd on Dec 16, 2010 7:35:53 GMT
Do people eat the barbary figs there, Bixa?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 16, 2010 15:23:26 GMT
Is that what barbary figs are, Bjd? I never knew. Yes, they are eaten. They're called "tuna" here. One of the specifically Oaxacan uses for them is to squeeze them into horchata, turning it a bright pink. Before: and after:
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2010 20:51:01 GMT
Why are the tops cut off of the prickly pears (figues de Barbarie)?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 16, 2010 21:42:46 GMT
They aren't cut off, Kerouac, the opening is there because the fruit is immature. See the flower buds at the left of the picture? That's where the flower fell out. When ripe, the depression will be hardened and much less pronounced. Look here for pictures showing the depression on the mature fruit.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 17, 2010 4:40:40 GMT
Are they a kind of 'prickly pear'?
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 17, 2010 13:14:47 GMT
Mammillaria guelzowiana - Neoporteria multicolor - Rebutias - Echinocereus subinermis-
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 17, 2010 16:17:48 GMT
(answer to Tod: yes ~~ prickly pear, nopal, paddle cactus are all names for the same kind of Opuntia)
Wow, Mick ~~ is that what's going on in your greenhouse right now? They're gorgeous, although I think my heart belongs to the N. multicolor. What is the cactus to the right of it? That must be a monstrose forum, correct? Nifty.
That certainly looks like a black pot from Oaxaca under the cactus in the first picture.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 19, 2010 20:43:50 GMT
(answer to Tod: yes ~~ prickly pear, nopal, paddle cactus are all names for the same kind of Opuntia) Wow, Mick ~~ is that what's going on in your greenhouse right now? They're gorgeous, although I think my heart belongs to the N. multicolor. What is the cactus to the right of it? That must be a monstrose forum, correct? Nifty. That certainly looks like a black pot from Oaxaca under the cactus in the first picture. No Bixa, these were pictures from last spring/summer. Yup, that's a cristate. I'll post a better picture tomorrow. Do you really reckon that pot is Oaxacan? It came with a flower display for Mrs Cactus some time back and is buried under a foot of snow right now. I bet it wishes it was home....
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 20, 2010 3:03:14 GMT
Yup, that's a cristate. I'll post a better picture tomorrow. I just noticed that the really wonderful cactus behind the cristate one is crammed with buds. Do you really reckon that pot is Oaxacan? You be the judge. Go here and pay particular attention to the last photo in Reply #1.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 20, 2010 13:17:17 GMT
Yup, that's a cristate. I'll post a better picture tomorrow. I just noticed that the really wonderful cactus behind the cristate one is crammed with buds. Do you really reckon that pot is Oaxacan? You be the judge. Go here and pay particular attention to the last photo in Reply #1. It's very possible but I would be surprised that a Oaxacan bowl would turn up in the UK. Once it reappears from wherever it is buried I'll post a picture and you can be the judge... ;D By the way that was another sumptuous thread Bixa...
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 20, 2010 14:09:37 GMT
Yup, that's a cristate. I'll post a better picture tomorrow. I just noticed that the really wonderful cactus behind the cristate one is crammed with buds. Do you really reckon that pot is Oaxacan? You be the judge. Go here and pay particular attention to the last photo in Reply #1. Here's the one with buds - And here's the cristate -
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 20, 2010 18:20:08 GMT
Really a magnificent specimen. And that first photo is enough, all by itself, to tempt people into growing cactus.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 22, 2010 13:29:42 GMT
Ferocactus macrodiscus - Another Fero whose name I forget.... A group of cacti showing their fruit rather than their flowers -
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 22, 2010 17:08:00 GMT
Gosh, they're nice! I'm trying to remember the name of the "hat" on the big guy at the bottom. I believe only some South American cactus have that. Are they called melocactus?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2010 3:10:35 GMT
Yesterday I went to the big produce market downtown. If you all have seen my Christmas threads about Oaxaca, you know that all kinds of bromeliads, moss, succulents, etc. are sold in the market at this time of year to adorn the nativity scenes. Thus, I told myself firmly to just go, get food, and come home. However, I had no cash so had to go to the atm. That meant entering the market from the front and having to pass all the nativity goodies in order to get back to the groceries. *sigh* I present, with perhaps a tad of gloating, The Haul ~~
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 23, 2010 9:11:03 GMT
Gosh, they're nice! I'm trying to remember the name of the "hat" on the big guy at the bottom. I believe only some South American cactus have that. Are they called melocactus? Spot on Bixa. Your haul is magnificent! Once you get them all potted up and growing they'll look superb. You have an excellent eye for group planting.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 23, 2010 13:43:32 GMT
Rebutia heliosa - Mammillaria theresae - Mammillaria glassii v. siberiensis
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2010 17:25:49 GMT
I never see a blooming Rebutia without thinking "what fun!" in addition to admiring their beauty. There is something so cheerful about that group. Mick, what the name of the cactus to the right of M. theresae, please? Also, what are its requirements? They're commonly available around here, but I've never had one really take off for me. Gorgeous mound of M. glassi there! And what is that Crassula di tutti Crassula in front of it?
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 23, 2010 19:22:47 GMT
That's not a great picture of theresae - sorry. To the right is Mam baumannii.
Crassula deceptrix. The weird one back right is Pterocactus tuberosus. Gorgeous flowers...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2010 19:40:43 GMT
All of these pictures are great, but for those of us used to 'normal' vegetation, some of these displays look fake -- luscious flowers sitting on prickly bases, bright colours sprouting from drab drums. And that makes it all the more wonderful, knowing that it really exists.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 23, 2010 21:34:38 GMT
It's taken me WAY too long to stumble over this thread. Wonderful. And great to see in the midst of winter. We have a few sad cacti that never bloom, though they do grow quite a lot, then fall over. On page 2, I was surprised to see this: I recognized the dragon tree because of a Garden Design magazine (Nov. 2000) featuring Lotusland. The use of dragon trees in that landscape is astounding. (check this out) I have actually been to Lotusland, when a friend and former co-worker was its director. We worked together at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden back in the early 80's, and when Mr. Kimby and I made a return visit to Santa Barbara about 10 years later, he took us on a tour of Madame Walska's estate. Lotusland has very limited public hours, because of the resistance of neighboring estate owners to tour buses and parking lots. I remember the uproar when the center was proposed.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 23, 2010 21:36:18 GMT
some of these displays look fake -- luscious flowers sitting on prickly bases, bright colours sprouting from drab drums. And that makes it all the more wonderful, knowing that it really exists. Some of the amazing cacti you can buy have been grafted from one plant to another, so in that regard, they are sorta fake....
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2010 22:47:21 GMT
Ohhh, Lotusland! I am jealous, Kimby, especially since you were on the inside track. Was it wonderful? "drab drums", Kerouac?! I would have said subtle and infinite variation in color, form, spine arrangement, etc. But whatever.
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