Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Mammillaria magnimamma, SB 40

Mammillaria magnimamma, SB 40, Hidalgo, Mexico.
A coarsy soilmix and lots of sunshine will keep this one flowering and offseting. During winter, it should not be watered or be kept at freezing temperatures.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Mammillaria bocasana ssp. eschauzieri

  
This one is easy to flower as long as it is potted in the right substrate, that is a very coarse, gritty sand with chunks of granite and very little humus. It is quite resistant to cold temperatures if kept dry and flowers abundantly throughout the whole growing season. Perfect plant for beginners, as it does not require much space and will accommodate low light. 
Field number: REP 1236
Locality : Mexicó : San Luis Potosí (Ahualulco, 1900m)
 

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Acanthocalycium thionatum var. copiapoides in the mood for love

Easy species to grow and flower. If kept in full sun, the colour and the spination gets spectacular. In its dormancy period it shrinks in volume and tolerates low temperatures fairly easy.

Echinofossulocactus multicostatus care

Also known as Stenocactus multicostatus, it is relatively easy to care. It likes a porous, fast draining soil and might tolerate low light levels. If kept in full sun, it develops nice sturdy spines as depicted above.
The wavy ribs offer an ideal shelter for potential pests and bugs so spraying the plants with a light insecticide dilution is advised time and time again. My plants also seem vulnerable to temperature drops during the autumn. Dormancy should be encouraged as soon as temperatures go below 10℃ during night time.
If all things are right, it flowers profusely in the spring season.
Echinofossulocactus grandicornis flowers

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Mammillaria standleyi, L086

Mammillaria standleyi, L086.
Collector : Alfred Bernhard Lau
Locality : Mexicó : border Chihuahua - Sonora (Sierra Obscura 200m) 

Fairly easy to grow, requiring typical mammillaria care. Not sure about its frost resistance though as this is the first season it rests at low temperatures.

Echinopsis flower

Easy to grow. Good drainage, ventilation and a cold winter rest ensure next year's flowering.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Mammillaria longimamma

Mammillaria longimamma aka Dolichothele longimamma flowering and unhappy 'bout its Lebensraum.
Easy plant to grow and reproduce. It loves just about any fast draining growing medium and flowers profusely after a bit of winter cold. In fact, given the right conditions, it produces so many offshoots it fills a medium pot in only one growing season. So plant it in shallow pots and do not exaggerate with either nutrients or waterings in order to keep it close to its natural form.