The Kaktus Patch Diary

The last of the migrants

2005-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

My large Notocactus magnificus ready for the move back indoors.

Yes the plant in the photo has been dusted with snow! The last of my cold sensitive cacti was moved in yesterday amid snowsqualls and +1C temperatures. Many non winter hardy plants had been left out overnight unheated in -2C weather with no apparent ill effect.

This blogger will now remain dormant together with my collection until about mid April when my plants will begin to migrate back outdoors.

Mammillaria solisiodes

2005-10-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mammillaria solisiodes blooming in my collection today, October 17th, 2005.

John Pilbeam in his old book, Mammillaria - A Collector's Guide, describes this species as "a challenge to grow for any length of time, this beautifully spined species is much sought after. Seed is ... difficult to raise, the young plants painfully slow growing and prone to damp off. Mature plants ... have a nasty habit of dying in the spring... as though this species cannot accept captivity." This is one of many special plants introduced to OCSS collections over the past several years by OCSS member Paul Davydov. The mature plant pictured is on it's own roots and was blooming today, October 17th, in Hamilton, Ontario.

Gymnocactus species nova

2005-10-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Gymnocactus species L1159 blooming in Hamilton, October 16th.

This plant arrived here from nurseries in California labelled as L1159 Gymnocactus species nova. In fact when I compare it to the literature I'm not sure why it's considered a species nova because it looks like Gymnocactus viereckii to me. It was blooming in Hamilton, Ontario Sunday October 16th.

Cleistocactus

2005-10-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Three stemmed cleistocactus straussii added 16" on shortest stem this summer!

Last year I was trying to push my Cleistocactus as much as possible by fertilizing a lot. It did grow a lot adding about a foot on each of 2 stems and near the end of summer beginning to sprout a 3rd stem. I theorized then that probably the tallest stems would begin to grow less and shorter stems would grow more as the plant reached it's genetically controlled maximum height. This year I barely fertilized the plant at all almost ignoring it. The result was that the tallest stem reached 61" high adding only 3" this year. The second tallest stem added only 5" to finish at 55" tall. The shortest stem however grew a phenomenal 16" this year to finish at 23" in height!

Lithops

2005-10-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Lithops planting in Hamilton blooming October 11th, 2005

Fall is the time of year when many of the South African mesems are at their best. Although many of my Lithops (they belong to the mesem family) have been doing pretty well all summer many have just reached the peak of their flowering cycle now in early October.

Mammillaria pringlei

2005-10-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Mammillaria pringlei blooming October 9th in Hamilton, Ontario.

This plant probably has the longest non stop blooming streak of any cactus in my collection. It started blooming in spring a few weeks after it was moved outdoors and still hasn't stopped. At about 20 cm high and 15 cm wide it appears to be as large as this species ever gets according to the literature. Another one of those treasures from Sorensen's!

The great migration

2005-10-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

A tray of smaller cacti from an exposed bed coming back indoors October 8th.

The great migration of succulent plants back indoors has begun at my place in Hamilton today. With a daytime high of only about 12C today and the promise of a clear night I'm guessing temperatures just shy of freezing will be seen tomorrow morning. A number of plants from my open bed which were exposed to the heavy rains yesterday were moved back indoors. Among these cold sensitive Euphorbia's and moisture sensitive cacti. One particularly cold sensitive Melocactus from my covered bed was also brought indoors. The rest of the collection will move in soon as well. Adeniums, Pachypodiums, some epi's and new seedling cacti have already been making daily moves indoors for the night for about a month.

Last year I waited until the end of the first week in November before bringing in anything. By that time several light frosts had already occured and a severe killing frost threatened. Snow was falling as I struggled until midnight to move in my large collection indoors. Later some Adeniums and a Melocactus were found to be casualities because of this late exposure to the cold.

Coryphantha palmeri

2005-10-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Coryphantha palmeri blooming October 6th in Hamilton, Ontario.

Although flowering in general in my cactus collection is clearly now subsiding many species are still blooming. Among these the genus Coryphantha are still producing many new buds promising flowers for some time to come. Pictured above is a plant of Coryphantha palmeri which was blooming today October 6th. Although only 6cm in diameter this plant was started from seed way back in 1986. The seed was collected from wild plants in Mexico by Dr. Alfred Lau, the famous field botanist who specialized in cacti.

Lobivia acanthoplegma v. patula

2005-10-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Lobivia acanthoplegma v. patula blooming October 5th, in Hamilton, Ontario.

This plant has been putting out a few flowers continuously every day for several weeks now. Another recent amazing acquisition from Sorensens my plant is almost as large as the largest of this type in habitat according to the literature. In Cacti the Illustrated Dictionary by Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham they write that this form occurs "in an unusual habitat for a Lobivia on flat alluvial land where farming and building have rendered this beautiful variety virtually extinct."

Astrophytum's

2005-10-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Astrophytum asterias blooming October 4th in Hamilton.

Today seemed to be a day for Astrophytum's to bloom. Three species were flowering in my collection at once, A. asterias, A. myriostigma and A. ornatum. A. asterias has a reputation as being particularly difficult to grow and large specimens like this one are exceptional. The ornatum flower on the other hand is the largest of the trio measuring in at around 9 cm diameter.

Astrophytum ornatum blooming October 4th in Hamilton.

Turbinicarpus

2005-10-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Turbinicarpus lilinkeuiduus blooming in Hamilton, Ontario, October 3rd, 2005.

The genus Turbinicarpus is a group of miniature cacti that don't exceed about 3 or 4 cm in diameter in the wild. Cultivated plants can be larger and may offset and cluster unnaturally making a much larger plant. Never the less this is the sort of group where a collector could easily fit an impressive collection of the various species on a single windowsill. It seems many closely related forms appear in habitat and many have been given invalid names as illustrated by the long list of names in Kohres seed catalogue. The plant in the photo is exactly one of these plants started from Kohres seed with the odd name Turbinicarpus lilinkeuiduus which is no doubt invalid and just a form of something else like schmiedickeanus. My plant has been putting out a continuous stream of flowers for several weeks now and was blooming again today, in Hamilton, October 3rd, 2005.

Gymnocalycium occultum

2005-10-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Gymnocalycium occultum blooming in Hamilton, Ontario, October 2nd.

Seemingly just to prove the fall flowering is wide ranging across many genera my Gymnocalycium occultum bloomed again today. Gymnocalyciums are relatively easy to grow and popular among collectors. Occultum is sometimes synonymized under other names like bodenbenderianum or quehlianum. Whatever the real legitimate name should be it appears habitat plants of these types don't get much larger than 7 or 8 cm in diameter according to the literature. My plant at about 12 cm diameter appears therefore to be an unequivocal giant, the product of favorable conditions under cultivation presumably.

Lobivia obrepanda v. calorubra

2005-10-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

Lobivia obrepanda v. calorubra blooming October 1st in Hamilton, Ontario.

There is nothing particularly rare about this plant and the plant itself looks quite ordinary but the flowers are amazingly beautiful in my opinion. According to Walter Rausch's Lobivia books Lobivia's are extremely variable in the wild and flower forms with white, red and purple often occur within the same species. The pink shades fading into whites on my plant strike me as sublime. I found it blooming this morning, October 1st, with 4 large 4 inch diameter flowers.

Copiapoa lauii

2005-09-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

Copiapoa lauii blooming in Hamilton, Ontario, September 30th.

Copiapoa lauii appears to be an extremely uncommon species in collections worldwide. Plants of this species never seem to be available from nurseries anywhere, even seeds are not easily obtained. In Ontario, as far as I know, no one has ever had it in their collection. That is not until the OCSS distributed seedlings of the species to participating members of the group seed start project last year. I'm not sure why the species is so uncommon in collections because it seems quite easy to grow and propagate. The plant in the picture is my 17 month old seedling from the OCSS group seed start project last year. It was blooming today, September 30th, for the first time.

Obregonia denegrii

2005-09-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

Obregonia denegrii blooming in Hamilton, September 29th

If I had to make a short list of exceptionally rare and unusual cactus species O. denegrii would probably be on it. Old and large specimens of this species are almost never seen in Ontario. It is a species which seems to have a habit of doing well for a while and then suddenly deciding that something is not quite to its liking and dying. The plant shown in the photo was blooming today, September 29th, in Hamilton. It was a surprise find at Sorensen's a couple of years ago. Like the Ariocarpus they were never seen at Sorensen's until the OCSS asked if they could get them.

Whenever I see this plant in my collection I reminisce about the ones I saw growing wild in Mexico. It remains one of the fondest memories I have to this day.

Ancistrocactus tobuschii

2005-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ancistrocactus tobuschii blooming in Hamilton, September 28, 2005

Its not clear whether A. tobuschii is really a genuine species or if its just an unusual variant of A. brevihamatus but one thing that is clear, it was never very common. Until recently it had only been known to occur naturally at one small locality in Texas and the last I heard that population had been wiped out. If true that would mean this plant is now extinct in the wild and found only as cultivated plants in collections. The plant pictured was grown from Mesa Garden seed, Steven Brack's field number SB987 and bloomed for the first time ever today, September 28, 2005. Unfortunately none other were blooming at the same time to permit production of seeds. Most likely in all of Ontario, this plant is found only in two OCSS member collections.

Ariocarpus

2005-09-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

Ariocarpus fissuratus v. lloydii in bloom in Hamilton, Ontario late September.

Its amazing how different opinions can be about the appeal of an Ariocarpus. I've heard everything from ugly from the uninitiated to the greatest of all treasures from aficionados. Ariocarpus are perhaps the slowest growing genus of cacti which is saying something significant since there probably is no cactus that is really a fast grower. This is probably why old specimens of Ariocarpus are rarely seen in collections and the more knowledgeable collectors are impressed with big old plants of Ariocarpus. If there are plants anywhere in the cactus family that would qualify as living stones these are it. They are reliable fall bloomers.

Ariocarpus used to be one of those cacti that was never seen at Sorensen's nurseries. That is not until the Ontario Cactus and Succulent Society asked them if they could get some. Shortly thereafter dozens of small ones showed up at that nursery for the first time and a number of OCSS members were able to add them to their collections. I was very fortunate to acquire the old specimen of A. fissuratus v. lloydii in the photo from another long time collector. It could easily be 50 years old. This plant has been blooming for me in Hamilton for several days now in mid September.

Mammillaria schumannii

2005-09-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

Mammillaria schumannii blooming in Hamilton, Ontario, Sept. 26th.

Mammillaria schumannii is a relatively new species having been first published as recently as 1987. As such it has only recently been seen in Ontario collections, mostly it seems thanks to Sorensen's nurseries. The plant pictured was just recently acquired last summer and I would wager that with it's 10 heads and 15X11 cm dimensions, it's the largest of this species in any collection in Ontario. It produced the spectacular record display of 48 flowers in Hamilton today, September 26th!

Lobivia species

2005-09-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Lobivia species blooming in late September in Hamilton, Ontario.

The genus Lobivia probably has some of the nicest flowers in the cactus family and produces them very freely. The plant shown in the picture was blooming September 25th in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is probably a form of L. arachnacantha with peculiar lemon yellow colored flowers (They are usually more orange) This particular species has the peculiar habit of opening many flowers all at one time followed by a period without flowers so that it blooms in dramatic waves throughout the growing season. The most spectacular display this year on this particular plant occurred in midsummer when approximately 75 flowers opened at once completely hiding the entire body of the plant. This is another of those treasured acquisitions from Sorensen's Greenhouses.

Was it the end, or was it just the beginning!?!?

2005-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Coryphantha radians in Hamilton, Ontario, September 24th with about 16 flowers!

Yesterday was officially the end of summer. Most of my collection has been cruising through the summer at a pretty respectable pace. You might think that succulent plants so far north might sense that the seasons are changing and begin to slow down now. Most plants in my collection however are behaving as though it were spring. Instead of slowing down they seem to have switched gears to rocket propelled hyperdrive! Maybe it’s the longer nights, or maybe it’s because they aren’t drying out too fast in excessive heat. Whatever the reason the majority in my collection are not only making a mad final dash in green growth but the flowering isn’t over yet either! Even seed batches that seemed to have finished with germination a long time ago are suddenly showing additional germination!

Welcome to my backyard!

2005-09-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

My piece of Arizona in Hamilton, Ontario!

One of the first things you would probably notice at my place if you were arriving for a visit would be a couple of large Agaves in my backyard beside the driveway. The variegated one is Agave americana, I haven't been able to identify the other one. They both measure about 4 feet across and 3 feet high. Last year I just barely managed to squeeze them through my basement door for the winter and this year they are even bigger!

Pereskia!

2005-09-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

What's this? Why a cactus of course!

I would wager that I am probably the only cactus collector in all of Ontario that keeps a plant of the genus Pereskia in their collection. (Not the same as Pereskiopsis of course) My plant of Pereskia aculeata looks more like a rose with it's big leaves than what most people would consider a cactus. The flower is even reminiscent of a wild rose flower. Other species in the genus become more like small trees when they mature. I started this one from seed a few years ago. Obviously it's fairly fast growing. I thought it would make a very interesting and educational entry for public society shows.

The genus Pereskia is often considered to be the most closely related to the first precursor cactus species on the evolutionary tree. The plant in the picture has the pale yellow green leaves. The felty grey brown leaves poking out in the upper left are something else.

Mme's

2005-09-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

A few of the many Mme's now in my collection.

Mme's (Myrtillocactus and magic elastic) is a term I've coined for small seedlings grafted on small cereoid stock using "Magic elastic". Actually many of my "Mme's " this year were on Trichocereus pachanoi stock which I raised myself from seed also. I just happened to have a lot of free T. pachanoi seed last year and decided to raise it for grafting stock. The Tricho seems to produce nearly identical results to Myrtillo. I've produced about 100 of these so far this summer and there will probably be even more before the growing season is over. They've been doing just great growing visibly on an almost daily basis. They are now one of the items in my collection that I watch most closely.

Pereskiopsis grafts

2005-09-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

A month old grafting of Sclerocactus spinosior on Pereskiopsis.

I made my first succesful attempts at grafting many years ago but didn't really grasp the full potential of this technique in cold northern climates like mine until my friend Paul Davydov came along onto the scene. Now increasingly it seems to me like the use of grafting, especially in cold climates, is one of those things that sets apart the truly expert from the amateur.

This year I've made more graftings than ever before, many just purely experimental. Among these were a number of graftings on Pereskiopsis stock. I found that my success rate with this stock, without physical aids to pressure the joint, was not as high as touted by many advocates. I've concluded that Myrtillocactus stock with "magic elastic" (Mme) is much more satisfactory giving me excellent results with even the smallest of seedlings. With "Mme" even smaller than pinhead size seedlings of Aztekium and Blossfeldia were grafted successfully!

Of course there are many that will argue contra, as I used to, that grafting produces unnatural looking plants severely limiting the usefulness of this technique. To which the pro side can produce many arguments in rebuttal;
1/Plants on their own roots in cultivation are usually also unnatural in appearance because they are most often overwatered and over fertilized.
2/Many species are almost impossible to raise to a significant stature on their own roots (especially in cold climates) because they are slow growing or just difficult.
3/The grafting can be masked by using a short stock and/or burying the stock for show purposes.
4/A stock species which produces a more natural appearance in the scion can be chosen.
5/Graftings can be degrafted and rerooted to produce larger natural looking plants much faster.
6/Grafting allows faster and more reliable propagation of rare and difficult to grow material.
7/Many species are not available to the collector as mature plants on their own roots. However most species are available as seed which can be grown most rapidly and reliably as a graft.
8/Grafting can be used to save diseased material that is rare and precious.

Month old grafting of Mammillaria herrerae on Pereskiopsis.

Notocactus magnificus

2005-09-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

Notocactus magnificus in bloom in mid September in Hamilton, Ontario.

Another species of cactus still blooming prolifically in my collection in mid September is Notocactus magnificus. The larger of 2 plants of this species that I have in my collection is probably the biggest cactus plant that I have at least in terms of volume. I was fortunate in being able to buy it from another collector just a couple of years ago. It has seven heads and measures 53cm across by 42cm high. It is so heavy, even when bare root, that it takes 2 people to lift it. Never the less, I move it twice a year in and out of my raised bed and occasionally back and forth to OCSS shows. It is a lot of fun! Really!

I'm still looking for a very large Ferocactus to replace the one I used to have. It was even bigger and heavier than this Notocactus!