Astrophytum asterias

Astrophytum asterias

Sunday 29 September 2013

Cactus / luethyii

A Mammillaria luethyii has been in flower.
I rooted an offset of a grafted plant.
Many other luethyiis will be in flower very soon.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Cactus / caput-medusae seedlings

The grafting of A. caput-medusae seedling is quite easy. The scion also will grow well and you can expect some flowers in 2nd year after the grafting.
On the other hand, own-rooted seedling is difficult.
Seedlings are crabby and stop growing if the condition was mismatched with them.
I sowed seeds in 5 pots on 28/08/2010 and kept in a wet-box without repotting.
It seems the time of the repotting because they have grown as large enough.

Thursday 26 September 2013

Cactus / herrerae

Mammillaria herrerae propagated from offsets have been in flower.
Grafted one has also been in flower.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Cactus / hanazono kabuto

Hanazono kabuto will show the original character when the plant became a mature age.
The photo is a seedling of hanazono kabuto, 5 cm diameter.
This one has shown the character already.
This will be a very good hanazono kabuto in future.

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

This Astrophytum hybrid is the 1st filial of capricorn v senill x super kabuto.
I degrafted several years ago.
Since body looks very healthy and is in flower, roots have been developed well.
The plant shows both parents characters.

Monday 23 September 2013

Cactus / miracle kabuto

I washed all flowering size miracle kabutos by soap and cut roots before repotting in this spring.
They have not started to grow yet.
Several small miracle kabutos only are in flower.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Cactus / Hanaizumi super kabuto

I have just one Hanaizumi super kabuto.
Hanaizumi means "Spring of flowers" and multiple flowers come out from one areole.
Unfortunately it was one flower only opening in this time.


Saturday 21 September 2013

Cactus / supper kabuto

Asterias have been continued in flower.
This super kabuto seems being hard to open flowers.
Two flowers push each other.

Friday 20 September 2013

Cactus / horstii

The photo is a grafted Discocactus horstii.
I got small seedlings from a friend and grafted in February 2006.
By unknown reason, horstiis are in flower together.
More than 10 other plant were in flower early morning two days ago.


Thursday 19 September 2013

Cactus / degrafted super kabuto

I degrated a super kabuto shown on the photo lately.
A short grafting stock is remained and buried in the pottingmix.
The plant is 14 cm diameter.

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Cactus / reddish flowering asterias

Seedlings of asterias with reddish flowers have been in flower.
I sowed seeds on 31st August 2009.
I assume the original seeds came from Europe. The body size is quite small.
The seedling on the photo is in a 50 mm square tube.
I believe the  repeated crossing in history affected on the body size.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Cactus / super kabuto

It is more rain than normal spring in this year.
The weather is not perfect but various Astrophytum asterias cv kabutos have been in flower.
The photo is one of them, super kabuto.

Monday 16 September 2013

Cactus / asterias

Although this Astrophytum asterias  shows a distinctive appearance currently, it was an ordinal aserias during small seedling. You should keep longer A. asterias. They may change appearance when they reached to a mature age especially Japanese cultivar.
This one has started showing Hanazono character.


Sunday 15 September 2013

Cactus / variegated asterias

Since I can not show the appearance of the body when flowers opened completely, I took the photo before the opening of flowers.
Variegated aserias are normally weak and hard to keep by won-roots but this degree of variegation allows to keep. I have only 2 flowering size variegated asterias. I will collect and keep pollen in a gelatin capsule and wait the flowering of the other one.

Saturday 14 September 2013

Cactus / aseliformis

One of Pelecyphora asliformis was in flower yesterday afternoon.
I have propagated this from an offset.
Aseliformis keeps very thin body long time when you propagated it from seed.
If you grafted it and rooted offsets, you can get healthy shaped plants easily.
When you use an offset more than 30 mm diameter, the rooting is very easy.


Friday 13 September 2013

Cactus / agavoides

Although the flowering season of Ariocarpus is in autumn, grafted agavoides have still continued to be in flower.
I sowed seeds on 14 /09/2012 and grafted young seedlings and so they are just 1 year old currently.
They may misunderstand the season.


Thursday 12 September 2013

Cactus / alonsoi

A Turbinicarpus alonsoi has started to be in flower.
A short grafting stock is attached and buried in the pottingmix, which means you can not see any stock but the plant is still grafted.
The size of body is quite large because of grafted.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Cactus / pectinifera

Several grafted Ubelmanniia pectinifera v multicostatas were in flower yesterday.
I bought seeds and sowed on 28/09/2005.
Several young seedlings were grafted. The photo is one of them.
Flowers of Ubelmannia is very small.
I have never attempted to make any seeds yet but it may be good to try.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

This is an Astrophytum hybrid, 1st filial coahuilense x super kabuto.
The species has coahuilense's body shape with white flecking which came from super kabuto's gene.
I created this by myself.

Monday 9 September 2013

Cactus / coahuilense

The flower of Afstrophytum coahuilense is yellow petals and orange throat which is similar to astrias one.
Since they have similar flowers, it is easy to make a hybrid.
I bought small plants some years ago. They have grown well.

Sunday 8 September 2013

Cactus / humbolditii

A Mammillalia humbolditii v caespitosa has been in flower.
I bought 10 seeds and sowed on 30/09/ 2004.
It is not fast growing but it seems quite healthy.
Other plants propagated from offsets have also pushed flowering buds up.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Cactus / Repotting

The time for repotting of aserias has come.
I started to remove asterias from pots and washed two days ago.
During drying, I shortened roots. You can not expect a good growing when long roots were packed in the pot.
I always shorten aserias roots when they needed repotting.



Sunday 1 September 2013

Cactus / asterias

Spring comes suddenly in here.
The maximum forecast temperature of today is 27 C'.
Several Astrophytum asterias were in flower in this morning.