Cactus / hanazono kabuto

An Astrophytum asterias cv hanazono kabuto was in flower yesterday.
Hanazono means a flower garden.

Normally as meaning of the name, multiple flowers are opened together but it opened 1 flower only. it is still too early for flowering season.

Cactus / pennispinosa

I have tried to reduce numbers of Mammillaria but it has still been some. This one is pennispinosa, propagated from seed by myself.

Pennispinosa has fine hooks and you need a careful handling.

Cactus / hunbolditii

It repeats warm days and cool days. Yesterday was a cool day and today will be same.

This is a Mammillaria hunbolditii v caespitosa. In 2004, I bought seeds and grafted a young seedling. This one is a cuttings for one of pups from the grafted plant.

Cactus / asterias

I repotted 2 years old asterias this morning.

All asterias were cut tap roots were easy to repot. The photo is hanazono kabuto x super kabuto which I try to make a new asterias having both of hanazono and super characters. I selected seedlings having both characters and repotted.

Rooting mediun also is new trial. I normaly use clay grain but I try sieved scoria this time. I select two sizes, 2mm and 4 mm.

Cactus / super kabuto

This is an Astrophytum asterias cv superkabuto, one of asterias flowering yesterday. I think this one is mixed red flowering gene but the color is not red enough. The special character is red stigma.

Cactus / valdezianus

Turbinicarpus valdezianus were in flower yesteday.

They are mixed cuttings and seedlings. The shape of seedlings are elongated and can recognize easily.
It spent 4 years from germination to flowering for these seedlings.

Cactus / crossing variegation

The variegation over a nudum body shows a clear distinction.
I do not have a variegated nudum plant. People said "A variegated plant should be used as father plant when you want to create new varigated plants."

I have a varigated Astrophoytum asterias and try to crossing over variegation onto Ruri kabuto (nudum). The variegated asterias was in flower yesterday but the Ruti kabuto was not. I collected pollen. Pollen will be dried and kept in a gelatin capsule, and be stored in fridge until flowering of Ruri kabuto.

Cactus / buiningii

This is a grafted Uebelmannia buiningii HU141. I bought seeds and sowed on 31/08/ 2006. I grafted young seedlings. 6 plants are survived and the photo is one of them.

Ueblemannia buining is in flower through a year including winter. The flower is tiny yellow and seeds aslo very tiny. The germination success ratio of seed is not so good.

Cactus / alonsoi

It has been warming up and various cactus started flowring.

This is turbinicarpus alonsoi, sowed seeds 31/08/2006 and grafted young seedlings. It seems own-rooted plant but a short stock is attached on bottom.
Alonsoi is a small turbinicarpus but this one is around 10 cm diameter because of grafted. I keep 6 similar plants for collecting seeds.

Cactus / asterias

I have a greenhouse accommodated Astrophytum asterias only. I have set the micro-climate in the room to meet asterias growings. Asterias needs soft sunlight and warm climate.

The photo is a part of in the greenhouse. Some asterias are in flower.

Cactus / pectinifera

This cactus is simillar to T. peseudopectinifera but is Mammillaria pectinifera.

I sowed seeds on 27/07/2007. It is own-rooted seedling. Several plants are in flower and I will cross and collect seeds.

Cactus / pseudopectinatus

Rain was continued last several days. Some cactus have flowering buds but they could not open because there was no sunshine.

I could see sunshine for 1 or 2 hours in this afternoon and several cactus were in flower. The photo is Turbinicarpus peseudopectinatus.

Cactus / cutting roots

Astrophytum asterias likes warm climate. The growing speed of asterias is normally quite slow but it is growing quite well in hot summer if you feed a lot of water.

Asterias has a thick tap root. If you feed a lot of water in summer, asterias is rotted out from the tap root easily.

I cut tap roots when the seedling is 2 years old. Fine roots will grow a simmilar manner to cuttings. Fine roots are never rotted out even if you feed a lot of water. I cut roots every year after that.

The photo is asterias Hanazono kabuto x superkabuto, cut tap roots.

Cactus / caput-medusae seedlings

Germination of caput-medusae is easy and seedling grafting also same.
I am not sure why but own-rooted seedlings are picky.
I can collect seeds from my grafted plants and can sow a lot of seeds.
I lost a lot of seedlings so far. It may dislike repotting.

I repotted 100 seedlings this morning.

Cactus / Season of washing and cutting

I cut asterias roots when I repot in spring.
Cutting roots is started from 2 years old seedling.
I washed 2 years old seedlings this mornig.
The photo is washed asterias under drying.

Cactus / Onzuka seedlings

I have continued repotting 1 year old seedlings.
The photo is Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka, developped by Mr. Onzuka.

Whey you germinate Onzuka from seeds, they do not become all Onzuka. Some of them will be normal myriostigam.
When seedlings are 1 year old you can crealy recognaize Onzuka character.
I selected Onzuka only and repotted 75 seedlings.

Cactus / miracle kabuto seedlings

I repotted seedlings of Astrophytum asterias cv kabutos yesterday.

I used new pots and new pottingmix as a trial. I used to use weatherd scoria for the pottingmix of seedlings but I could not get weathered scoria in here. I got crashed scoria and tried. The size of crashed scoria is around 2 mm.

I repotted 6 pots, 150 seedlings.
I used 10 cm square pot, 25 seedlings in each pot.
The photo is miracle kabuto sown seeds on 30/11/2010.

Cactus / Cauliflower

This grafted cacti is Ariocarpus retusus v furfuraceus cv Sugri Cauliflower. I collected seeds from my plants and sowed on 02/10/2010. I grafted 22 of young seedlings on Pereskiopsis stocks.

Pereskiopsis may fall leaves off when you stopped watering in winter. As the result, the speed of scion's growing is slowing down. I kept watering to Pereskiopsis stock in this winter.
It is still in winter but some of scions strat to grow.

Cactus / kotschoubeyanus

Some cactus are hard to wait spring and in flower. This Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus f Rioverde is opposit. The flower season of Ariocarpus is in autumn. This cactus believes it is still in autumn and is in flower, I think.

Cactus / sanchez-mejoradae

A grafted Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae is in flower.

The recent weather repeats 3 days cold and 4 days warm. I believe spring will be very soon.

Cactus / Oibo kabuto

I bought and sowed seeds of Ruri Oibo kabuto in 2004. Cactus have grown a good size but areole size are not good enough.
It should be aronud 10 mm diameter but they are quite small.

One of my kabuto collections has 7 mm diameter areole and I will cross it to Ruri kabuto next spring.
The photo is the kabuto which has 7 mm diameter areole.

Cactus / valdezianus

Yesterday was warm, temperature reached to 24 C' in the afternoon.

One of Turbinicarpus valdezianus cuttings was in flower. Since I set cuttings lately, the cactus has no roots, I think.

Cactus / crispatus

Stenocactus is not my main collection. I just have several plnats.
I bought this one several years ago from a shop near here.
This cactus has grown well and been in flower.

Cactus / superkabuto

I believe super kabuto was mixed with various form in histry
They show varias forms even in my small collection.
This one shows a differnt flower color, was in flower yesterday.