Cactus / minima

This is a grafted Escobaria minima.
I got a cutting from a friend and grafted 5 years ago.
This plant opens many flowers every year in this season.
I will try cutting/rooting in this year.

Cactus / horizonthalonius

Yesterday was a hot day. The maximum temperature in my greenhouse reached to almost 50 'C.
An Echinocactus horizonthalonius was in flower.
Since just one plant was in flower, I collected pollen and kept in fridge for the pollination.
Echinocactus horizonthalonius is one of my favorite species.
I hope this one would be a Blue Barrel years later.

Cactus / heterochromus

Thelocactus is not one of my main collections.
I just have 10 plants of Telocactus heterochromus only.
One of them was in flower yesterday.

Cactus / another pectinatus

This pectinatus has a different flower color.
When I bought the plant, the name tag said "pectinatus SP Chihuahua".

Cactus / pectinatus

I just have 4 Echinocereus plants.
The photo is an Echinocereus pectinatus v castneus, was in flower lately.
I bought this plant in 2003.

Cactus / asterias hybrid

There is an asterias hybrid called "royall super kabuto".
The plant is ruri kabuto x super kabuto.
The base body color is ruri and covered over by white fleckings .
The contrast is attractive.

I made the 1st filial hybrid by myself.
The photo is 4 years old plant.

Cactus / ruri kabuto

Astrophytum asterias cv oibo ruri kabuto was in flower yestday.
Ruri means lapis lazuli.
When the plant was matured age, the body color turns to lapis lazuli color and so this cultivar is called ruri kabuto.
Ruri kabuto is not a normal asterias v nudum.
It is told the gene of capricorne v major is mixed in history.
I bought seeds and sowed on 17/09/2004.

Cactus / horstii

An other discocacus, horsii was also in flower.
I collected seeds from my plants and sowed on 07/10/2009.
Several young seedlings were grafted. This is one of them.
You need a special technic to do pollination for horstii because the stigma is in the bottom of flower.

Cactus / heptacanthus

South Americans have also started to be in flower.
The photo is a Discocactus heptacanthus v griseus.
Discocacus is a night-flowering plant and white flowers release a sweet scent.
I took the photo early in the morning.
I bought seeds and grafted young seedlings in 2006.

Cactus / white kabuto

This asterias is also quite large, almost 20 cm diameter.
When you propagate cactus from seed, a few seedlings grow faster than all others.
This one has grown very fast.
The plant shows a matured shape and more fleckings.

Cactus / asterias

My 1st sowing of asterias seeds was in 2002.
I bought seeds and the germinaion success ratio was not too bad.
This plant is one of the seedlings.
The current body diameter is around 17 cm.
The plant starts to show a matured shape and is increasing number of ribs.

Cactus / variegated asterias

I just have 2 variegated asterias, flowering size.
One is a grafted and the other is own-root, this one.
I try to increase numbers.
About 10 seedlings were grafted in this sping.
20 of own-root seedlings have also been growing well.

Cactus / super kabuto

This super kabuto is a starfish shape and very flat.
The body size of normal matured super kabuto is around 10 cm diameter but this will grow more.

Cactus / red flower asterias

A grafted red flowering asterias was in flower.
I have various reddish color flowering asterias but true red is only this one.
The diameter of body is just 5 cm. I believe this is the size of matured plant.

Cactus / hanaizumi super kabuto

This is an Astrophytum asterias cv hanaizumi super kabuto.
Hanaizumi means a fountain of flowers.
Multiple flowers come out from one areole.

Cactus / Onzuka

An Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka ranpo-gyoku was in flower.
I bought seeds and sown on 29/07 2005.
I grafted young seedlings but degrafted after grown to a good size.
Onzuka tends to grow as an elongated shape in maure but this one is relatively short.
The cultivar Onzuka was developed by Mr Onzuka.

Cactus / miracle kabuto

Several Astrophytum asterias cv miracle kabutos were in flower.
This is one of them.
I collected seeds from my plants and sowed on 21/03/2006.
My main collection is asterias and I am trying to increase numbers of miracle kabuto.
I repotted 800 of 1 year old miracle kabutos lately.
I will sow a lot of seeds in November.

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

An Astrophytum hybrid was in flower yesterday.
This is a 1st filial hybrid, capricorne v senile x asterias cv super kabuto.
I degrafted and rooted last year.
Many asterias were in flower yesterday.

Cactus / ritteri

A grafted Aztekium ritteri was in flower yesterday.
I got a grafted plant with many pups from my friend.
I grafted several pups. This is one of them.
Ritteri is a self-fertilization plant and seeds are very small.
I collected seeds last year and sowed in August this year.
Seedlings are less than 1 mm diameter at moment.

Cactus / strobiliformis

A Pelecyphora strobliformis was in flower yesterday afternoon.
I cut a pup from a grafted plant and rooted.
I have attenpted to make seeds but have not been able to yet.
This is a very small plant and is in 50 mm square tube.

Cacus / luethyi

An other Mammillaria luethyi was in flower yesterday.
This plant is also propagated by cuttings.

Cactus / super kabuto

The temperaure reached 30 C' yesterday afternoon.
One of super kabutos was in flower.
Flowering buds of other super kabutos have pushed up.
Many flowers will open very soon.

Cactus / variegated asterias

A variegated asterias was in flower yesday.
I just have 2 flowering size of variegaed asterias. One is this one, grafted and the other is own-root.
I grafted small seedlings 10 or so last autumn.

Cactus / humbolditii

An Mammillaria humbolditii v caespitosa was in flower yesteday.
Since this spring is quite cool, flowering of Mammillaria is late.
I bought and sowed seeds of humbolditii on 30/09/2004.

Cactus / asterias cultivar

Weather in this spring is not normal. It was a good sunshine-day yesterday but the maximum temperature was less than 20 C'. An Astrophytum asteras cv Watanabe kabuto was in flower. I sowed seed of this cactus in 2005.

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

This is 1st filial Astrophytum hybrid, capricorn v niveum x asterias cv super kabuto.
I sowed seeds on 28/08/2010.
The success ratio of germination was not too bad but the growing speed of seedlings were extremely slow. I think this problem is affected by hybridization of different flower colors.
I grafted 1 seedling last summer.
The scion has started to grow as shown on the attached photo.
The scion is variegated becuse of hybridization stress.