Cactus / hadaka fukuryu banjyaku

This is an Astrophytum hybrid, hadaka fukuryu banjyaku which is a nudum form of fukuryu banjyaku. It is still very young but it already shows a hint of fukuryu form.

Cactus / asterias

I collect cacti as ornamental plants.
Some people like abnormal shaped cacti but I like clear-cut appearance ones.
The photo is A. aserias, well balanced 8 ribs and very flat which is a typical clear-cut appearance one.

Cactus / khoyo

An Astrophytum myriostigma v nudum cv khoyo, kikkou was in flower yesterday.
It was a poor-looking flower.
Since just one plant was in flower, I used reserved pollen for the pollination.

One of degrafted Turbinicarpus alonsois was in flower in the afternoon.
I bought seeds and sowed on 31/08/2006.
Several youg seedlings were grafted and degrafted 2 years ago.
This one is twin heads and each head is going to be cristates.

Cactus / variegated super kabuto

I selected well balanced variegated super kabuto seedlings and grafted them in this spring.
All of them have started to grow.
The degree of variegation is not fixed, moving around during growing.
Although I selected well balanced ones, this one is turning to a complete variegation unfortunately.

Cactus / hakujyou fukuryu banjyau

Astrophytum hybrid, hakujyou fukuryu banjyaku is very new in my place.
I got seeds from my friend and sowed on 27th July this year.
I grafted seedlings and 5 of them were taken.
The  photo is one of them, growing with a resnable speed.
I expect it will be in flower next spring.

Cactus / aselliformis

Seedlings of Pelecyphora aselliformis grow vey slowly.
Other problem of these seedlings are body shape.
Seedlings keep thin body, 2~3 mm diameter and are hard to be a round shape.

The best way to get a round plant is grafting and degrafting later.
I sowed seeds on 19/08/12 and 28/09/12, twice in this year.
I grafted seedlings germinated from 19/08/12 sowing.
It has not completed yet but I have tried to collect 12 grafted seedlings in total.
The photo is one of them, starting to grow.

Cactus / rooting trial

I have been trying a special technique for the rooting by using Ariocarpus.
I got the information of the technique in a Japanese website.

- Degrafting Ariocarpus scion with a short Pereskiopsis stock, 15 mm
- Buried the short stock in soil
- Roots come out from the stock initially and the scion relies upon the stock a while
- Roots come out from the scion just before the stock die and swapped over

I set 10 samples 2 years ago and checked root every year.
It was stock roots only at 1st year checking but some roots come out from the scion at 2nd year.
I asumme you need 3 ~4 years to complete the rooting prosess.
The photo is A. kotschoubeyanus f Rio Verde, 2nd year roots checking.

Cactus / nicholii

I bought 10 seeds of Echinocactus horizontalonius v nicholii and sowed on 28/09/2005.
Only 2 garminated and I grafted them.
One of them was in flower yesterday.
I did pollination by using pollen kept in fridge.

Cactus / heptacanthus

This is a Discocactus heptacanthus v griseus.
I bought seeds and sowed on 31/08/2006.
Several young seedlings were grafted and degrafted after grown to flowering size.
Plant appearances propagated form a seed packet are slightly different.
I am not sure this one is true v griseus or not.

Cactus / myriostigma

This is an Astrophytum  myriostigma v nudum cv red-bean khoyo, kikkou.
Since the plant has been a matured age, the body turns color no longer.
There are just 4 flowering size plants remained and is hard to make a good timing of pollination.
I collect pollen and kept in gelatin capsuels until other plants are in flower.

Cactus / super kabuto

I have tried to transfer the gene of red flowering asterias to super kabutos.
The super kabuto in the photo has reddish color flowers but they are not red enough.
I need more crossing.

Cactus / horstii

Discocactus horstii is one of my favorite cacti.
Discocactus is a night flowering plant and several plants are in flower together as if it was prearranged by nuknown reason.
12 plants were in flower last night.

Cactus / denegrii

This is an Obregonia denegrii f San Vincente.
I bought seeds and sowed on 28/09/2005, 7 years old.
Obregonia grows very slowly but I can collect seeds from my plants because several seedlings are now flowering size.

Catus / albiflora

It is late spring and is not season of Mammillaria flowering but a M. albiflora was in flower this afternoon. The temperature in my greenhouse was 53 'C and very hot.
I got a cuttings from my freind several years ago and grafted it.

Cactus / ornatum

I once collected Gymnocalycium with thick spines.
I do not intend to increase more but I keep them.
The photo is Gym spegazzinii v ornatum, sowed seeds in 2004.
The flower color of Gymnocalycium is attractive.

Cactus / cv benitaka

This is Thelocactus heterochromus with thick spines.
It was once popular in Japan and called "benitaka" means Red-hawk.
I have just 2 mature plants.

Cactus / white kabuto

This is an asterias cultivar, K. Sato white kabuto.
I assume Mr K. Sato developed this cultivar.
I bought seeds and sowed on 08/10/2003.
Only 2 flowering size plants have survived at moment.
I will try to regain numbers.

Cactus / hanazonokabuto

Several hanazono kabutos were in flower yesterday evening.
Since buds were not large enough to open in the morning, I thought they opened today.
In the evening, aroung 7:00 pm I found opened flowers and took the photo.

Cactus / seedling on seedling

I saw a person grafted a young seedling on a young stock in the website.
As my practical experience, I tried same method.
I grafted 12 seedlings for the 1st attempt. it seemed working well.
I grafted 12 more seedlings yesterday as the 2nd attempt.
The scion is a Pelecyphora aselliformis and the stock is a Cereus hybrid.
Both scion and stock seeds were sown on 19/08/2012.
The diameter of the scion is 2 mm.
The stock is held in a slit on a wet sponge rubber.

Cactus / asterias

When you propagate cactus from seeds, you can find various things.
Differnet appearance from parents seedlings come out quite often, especially cultivers.
I think normal cultivars are mixed various genes in hisory.
When I sowed seeds of miracle kabuto, around 40% is true miracle kabuto and all otheres are not.
The photo is not true miracle kabuto but propagated a seed comes from true miracle kabuto parents.

Cactus / asterias

I keep aserias cultivars in a separate greenhouse.
Aserias needs a special environment to grow well and keeping in one room is easier to control.
On a warm day, many asterias are in flower together.

Cactus / variegated asterias

A variegated asterias was in flower yesterday.
Own-root cacti are weaker and grow slower compared to nomal ones.

Cactus / hintonii

Aztekium hintonii grows very-very slowly.
I bought seeds and sowed 31/08/2006.
Seedlings were very small. I could graft 2 mm diameter seedlings but it took for 1 year to reach 2 mm diameter. I grafted 2 seedlings.
Flowers are very small and hard to tell when they are opened.

Cactus / hanazono kabuto

This grafted Astrophytum asterias cv hanazono kabuto had pushed many floweing buds up.
Unfortunately I missed to see opening flowers.
I assume it liked as the cultivar name, hanazono (flower garden).
I will wait next chance.