Cactus / asterias

I repotted this asterias early spring in this year.
The plant has set well and been in flower.
The current size is 19 cm diameter and I expect more than 20 cm.

Cactus / asterias fruit

A fruit of variegated asterias has been ripened.
I pollinated with an other variegated asterias 2 months ago.
I will collect seeds soon.

Cactus / asterias cultivar

I bought seeds of Astrophytun asterias cv K Sato chyou-nou hakuten kabuto and sowed on 18th October 2003. The meaning of the cultivar name is astrias with extra-thick white flecking created by Mr K Sato.
When the plant was small it was an ordinal asterias but  it turned the appearance lately as the given name.
The current size is 12 cm diameter.

Cactus / variegated asterias

This is the 2nd flowering for the variegated asterias in this season.
It will be several more flowerings until winter.
I will pollinate and collect seeds.

Cactus / seeds harvesting time

My main collections are Astrophytum and Ariocarpus.
It is the seeds harvesting time for both genera.
I pollinated Ariocarpus last autumn and last spring for Astrophytum.
The photo is Ariocarpus retusus v major cv Daruma Royal with fruits.

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

The photo is a grafted Astrophytum hybrid, senil x super kabuto.
The body color is abnormal because of  the hybridization affected but it seems flowering function is remained as normal.

Cactus / ruri kabuto

I grafted 12 of very young ruri kabuto seedlings last year.
The purpose of the grafting is the collection of seeds.
You can expect the flowering within a year if you grafted.
The ruri kabuto on the photo is 1 year old and has many flowers because of grafted.

Cactus / Hakujyou banjyaky

This cactus is similar to the yesterday's one.
Since white lines are on ribs, it is called as hakujyou.
I also grafted an off-set in August.

Cactus / fukuryu banjyaku

I grafted a small off-set last August, 4 months ago.
The scion has grown well and is in flower.
Banjyaku is an Astrophytum hybrid, ornatum x myriostigma.

Cactus / aselliformis

This Pelecyphora aselliformis is also propagated from the cutting.
It is easy to propagate aselliformis from seeds but seedlings tend to keep very thin body.
The best way to get a normal shaped aselliformis is cutting, I think.
You graft a young seedling and rooting off-sets.
Off-sets are normal shape, not thin.

Cactus / strobiliformis

This Pelecyphora strobliformis propagated from cutting had 2nd flowering in this season.
It seems the rooting of Pelecyphora is quite easy.

Cactus / hanazono kabuto

Although this aserias is still small, it has shown hanazono character already.
I believe this one will be a very good hanazono kabuto when the plant reached to a mature age.
I have to wait some more years.

Cactus / super kabuto

Super kabutos show various appearances.
This one has large and thick flecking.
The flower is the first one for this plant.

Cactus / asterias

I thought the color of flower was wine red when it was a bud but I recognized it was not when the flower was opened.
I was disappointed a bit.

Cactus / asterias

The photo is an Astrophytum asterias,  ruri-kabuto x super-kabuto which I created.
This is the 2nd flowering in this season.
The clear contrast of white flecking over azure body is attractive.
It seems the size of body is small even if it was a mature plant.

Cactus / ruri kabuto

The set-up of greenhouses for summer has been completed.
I cover greenhouses over by 50% shade-cloth between mid of November to mid of March.
Since November in this year was quite cool, I delayed the timing of the covering.
An Astrophytum asterias cv ruri kabuto was in flower in the morning.
Unfortunately the shape of stigma is abnormal.

Cactus / monvillei

This is an other South American, Gymnocalycium monvillei.
I bought seeds named G. monvillei v horridispinum and sowed on 14/10/2004.
It seems the flower color is not right but I am not sure.

Cactus / hypogaea

It is not so many but I have kept some South American cacti.
The photo is a Copiapoa hypogaea.
I am not sure the exact flowering season but it is in flower repeatedly between spring to autumn.

Cactus / miracle kabuto seedlings

I cut tap-roots of 2 years miracle kabutos completely in August and set them for the rooting process.
The rooting medium was crashed and shifted 2 mm scoria.
They were set into 50 mm square tubes.
I lost 2 of them during the process but it is not too bad.
Currently they are growing well. I assume fine new roots have been developed.

Cactus / alonsoi

The diameter of this degrafted Turbinicarpus alonsoi is around 10 cm.
The original alonsoi is a small cactus but the grafing affected on and made this size.
The plant has twin heads and cristated each head.

Cactus / red flowering asterias

Although I missed to take a photo in previous flower opening, I could took it yesterday afternoon.
Since the stigma is reddish, it should be a true red flower.

Cactus / asterias

The flower color of this asterias is unusual.
I assume someone in Europe tried to develop a red flower astetias but he could not establish.
The size of body is quite small due to the frequent crossings, I think.

Cactus super kabuto

I degrafted an old super kabuto, 15 cm diameter with a short grafting stock in this spring.
It was in flower yesterday.
I assume the cactus has already been rooted.

Cactus / hanazono kabuto

This one shows the character of hanazono (flower garden) kabuto well.
The plant was grafted once on Hylocereus stock and degraftd later with a short vascular bundole of the stock.
 I am not sure the plant has still relied on the vascular bundle or own roots

Cactus / super kabuto

I once grafted super kabutos to collect seeds but it was no longer.
I have enough numbers of matured own-rooted plants for the collection of seeds.
The photo is a remained grafted one, only one remained.

Cactus / asterias

This is the largest asterias in my greenhouse.
I repotted it in this spring.
The flowering shows an evidence of successful repotting result.
The current diameter is around 19 cm.

Cactus / grusonii

I can see Echinocactus grusoniis after winter weeds died out.
They were covered over by weeds during winter time.
I sowed seeds in 2000 and started to be in flower from last year.
It is around 60 cm diameter.

Cactus / variegated asterias

A grafted variegated asterias was in flower yesterday.
It was 2nd flowering in this season.
The degree of the variegation is changed along the growing of the plant but this one is keeping acceptable balance.

Cactus / hakujo-banjyaku

A friend gave me this one in the beginning this year.
It is 1st flowering in my place.
Banjyaku is an Astrophytum hybrid, ornatum x myriostigam.

Cactus / asterias

A reddish flower on the yellow body shows a clear contrast.
The scion was well balanced variegation when it was grafted but yellow area was increased gradually.
It is completely yellow body currently. I hope the green parts come back one day.

Cactus / heptacanthus

Two Discocactus heptacanthus v griseus were in flower together.
Flowers of Discocactus has nice scent and open at night.
The photo one was weak and I repotted lately.
I think it is still not perfect but the flowering is the evidence of recovering.

Cactus / ruri kabuto

A ruri kabuto is just about in flower.
The plant has reached almost a mature age and the body color looks ruri (azure).

Cactus / hanazono kabuto

Several hanazono kabuo pushed fowering buds up yesterday morning.
Since you can not see the body well when flowers were opened fully, I took the photo before that.
In the afternoon, they opened fully.

Cactus / ornatum

This is also a Gymnocalycium, spegazzinii v ornatum.
I bought seeds and sowed on 16th October 2004.
Since spines are too long, it seems hard to open flowers.

Cactus / vatterii

This is an other Gimnocalycium,  a single spine vatterii.
I also propagated this one from seed.
Flowers will open soon.

Cactus / loricatum

Gymnocalycium have been in flower.
The photo is a G. spegazzinii v loricatum propagated from seed.
I sowed seeds on 16th November 2003.
Since spines are short, it seems to open flowers easily.

Cactus / hanaizumi super kabuto

This is an A. asterias cv hanaizumi super kabuto.
Multiple flowers will come out from an areole on hanaizumi form but it was a single flower in this time.

Cactus / luethyi

I think it is a bit late but a grafted Mammillaria is fully bloomed.
Since the stock has become weak, I have to think about something in near future.

Cactus / horizontharonius

This is anther Echinocactus horizontharonius but it is a standard form.
I grafted 5 seedlings last year and added 7 in this year, in total 12 seedlings.
They are growing well.
I hope they would be this size in future.

Cactus / horizontharonius

Although Echinocacus horizontharonius is hard to propagate from seeds because of very poor germination rate, I have built number up gradually.
The photo is a grafted E. horizontharonius v nicholii, was in flower yesterday.
I did the cross-pollination to an other one yesterday afternoon.

Cactus / reddish flowering super kabuto

It is hard to get an asterias with true red flowers.
This super kabuto which I propagated from seed has reddish flowers.
It is almost but not true red.

Cactus / super kabuto

A super kabuto is just about opening flowers.
It seems too many flowers.

Cactus / miracle kabuto

This is one of kabutos in the overview photo posted yesterday, which is a miracle kabuto.
I have tried to increase quantity and kept many seedlings.
I believe mine is a traditional miracle kabuto.

Cactus / asterias

Last two days were good sunshine days.
Astrophytum asterias cv kabutos have started to be in flower.

Cactus / hetarochromus

It was a bit cool day yesterday but had good sunshine in the afternoon.
2 of Thelocactus hetarochromus were in flower.
The photo is one of them.
The flower of Thelocactus is quite large.

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

This one is another Astrophytum hybrid, 2nd filial (coahuilense x super kabuto) x super kabuto.
Unfortunately the body is quite small because the hybridization affected on the body size, I assume.

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

The photo is a 1st filial Astrophytum hybrid, capricorne v senill x super kabuto.
This species shows no spines and flecking over the body which gene came from the father.

Cactus / reddish flowering asterias

I tried to increase the quantity of red flowering asterias and crossed 2 plants.
I waited quite long time until seedlings reached to the flowering size.
As shown on the photo, they are in flower but the color is not true red.

Cactus / denegrii

Three Obregonia denegriis propagated from seeds have been in flower.
I bought seeds and sowed on 28/09/2005.
Denegrii grows very slowly but it seems the time of repotting.

Cactus / horstii

More than 10 grafted Discocactus horstiis were in flower together.
My greenhouse was packed by nice scent in this morning.
The photo is one of them.