zelly Posted January 24, 2013 hey you fuckers are your trichocerei protected from watering in winter ( I mean the real winter, not your summer ) I was wondering if trichocerei like some winter rest in order to flower or at least resulting in more flowers next season, as several real cacti do Hey mutant, all my trichos are grown in ground with no protection whatsoever from mother nature. The bulk of my trichs are planted in hard pan clay soil that doesnt drain worth a crap. This pic was taken Jan 10, smack dab in the middle of my winter. The temperature the night before had to be below freezing as there was a heavy coat of frost on my vehicle in the morning. Remember the hard pan clay soil my tricho plants are planted in? For shits & giggles, I planted a TBM crest in it....looks like the crest has stalled and reverted back to tall clone growth. However, the TBM doesnt seem to mind the freezing weather & poorly draining soil.... And believe it or not, I'm still harvesting ripe tricho fruit....(in the middle of the winter) 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted January 24, 2013 damn so I can plant some of mine in the clay? Thanks for mentioning that! I was gonna make some raised beds this year just for PC Pachs, but shit I may as well try some in the clay... I swear you can sqeeze oil outta this chit 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted January 24, 2013 All the cacti I have posted in this thread are also planted in red clay that doesn't drain all that well in a climate that is winter rainfall dominant (ie, we had 400mm this winter april to sept and no rain since september!) and goes occasionally below zero. They just sit in the wet clay no worries so far with rot etc. some plants 12ft tall or more, 6 years old. One issue in clay is titling, that is following heavy rain in winter (soggy ground) the wind can push plants over. I haven't had any fall over yet but one large PC (ten 6-10-foot arms) got pushed to 45 deg angle and roots came out of the ground, same as happens with large street trees in stormy weather. Now in summer it is stable and the arms look like bananas having adjusted to grow straight again. Like Zelly I have also had flower also in winter but not with the same frequency. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted January 24, 2013 I love this thread ! Micro, much respect dude... trich's sure love our mediterranean climate !!! If you ever do manage to end up with some seeds by any freak chance... id be keen to trade for some desirable genetics. Might have to get in touch with you Too Zelly... I have heard your seeds are second to none. Some beautifull plants too ! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) sounds just like my climate here Micromegas @ USDA zone 8b... Ours is black clay tho, and anything that gets established in it doesn't move very often in that way We are having a wetter than normal winter but the good thing is it doesn't stay below freezing for long periods of time ususally, and even when it goes a weeklong, it usually goes way above during the daytime...... I could probably put these on the higher end of the slope and not have to worry about puddling at all... but unfortunately my shade house sits in between rivers of runoff during our spring rains... I have alot of PC's and I was beginning to freak on having to get so much soil for pots! but ya know I think I know what I could do now with some unused raised beds that prove too shady for onions... Edited January 24, 2013 by Spine Collector Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kykeion Posted January 24, 2013 Must be nice to have extra TBM crests lying around to toss in the clay mud just for shits and giggles there Zelly 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted January 25, 2013 zelly and micro, thanks for comments Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted January 25, 2013 Well Tipz the respect must go entirely to Huachuma I think, and to my parents for begrudgingly allowing cactus to be planted in their back yard (my dad has not entirely come around but this summer's flowers finally sealed the deal with my mum!) all I did was stick them in the ground half the time i wasn't even there. As for clay it is not the ideal medium for a lot or cacti and species such a myrtillos do not enjoy it so much. They grow, but not fast. Trichos on the other hand seem to be highly adaptable and I think may actually grow in clay and heavy loam in the Andes. The tipping may become an issue moving forward but time will tell. I try to buffer this by growing native plants in between and quite close to the cacti. It also propitiates my dad to seem some leaves in the mix. The older the trichs get, they seem almost now to grow during winter slowly. As for seeds, there are about 6-12 open pollinated fruits which I will collect and you are welcome to some of the them. I'll let you know when they are ripe. There are many dozen spach and schickendanzii (sp?) fruits also. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted February 10, 2013 Did I say i was finished? From Feb 1 and 2. 21 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 10, 2013 Wow, that is stunning micro! That last photo is amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOnThen Posted February 10, 2013 Once again stunning pics Micro. I just cant get over how many flowers you guys get on each column and then so many open at the same time. Cheers Got Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted February 10, 2013 goodness gracious... never thought i'd see panoramic cactus porn ...those are awesome pics micro! I love that 2nd to last one with all those flowers lined up the column from a distant view... wow 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted February 10, 2013 micromegas, that last photo session is stunning, wow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nemisty Posted February 11, 2013 Jeepers creepers. Mind blowing pics micromegas. Love the pic with the bees going mental over those flowers. Hope you cross that validus with something interesting. And list the seeds in the classifieds 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bit Posted February 11, 2013 Holy crap Micro, would you be ok with uploading the full size / original files to dropbox or something? I'd love to be able to use those on my desktop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted February 12, 2013 Found this beauty at TAFE today Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted February 15, 2013 ive these blooming now... had to use an ipad to take the photos since my DSLR went swimming ... oh well 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nitrogen Posted February 15, 2013 Nice - is that the Yowie/Sausage clone in the first two? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted February 15, 2013 Nice - is that the Yowie/Sausage clone in the first two? I received it labelled T.cuzcoensis , i believe this to be correct ,the two downward facing spines differ fromother cuzcos i have had though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 15, 2013 the two downward facing spines differ fromother cuzcos i have had though Interesting. I've an SS02 with almost identical spine characteristics. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 15, 2013 I actually think that the CC Cuzco is basically Peruvianus hybrid (maybe with cuzco), and the CC Bridgesii is basically Cuzco (maybe with bridgesii). I think they came as seed from KK. Secondly - that's unbelievable you have so many flowers! My only flowerbuds actually dropped off. I think my fertilizer mixture is basically keeping them in veg mode (it's high phosphorus and nitrogen). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted February 16, 2013 I actually think that the CC Cuzco is basically Peruvianus hybrid (maybe with cuzco) You could be right there mate, it is from CC, and it is very fat like peru ..... shame about your flower buds falling off , i had a few drop off the pach and i was so worried i would lose the one that opened before it could be pollinated that i propped it up with a fork shaped stick to take the weight 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 16, 2013 There's only one way to find out for sure... It's probably just as well I had no flowerbuds this year. It seems I can't seem to cross-pollinate things for jack anyway - tried to cross-pollinate some Astros yesterday, and half of the flowers just opened back up as if I didn't satisfy them enough. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted February 16, 2013 Isnt that when you'd just dose them with pollen again? I thought you'd get the best chance of a succesfull cross by pollenating 2 or 3 times throughout the day/days while the flower is open. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 16, 2013 Should've probably given that a shot. Now I think it's too late, as the capricorne flower has closed - and forcing it open might destroy the fruit if there is one forming. Maybe I'll try be sneaky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
