Snowfella

Went out to Hamiltons and added another 7 plants to the collection, had some gaps on the benches that "needed" to be filled Noticed they had some new pach crests and some foot long brigesii for sale, ranging from $20 for a small crest to $100 for a near 2 foot pach with cresting tip!

Could really be anything mate, I just haven't invested enough energy into finding out what clone it might be. All I know is that it came courtesy of Hamiltons so it's likely common. Edit: going through old photos of my 2011 holiday back home I couldn't help but start drooling again. Was heartbreaking having to leave this old girl and get on a flight back downunder again. Right most in this photo. Tip Mum swore it was well in excess of 30 years old, dating back to my dad's university days, and since then hadn't seen a single repot and only quarterly light waterings. Judging by what I found in the pot I don't doubt her, soil was like concrete. Had a tought time getting it out of the pot, you just don't break a 30+ year old cheramic pot that once belonged to your now dead grandmother! Took me hours gently chipping away at the "soil" to get the rootball free and yet another few hours to get the roots exposed.

Just some limited weeding in the new bed, plus squaled like a little schoolgirl when I found the first new pups from my poor little brigesii. PC pach keeps motoring along like I never took it out of the ground in the firstplace. It's first pup was just a twinkle in it's eye a month or so back. And my terscheckii is getting outdone by a Mammillaria for girth in the older bed.

Got the same on a Myrtillocactus after Sydney's recent heatwave.

Could 11 be an etiolated euphorbia aeruginosa perhaps?

2 and 3 feels like etiolated Rebutia's to me. 7: Echinopsis of some sort 9 and 13 E. grusonii

Think that one is identical to one I have that I tried getting an id for. Closest I could find was Euphorbia valida monstrose.

Finding more victims from my ongoing dramas. Starting to think I've got something fungal combined with possible mites going on

Can't really help on solid ID's but just say that those daggerlike spines on No1 looks Myrtillocactus to me.

Loving how fat this little guy is getting, soooo slow but ought to turn into a monster in the end.

Dont cha hate it when.. You blissfully sink down on the lounge with a cold beer after a long day at work....just to wake up 30 minutes later with said beer spilled in your lap! Reoccuring thing in the house for some reason, if it isn't me spilling beer on my nuts...or scotch on the wife's pillow (god I'm glad her head wasn't on that side of the pillow or I would of been dead meat!) it's the wife that nods off and dumps a whole glass of wine in her or my lap!

Looks nice but I'd be worried about the combination and such a large pot, soak that one through and it will take a long time to dry out again. Any guesses about what plants they are? Kinda smallish photo but by the looks of things I'd guess back to front: Stenocactus vaupelianus, Echinopsis subdenudata, Echinopsis sp, Gymnocalycium monvillei, Ferocactus and a Haworthia attenuata.

Still haven't come across a case of root mealies here that I know of, plenty of regular mealies around the neck of plants but nothing down by the roots. Also dumped one today that I just couldn't get growing right, bought a small M. rhodanatha about 2 years back and for some reason it desided to go columar on me even if it sat in full sun. Kept it around for giggles untill it got absolutely burnt to a crisp during our heatwave last week. Last photo I got of it looked like this.

I'd almost bet on the monkey! Least most was plants that are easy to find again if I were inclined to try them again. Think I junked my 3rd M. prolifera and E. nivosus today, just can't keep those 2 alive it seems! lol Bit miffed over a crested E. chamacereus but can't say I'm having much luck with them either lately.

Well, nearly all the losses were plants still in original plastic pots and original rich soil so I'm guessing that would be the main culprit. Think the soil they originally come in just dry to slowly, seem to work alright at the nursery they come from but out of a hothouse environment I doubt it dries out fast enough. Funny thing though is that all the pots were bone dry and I'm careful about watering, to the point that I likely underwater everything so I wasn't expecting rot. Still no guarantee it isn't something else though, still to new to growing cacti to really tell. Just means I have to chalk it down to a learning experience I guess....plus now I can acctually fit my plants on the benches rather than have some standing on the ground.

Started repotting a whole heap of plants that were well overdue, either underpotted or still in the original pots/soil I bought them in....and were all of a sudden faced with major losses! Atleast 20 plants were compost material from either root or stem rot and another handful were either totally missing roots or had pitiful root systems. Going to try and re-root the ones that lost their roots, right now sitting bedded down on a thin layer of cource dry sand sprikled ontop of my regular mix. Others that I had to take a hose to in order to get the soil cleaned off healty root systems, flower power plants seem to be in excellent soil, are now drying out pending repotting.

Inspected the damage from last weeks heatwave, even old established plants took a beating and some newly planted ones are likely toast. Old M. geometrizans, will keep on going but might get some scar tissue over time. New planted O. celcianus, it's toast for sure.

Just noticed some fun action on a G. baldianum that lost it's growth point during winter and had a fungal attack not long afterwards. She's cresting alright!

Little guy of mine just flowered today. 5cm pot for scale reference. Next to a slightly bigger cousin, C. goldii hybrid.

Nice! Wish I could get my head around grafting, every time I've tried so far I've had 0% success rate! Just came home with another little Astro capricorne, likely hybrid in some way, that's trying to outdo itself with ribs. 14 ribs in all

It's the common as anything C. revoluta, not a native unfortunately.

Not really a cactus or succulent but this is likely the best place to post this anyways. Looks like I'm about to get a chance for some Cycas pollination fun here as both my plants are growing funny stuff. Male plant has been working on this for a week or so now, few dents from the other day's hail but other than than pristine. And what I now think is a female started opening up just a few day's ago! Going to keep a close eye on these 2 in the coming day's for sure!

Well, turned out I was right. After multiple pollinations of the flower here's the result, heaps and heaps of little fuzzy seeds!

Few of mine, don't really have many so far. Even planted a small A. ornatum out in the new bed to see if it can cope with Sydney climate. A. myriostigma. Keeps on going even with whatever it is that discolours the ribs Tiny little Astro hybrid I got not long ago Vareigated A. capricorne...not quite as tiny but in the same size pot Another hybrid, A. capricorne x asterias possibly Old photos of others