TBM spine length

[strangebrew]

Just wondering what length TBM spines max out at?

I put mine in the shade awhile ago to avoid the heat and it seemed quite happy where it was so I left it but now the spines seem even longer than I remember, now about 5-5.5cms. I guess it may be an age thing as it's now about 7 stories tall but do they get any longer?

[transDiMenTional]

7 stories ey, nice one. can we see some pics?

[tonic]

On my most mature specimen he has very very varied spination, for example the largest spine about 6 cm long and very thick like on a normal T. bridgesii really, but on most of the other sections of the plant they are mostly around 1cm on some other sections up to around 3cm. I have another one that has a fairly even amount of of 1cm spines all over. A small one I have has about 5mm, and another has a different variation again. I'd say 5-6cm would be maximum average. As a general rule the TBM seems to be extremely variable form in terms of spination.

7 stories ey, nice one. can we see some pics?

I agree with transDiMenTional, some pics would be great.

Edited April 19, 2007 by tonic

[strangebrew]

Cheers guys, I think my batteries are just about dead but I'll see what I can do.

They've been no longer than about 3cms I guess up until now but they've sprung up out of nowhere, in shade too.

[gnomad]

I agree with tonic.

Extremely variable in terms of spination.

The spine length can be anywhere from about 1cm to 6cm, even on the same section.

[gerbil]

same results as to whats been posted for my plants,

maxing out at 6cm, generally around 4cm, but as said quite variable. I did seem to observe significant growth and visual colour improvement on some specimens when given some dappled shade by placing an approx 1m tall potted Acacia maidenii in front, but the spination didn't seem to be influenced in my short situation of observation, but it was quite a minor change in this situation

[strangebrew]

For those that asked. It's 6 not 7, I'll have to wait til later this year for 7.

[kadakuda]

whats the growth rate on those? i got a single one grafted on a myrt. please tell me its more than one "pup" a year.

[tonic]

They are slow growing. Usually it is more than one pup, more like four or five if you're lucky, I have found this to be another variable aspect of growing TBM. Being that you have yours grafted though, this should accelerate growth rate quite a lot.

[Μορφέας]

its a beautiful specimen strangebrew, very pretty

[macro]

I've seen everything from a few mm up to 7-8cm, on the same and on different plants. The older/lower pups tend to have the longer/fatter spines

[Guest RedHead]

For those that asked. It's 6 not 7, I'll have to wait til later this year for 7.

Nice strangebrew. Do you have any advice on conditions, watering, fertiliser etc. Mine seem to struggle. I think its just too humid. For those interested I have noticed that pouring the wormcast juice from the lower tray over them, then gently watering makes them pup like fury, really- a single piece will throw off 2 pups simultaneously within days. Then they seem to shrivel and sit and are not happy, so I don't do it anymore.

Edited April 30, 2007 by RedHead

[tonic]

Check out this thread kadakuda:

tbm and bridgesii grafted on pachanoi outdoors, fatten up that penis

macro:I've seen everything from a few mm up to 7-8cm, on the same and on different plants. The older/lower pups tend to have the longer/fatter spines

I disagree although this may be the case with some specimens, it is definitely not the case with any of mine, except for one section, as has been stated before the spination of the TBM is highly variable and does not take on a specific form.

RedHead AFAIK feeding T. bridgesii/E. lageniformis and also the TBM has been known to cause problems, especially with the dreaded black death, also it is usually recommended to use capillary watering techniques to avoid the epidermis coming in contact with water as this can also lead to problems. Humidity is also a known problem.

Edited April 30, 2007 by tonic

[phloom]

Red Head, i dont think its too humid for your TBM...ive got em growing here in SEQ in a humid location an there doin fine. What ive found they like is a much sun as you can give em (der), a normal cactus mix and a dilute liquid (seeweed) fertilise every 2-4 weeks, if thats all too obvious....try somewhere with a bit more airflow.

As for watering_like tonic said, water when the mix appears dry and water around the cactus. I forget when ive watered sometimes "if in doubt, dont water" is my little moto... Although i dont think anyone should get too caught up in worrying about conditions, theyre bloody hardy things.