tripsis Posted November 19, 2009 I've asked a couple of people this, but thought I'd ask here to see people's opinions. So, would you pay $750 for a Lophophora williamsii which has 16 heads and is over 30 years old? It is in pretty perfect condition with all of it tufts of wool erect (not matted at all). I don't have any pics of it, but it's pretty big. I went to have a look at it today, but couldn't bring myself to fork out that much, but I'm still thinking about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
educate Posted November 19, 2009 I would if I just got my tax cheque back or had some extra cash. But it is up to the situation. It must be pretty special and something nice to have in a collection! At the mo, I just couldn't justify it for myself. Someone with some spare cash could be in a different situation though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted November 19, 2009 No i would definately not pay that price. A few years ago, when mature lophs were sold at ebay, large ones from Köhres that had between 50 and 100 heads (!) were sold for 100-150 Euros. Even the crested or variegated ones were cheaper than 750 Dollar. bye Eg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 19, 2009 Thanks for the replies. Yeah, having a suplus of money would definitely make a hell of a difference. I'm saving to go overseas though, so I don't. EG, there are far more Lophs available in Europe to buy than here in Aus. Köhres helps in that regards enormously no doubt. We have nothing even close to him here. I think it's pretty rare to see ones this and old for sale, let alone crests and the such. If only they were that cheap here... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted November 19, 2009 yeah your right about that, tripsis. Well, i can only speak about the german prices so i assume your price might not be as high as it sounded to me at first. Its fucked up that you cant buy large lophs at ebay anymore. A few years ago, you could buy enormous Lophs for a fair amount of money there. Since then, the prices in germany went up too. bye Eg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 19, 2009 Well I don't really know if it's a good price here, but I'm guessing it isn't too bad. I do know that there would be people who wouldn't hesitate to pay that much, but then there are also people who would hesitate to but a Ferrari, so it's really not much to go off. I agree it fucked Lophs aren't allowed to be sold on Ebay, there reasoning is plain stupid. But it's the same backward reasoning that makes importation of Loph seeds/plants into Australia prohibited too - they put all Lophophora species under the drugs schedule. Who the hell would eat a diffusa?! At any rate - correct me if I'm wrong - I think it's pretty rare for large Lophs to be sold in Australia. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chiral Posted November 19, 2009 I saw a loph go for 800ish bucks on e-bay about 5-6 months ago, there was some hectic bidding on that plant too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rabelais Posted November 19, 2009 tripsisI agree it fucked Lophs aren't allowed to be sold on Ebay There was one on eBay just a couple of days ago. About 5cm, was at $80 with about 20 bids when I seen it - if I remember correctly. Would be finished now though I think. No mention of Loph or Peyote in the description though, they called it "Rare button cactus". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 19, 2009 Chiral, how big was the one that went for $800? Dale, there's a 30+yo one on there right now going for $450, but it isn't nearly as nice or in as good condition as the one I'm thinking about getting. My point was not that they are not sold on Ebay, but that Ebay rules specifically prohibit it, thus why they are not called by there scientific names. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chiral Posted November 19, 2009 it was also 30 yrs old, seems to be when these plants command the most money, the plant was 15 or 18cm across with no offsets that I could see, but had been a prolific flowerer, oh and it was correctly identified as Williamsii too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 19, 2009 Damn, that is big. The one I've been looking at is probably bigger than in total, but each individual offset is much smaller, the largest probably not being greater than 10cm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) I would never buy one that old or that large, or that expensive. It's much cheaper and much cooler to get a bunch smaller one and grow them. What if something happens and that thing rots? Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Get 5-10 small Lophophora cacti, not one big one! Edited November 19, 2009 by Teotzlcoatl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chiral Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) I'd buy if had the coin, especially if it's a prolific flower and pumping out seeds. It's only going to keep growing and gain even more value if that's your thing. Personally I would buy it just to be in the presence of an old plant and take some time to learn from it. Think about this, we only live for about 80 years as men so if you bought a 30yr old at the age of 20 by the time you die at 80 or if you are lucky 90 then you have a 100 year old loph, now that is way cool, pass it on to your children or someone you can trust to continue to grow it, not sell it etc...be interesting to see how far a plant could go through family members. Edited November 20, 2009 by Chiral Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neoshaman Posted November 20, 2009 I'd buy if had the coin, especially if it's a prolific flower and pumping out seeds. It's only going to keep growing and gain even more value if that's your thing. Personally I would buy it just to be in the presence of an old plant and take some time to learn from it. Think about this, we only live for about 80 years as men so if you bought a 30yr old at the age of 20 by the time you die at 80 or if you are lucky 90 then you have a 100 year old loph, now that is way cool, pass it on to your children or someone you can trust to continue to grow it, not sell it etc...be interesting to see how far a plant could go through family members. would buy it in a second if the misses wouldn't remove my balls actually i hope i come across something like that when i get my massive tax refund next year( ahh the joys of post grad study) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) Yes, it is definitely a prolific flowerer, it has several on it flowering presently and many dried ones too. Probably more buds on the way as well. The value it gains with age mean little to me, I don't plan on selling it if I buy it, it would be valueless to me. The fact it is older than me and will always have those years on me and any Lophs that I grow from seed is pretty significant though. Does anyone here in Aus on this forum have any old plants similar to the one I'm talking about? Edit: is that your pic Chiral? Edited November 20, 2009 by tripsis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neoshaman Posted November 20, 2009 The value it gains with age mean little to me, I don't plan on selling it if I buy it, it would be valueless to me. The fact it is older than me and will always have those years on me and any Lophs that I grow from seed is pretty significant though. Priceless I think is a better term Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 20, 2009 That was the word I was looking for! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted November 20, 2009 i would, but not right now... spent way too much on cacti recently Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hellonasty Posted November 27, 2009 .........if you are lucky 90 then you have a 100 year old loph......... Hmm interesting. What is the life span of a Loph? How old can they get. I know Ariocarpus have a life span of 50ish years, after this point they hardly grow and will eventually die from disease/age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 27, 2009 (edited) That is something I am very interested to know too. So far, I haven't found any solid answers, only conjecture from people on the fora or people I've spoken to. It's interesting that Ariocarpus only live to around 50. It's strange considering how slow-growing they are. I would have expected them to live longer. Edited November 27, 2009 by tripsis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted November 27, 2009 (edited) oh cheap as chips mate Edited November 27, 2009 by blowng Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kadakuda Posted November 27, 2009 what is the size of that one? 16 heads all around 7-10cm? for me it would be a thinker for sure....although i have spent more on a loph, but it was quite large and crest. it was also 30 yrs old, seems to be when these plants command the most money, the plant was 15 or 18cm across with no offsets that I could see, but had been a prolific flowerer, oh and it was correctly identified as Williamsii too. 15-18cm is quite big....its usually more valuable if its so large with no offsets, that's far more rare, and in many peoples opinion more "collectible". personally i like to have at least one plant in my care that i look up to a lot and is worth more than my car lol. i wish i had a 18cm head loph!!! if you got the $ and its something that is that important to you, go for it. but if you have many otehr priorities and money is not limitless, realistically its not really a good thing to spend money on unless it genuinely makes you feel good having it. teo said a good point: What if something happens and that thing rots? "it'll never happen to me, i have grown many lophs"....right? 1 month after i bought my crest, in the first typhoon of the year, it starts to rot. my pucker dropped a couple puddings when i touched it and looked! saved it, but it was sure a wake up call!!! i pretty much paint the water onto it now in the wet season LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teotzlcoatl Posted November 27, 2009 It's interesting that Ariocarpus only live to around 50. It's strange considering how slow-growing they are. I would have expected them to live longer. Ariocarpus can def. live longer than 50 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted November 28, 2009 what is the size of that one? 16 heads all around 7-10cm? The sizes vary, some would be around 7-10cm, others maybe only 3-4cm. The diameter of the plant as a whole is probably 20+cm. 15-18cm is quite big Yes, that is. I thought they only got to 15cm? Regarding the rot, it would be pretty terrible to have happen. But you can't account for these things. In all likelihood, I won't get it. I'm saving to go travelling and spending big on cacti is not going to help the cause...but you never know, the decision is constantly changing. Ariocarpus can def. live longer than 50 years. So how long can they live for? Do you have any references? Do you know how long Lophs can live for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted November 28, 2009 $750 seems like alot of money to spend on a loph. Must be a pretty special plant. Is it definately the age the person says it is? Or perhaps a degrafted loph thats been put onto it's own roots? Grafts I have done grow so quickly and large, (on Trich's) degratfing one of these and then getting it to grow on it's own roots might see a plant of similar size in fewer years? Although I am not expert on this. Also in my experience they put out heaps of pups, as you would know, so maybe it's not so likely that you would get the one single headed loph. I like the clusters of lophs tho. They look cool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
