watertrade Posted February 13, 2013 Found a double headed seed pod. http://m945.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/WATERTRADE/20130213_082128_zps327c611a.jpg.html 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Made the casual observation my lophs are starting the flowering season a wee bit early.....here's some that popped a few days ago. crappy pic but you get the idea... mailed a pup from this to a lucky mate in Oz...... (tracking confirms they received it) Edited February 14, 2013 by zelly 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kykeion Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Lucky mate indeed! I've been searching high and low for one of those fellas. I was beginning to think they were a myth. I have only seen photos of four specimens, 1. The cactus-art.biz nursery in Italy, 2. a flickr photo of one growing at a botanical garden in Prague, 3. a pic of one growing in the back of bit's greenhouse, 4. and now this one. Curiously, comparing photos 1, 2 and 4 it looks like they may each represent different specimens/clones. Well I guess it is at least nice to know that they are out there. Maybe some day I'll find one here in the US. Edited February 15, 2013 by Kykeion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 17, 2013 I have only seen photos of four specimens Here's some pics of a some more specimens.... As for what I did to my cacti today......... Well I gave this one a haircut..... Approximately 30-35 meters worth of haircut.... Whats left will be trimmed some more in the near future.... 15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted February 17, 2013 Hi zelly why did you cut so much off? Won't all the new pups actually increase the size of the plant? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 17, 2013 The plant was severely (thickly) overgrown, with new stems trying to grow & squeeze in between existing stems, plus in front it was encroaching on the brick work of the flower bed, threatening to break it. My goal is to eliminate the long, arching, leaning stems & promote new, vertically upward stems. Plus, the back of the plant was growing under the eaves of the roof & had to come down. But yeah, I'm hoping the new pups will increase the overall size of the plant, as long as they go vertical and not off at a 60-70 degree angle or whatever. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 17, 2013 Finally, dug out tree stump #4 of 4. The relatively more fun part of digging out straggler roots, and homogenizing the topsoil with compost and pumice - and then making a retaining wall of rocks, and then planting the cacti - is yet to come :D 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice Posted February 18, 2013 zelly, how old is that plant, 20+ yeras? its a pc? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 18, 2013 slice- yes, the plant is pc and it's 50+ yrs old. The main trunk/roots are massive, & the only water the plant gets is from rainwater. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted February 18, 2013 (edited) more grafts also put pereskie tips in a glass of water for a potential hydro experimentmeditated and got in tune with my plants before this... gave major thanks to my pereskies and stared at my other grafts doing well, but then again i do that pretty much daily lol Edited February 18, 2013 by Spine Collector 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Today I inched closer to my dream goal of having a super-awesome garden bed of cacti and other awesome plants. :D In the morning today (note the enemy shed that I'd like to re-locate/destroy, as it gets a lot of good sun, and it can be moved somewhere and I can put my glasshouse there insteadAlso to note - the blackening on the stumps was from when I dug under the stump and used it like a furnace to burn the leaves and wood - until the fire ban kicked in ) Today evening (Note the gum trees in the background right, and the remnant Macadamias on the left)So the plan is to dig in compost and pumice as soon as they arrive, and make that bed rather homogenous in terms of soil and drainage. Soak everything thoroughly to let it settle a bit. And then in due time - plant it out with cacti (in a sort of a ring shape, and then plant hardy-leafies in the middle of the ring. Then dress with rocks, and try and make it look cool. Hopefully this will made it cool to sit inside the middle of the ring, or at least it will protect the leafies from marauding sheep, and perhaps the cacti will eventually lock me out too. Edited February 20, 2013 by CβL 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted February 21, 2013 Today I inched closer to my dream goal of having a super-awesome garden bed of cacti and other awesome plants. :D In the morning today (note the enemy shed that I'd like to re-locate/destroy, as it gets a lot of good sun, and it can be moved somewhere and I can put my glasshouse there instead Also to note - the blackening on the stumps was from when I dug under the stump and used it like a furnace to burn the leaves and wood - until the fire ban kicked in ) Today evening (Note the gum trees in the background right, and the remnant Macadamias on the left) So the plan is to dig in compost and pumice as soon as they arrive, and make that bed rather homogenous in terms of soil and drainage. Soak everything thoroughly to let it settle a bit. And then in due time - plant it out with cacti (in a sort of a ring shape, and then plant hardy-leafies in the middle of the ring. Then dress with rocks, and try and make it look cool. Hopefully this will made it cool to sit inside the middle of the ring, or at least it will protect the leafies from marauding sheep, and perhaps the cacti will eventually lock me out too. Very nice looking spot mate. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted February 21, 2013 Today i added a cactus to my collection that i suspected i wouldn't obtain until i was a little old lady Aztekium ritteri 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Found a double headed seed pod. http://m945.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/WATERTRADE/20130213_082128_zps327c611a.jpg.html I just counted the seeds from this seed pod. Exactly 80 seeds! I have never seen anything like it! Zelly - you know loph seeds ;) have you ever seen anything like that? Edited February 21, 2013 by watertrade 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted February 21, 2013 It happens but its rare. Do you have a better pic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 21, 2013 wt- nope, never have. I'm with EG, do you have a better pic (higher resolution)? Do you recall anything about pollinating the flower? Was it a solitary flower? Were there any arios flowering around the same time? Eighty seeds is impressive in itself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) I didn't realise the whole time I have been posting small preview pics like the link above. here we are... the plant is looking pretty sorry for itself. it was hand pollinated in the usual way with a paint brush - from one plant to the next - there are some Ariocarpus in the area but I don't think they were flowering at the same time and there was nothing else unusual about the flower that I noticed. i wish i had taken pics of the dried seed pod it didn't shrink down at all and as you would expect - jam packed with seeds. Edited February 21, 2013 by watertrade 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Change Posted February 22, 2013 This PC pach is displaying some weird yellow spots, I have no reason to think its from frost or any form of damage as the cactus looks super healthy, so im thinking maybe its a genetic things. What do you guys think? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inti Posted February 22, 2013 I am curious to know too. I have had the same thing happen to a few of my pachs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
modernshaman Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) It may be root rot however when this happened to mine a while ago and it was from too much sun. The excess sun caused bleaching I guess. Is it soft? If not I wouldn't worry much. Edited February 22, 2013 by modernshaman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted February 22, 2013 Dreamtime, this can have various reasons. Nutrient defiency, mealy bugs, spidermites, virus. Did it look like this from the beginning? If yes, it might be Virus or Genetic. If no, rule out the things mentioned before. If it doesnt go away after repotting/fertilising/pesticide treatment, the plant might carry the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted February 22, 2013 Watertrade, i think you really got a conjoined seedpod but my eyes are actually too bad to say for sure. So sad i am not seeing this thing in nature. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowfella Posted February 22, 2013 Got the same on a Myrtillocactus after Sydney's recent heatwave. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) This PC pach is displaying some weird yellow spots, I have no reason to think its from frost or any form of damage as the cactus looks super healthy, so im thinking maybe its a genetic things. What do you guys think? put it on EBAY as a variegate WT that is one awesome looking loph. Is the monstrose tendencies due to insect damage or disease ? Edited February 22, 2013 by tipz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
