Mammillaria elongata 'Rufocrocea'

Mammillaria elongata is a pretty common plant, not very exciting for the experienced collector. However, this variation on the theme is quite interesting. The stems proliferate along the stem and quite regularly send off variegated and/or monstrose growth.
For those who follow our nursery, it should be noted that we are again accepting orders, but only through December 6. After that we'll be closed for the holidays.

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria hahniana

This is a small plant of the very hairy form of Mammillaria hahniana, about 1" across. I don't know if there is an official cultivar name for this form of the species. We've called it Super Clone, very hairy, etc. The species usually doesn't have as full a head of hair as this. They've been flowering all summer.

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria hahniana

This is a small rooted offset with more offsets...and a flower. Actually I was looking at this plant today and it now has four flowers open. This is the extra hairy form of the plant

Mammillaria formosa

This is a nice old, four-headed specimen we've had for many years. It's liking our early summer heatwave. OK, I know it's not really early summer in most places (in the Northern Hemisphere), but for us...it's early!

Mammillaria hahniana

Another of the cacti flowering at this time is Mammillaria hahniana, the "Old Woman Cactus".
We're having unbelievable May weather this year. It got into the upper 80sF again today, but it should drop into the 70s for tomorrow. Still no rain in the forecast.

Mammillaria marksiana

Even when the flowers aren't available, sometimes there's the fruit, in some cases more colorful than the flowers themselves. These are no exception.

Mammillaria velatula subsp. gracilis var. fragilis (AKA "Thimble Cactus")

When we first started growing this plant, back in the late 1960s, we just knew it as the thimble cactus, and then as Mammillaria fragilis, which then became M. gracilis var. fragilis. Then the "fragilis" was dropped and it became the name listed above, only without the fragilis part. We just leave it on for old time sake...and because it then makes this wonderfully long and impressive botanical name for what is basically a simple little plant. It's easy to grow and if you look at it sideways you'll have ten new plants as each segment breaks off readily.
But just because it's easy doesn't mean it isn't worth having. And look closely. Here it is January and it's supposed to get down to 24F tonight, but right there in the center left of the plant is a new bud beginning to push its way through the spines. (Of course, the plant's in the greenhouse, not outside freezing it's spines off. We're not that cruel!)

Mammillaria polythele inermis

Mammillaria is the largest cactus genus, so it shouldn't be surprising that it includes such a diversity of flowers and forms. This is Mammillaria polythele inermis and it just decided to show off for the show this weekend.

Mammillaria zeilmanniana

Yes, this is Mammillaria zeilmanniana in flower, but it's also an old grafted crest. Yes, it also has a couple of normal sections, which will have to be removed later this summer. But...in the meantime, we'll just enjoy the flowers.

Weird 'Fred'

Fred's been here before. But I took this photo last week and I couldn't resist posting it. The variegation showed up a year or two ago, making it even more weird...if that's possible!

Mammillaria spinosissima

What a beauty. This is Mammillaria spinosissima, also known as "Uno Pico". It also is liking our bout of warm weather (though there's frost warning out for tonight).

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria elongata

This is Mammillaria elongata, one of the easiest of cacti to grow and probably the most common species of Mammillaria. But just because it's readily available and easy to grow doesn't mean it should be ignored. Every collection should have this plant. Perhaps every collection does! The challenge should be to grow it well and to display it at its best. We have a couple of very nice clumps and they are quite striking.

Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'

'Tis the season, so I guess instead of calling this the "Old Woman Cactus" - an old common name for it - we could call it the "Mrs. Santa Cactus"! I never took a liking to the common name anyway, and this can hardly be any worse...or, we can avoid it all and call it by it's real name: Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'.

The tree is up and all lit up. The rest of the seasonal decorations are up, included Christmas lights on the Cephalocereus senilis in the front room. The gifts are mostly purchased, including yesterday's annual gift from the nursery to the Oregon Food Bank. Final preparations are being made for a busy weekend.

And I wish all of our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah (חנוכה), the festival of lights, which began this evening!

Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'

Lynn-Marie just potted up a few trays of one of our favorite cacti: Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'. It has a lot of pluses going for it; it's easy to grow, not prone to rot, and eventually makes a magnificent show plant, with clumps of plump, white-haired beauties.

The picture below is the normal form, showing the flowers, but also the relatively small amount of white "hair". Still an interesting and beautiful cactus, but it doesn't have the "wow" factor of 'Superba'.

Mammillaria gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap'

No, it's not flowering now. This was taken last March of little thumb sized starts of Mammillaria gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap' (Syn.: Mammillaria vetula ssp. gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap'). These will be forming nice clumps of this very unique cultivar of gracilis, which makes an outstanding, easy to grow, pot specimen.

They've had their summer growth spurt and now they'll get their winter dormancy... not that we're really getting Winter weather yet. We've had a couple of mild frosts (37 F) but no killing frost yet. And certainly no snow like in the Eastern Rocky Mountains and in the Northeast. Brrrr.

Mammillaria hahniana

This is an old clump of a special clone of Mammillaria hahniana that's extremely hairy. When I took this picture I didn't have my comb with me or I would have combed out the bits from the redwood that had dropped  on it and perhaps made it look a little less disheveled.

Mammillaria polythele var. inermis

Mammillaria polythele var. inermis doesn't exactly stand out in the crowd when it's not flowering...but then it flowers. Almost fluorescent! Almost forgot about this one hiding out on the floor of one of the greenhouses. No forgetting it now.

Mammillaria huitzilopochtli

When I first saw this plant many years ago I was immediately attracted to the amazing symmetry of the spination; it's a very striking plant. This is a close-up, of course.

They still impress me.

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria zielmanniana

While I was preparing plants for the sale this weekend I was again impressed by the variation in flower color with Mammillaria zeilmanniana. As an example, observe the following four plants I potted up today. They're all M. zeilmanniana, but what a difference.

Some botanists now place this with in M. crinita, but when you've been around these plants for as many years as we have, it's kind of hard to change.

A warm welcome to those of you who are new to the blog. In general, I keep the talk at a minimum and let the photos do their thing. But I welcome your comments and feedback. Once in a while, when I'm more awake, I may go into the background of a particular plant. But mainly, I hope you enjoy the images.

Lynn-Marie (my wife) and I co-own a small succulent nursery and the blog is a part of that. But though we would love to have you check out our nursery, the purpose of the blog is not to sell plants but to increase interest in and enjoyment of these fascinating plants.

Mammillaria bocasana 'Fred'

Fred is one strange plant...sort of a cross between the "blob" of old black & white movie fame and the "Thing from Outer Space", another old 50's movie. A monstrouse form of Mammillaria bocasana, Fred does all sorts of things. You can't be sure what the new growth is going to be like. This one's decided to throw off a yellow "sport". For many years no one was quite sure what it was, not until it reverted to it's normal parental form that is. But we all really know it's whatever your imagination wants it to be.