Melocactus matazanus

Melocactus matazanus is a cephalium bearing cactus that forms the cephalium while the plant is still rather small, making it a great choice for the hobby grower. This is a good place to begin with a fascinating group of cacti.

 

Three cactus flowers

Three closeup photos tonight of the flowers of three different cacti: Rebutia narvaecense, Rebutia krainziana and Mammillaria zeilmanniana.

 

 

The rest of the country has been sweltering under recording breaking temperatures for over a month, while we've been cooler (and drier) than normal. Yesterday broke that string, breaking the record high for the day with a temperature of 103F. It cooled into the 90s F today, and should be in the 80s for the rest of the week. Whew!

Copiapoa malletiana ("Copiapoa de Carrizal")

Another Copiapoa from the Atacama Desert of Chile, one of the driest deserts in the world. That fact provides a fairly glaring hint about how to grow these plants: keep dry in the winter and water during the heat of summer only when the potting mix has totally dried out. In addition, they should be grown in a potting medium with excellent drainage and which dries out fairly quickly.

This is Copiapoa malletiana, also sold as Copiapoa carrizalensis. These are hand-held photos, without a closeup lens, taken by Lynn-Marie.

It's possible that some of my friends in Southern California may say that I'm overly cautious, but I can only speak to the growing conditions experienced here in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Documentary Film with Dr. Audrey Low

One of the early "followers" of this blog was Dr. Audrey Low. I don't know if she even visits it any more but a new documentary, featuring her (and, of course, the sun bears), is now available to download. It can be either rented or purchased and the price is very reasonable. It's about the sun bears of Borneo; I've only seen small clips, but I know already that it will be worth the purchase. Check it out at the Wildhoop Productions website.

Copiapoa krainziana

A nice young specimen of Copiapoa krainziana, a cactus from the northern coastal regions of Chile where it receives most of its moisture from the coastal fog, known locally as the camanchaca. This is a hot and dry region and therefore, in cultivation, they prefer bright, warm situations and are sensitive to cold. These plants are on their own roots though they are sometimes grafted.

Enjoy your plants

Sempervivum calcarium 'Mrs. Giuseppi'

This summer has been ideal for the alpine succulents such as the semps and sedums. This is Sempervivum 'Mrs Giuseppi', a plant we obtained many years ago from Helen Paine, author of the book Plant Jewels of the High Country, now out of print.

Another view of the semp and sedum beds.

Echinocereus subinermis

This came to us under the name Echinocereus luteus, which is perfectly correct, except that it's generally considered a synonym with Echinocereus subinermis. Some would add luteus as a variety. The spination varies considerably.

 

More Lithops tomorrow.

Lithops pseudotruncatella

This picture shows some of the plants still in a juvenile stage and others with more separated leaves. Endemic to Namibia, they are quite variable but always interesting. These plants didn't have collection numbers or C numbers connected to the seeds, nor did they specify a subspecies, but my assumption at this point is that they are ssp. pseudotruncatella. There are 5 subspecies in Cole's naming system (Lithops, Flowering Stones. D.T. & N.A. Cole) which I mostly accept.