Piante grasse cactus spine

Tag: cultivation

Mammillaria luethyi, the incredible story of its discovery in the Fifties and tips for growing it

Unlike what usually happens with cacti, Mammillaria luethyi was first observed by a researcher not in its habitat but in a… coffee can. Weird? Wait until you read the whole story, then. Yes, because the discovery of this species of Mammillaria is relatively recent (half of the Fifties of the twentieth century) and still today we cannot certainly define it as a widespread plant in cultivation or regularly available on the market. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most fascinating species among Mammillaria, one of the most intriguing and undoubtedly the one having the showiest flowering, and at the same time delicate and charming. As a counterbalance to these qualities, there are some difficulties in cultivation and the tendency of the root to rot: these aspects, in addition to the slowness in growth, make M. luethyi reserved for pure enthusiasts and experienced cactophiles, although with not a few difficulties.

The following article was published in Volume 61, Issue 2 (May 2021) of the Journal of The Mammillaria Society. Thanks to the editors for their welcome publication. (…)

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Spots on the stem and rot, here’s what you can do to save sick succulents and cacti

Circumscribed dark spots, yellowish spots, dryness, discoloration of the stems, reddening, small cuts: over time, signs of various kinds and of varying size may appear on the stem of our cacti. In some cases there is nothing to worry about, because they are small wounds caused for example by the thorns of a nearby plant, or because they are simply the signs resulting from the aging of the plant. In other cases, however, it is necessary to intervene immediately, because that spot is perhaps due to some fungal pathology destined to expand until it seriously disfigures or kills the plant. But how to distinguish a harmless thorn prick scar, for example, from dangerous rot? How to understand if that discoloration of the stem is caused by the sudden exposure of the plant to direct sun or by a lack of nutrients, or by the beginning of a fungal attack? And how to intervene to contain the damage or save the plant when the damage has already been confirmed?

This is what we will see in this article, with the help of a series of photographs that portray different situations and different pathologies. Some photos were taken by readers of Il fiore tra le spine and portray their plants: I thank these readers for agreeing to share their photos with me, thus collaborating in the creation of the following article. (…)

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Sudden changes in temperature and first colds: with cacti and succulents there is nothing to fear

From the highest peak to the lowest, about thirty degrees Celsius passes. This is the sudden change in temperature to which my succulents (90% cacti) have been exposed in recent weeks, almost all kept in the greenhouse which is still rigorously open 24 hours a day. All the Agaves remain outside the greenhouse, some Aloes, various Opuntia, Tephrocactus, Pediocactus, some Echinopsis and some cacti that I placed in the ground for experimentation. Can such sudden changes in temperature damage plants? Are nighttime lows starting to get too low for cacti and succulents in general?

There are many who wonder and, since I have received several messages in this sense, I have decided to write this short article to answer these questions. (…)

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Two useful products for keeping succulents healthy: Neem oil and copper oxychloride

Many cactus and succulent enthusiasts are convinced that the cultivation of these plants necessarily involves the use of chemical products against diseases and parasites. Others consider the use of these products simply as a component of cultivation to be used in certain cases; still others are not too subtle and at the cost of having healthy plants are willing to destroy their lungs, massacre bees and poison the environment. Talking to them is as useful as trying to convince an agoraphobic to take a walk in a desert. But these people, after all, grow for collection and not for love of Nature or a sincere passion for plants. This article, the result of my personal experience and therefore not to be considered as a “lesson” in an absolute sense, may be useful to everyone else. The experience has led me to drastically reduce the use of so-called “phytopharmaceuticals” or “phytosanitary products” (which do not include fertilizers), especially toxic and synthetic ones. I have undertaken this path for some years now for reasons of health protection (mine first and foremost) and the surrounding environment, considering that many pesticides have, among the various side effects, that of killing bees. The issue relating to the death of bees may seem of little importance to the uninformed, but in reality it has enormous importance on a global level from an environmental point of view.

Let’s see in this article how it is possible to reduce the use of pesticides and fungicides, limit ourselves to products with low environmental impact such as Neem oil and copper oxychloride and still have strong and healthy cacti and succulents. (…)

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How a cactus changes depending on the type of cultivation: the difference made by soil and exposure

When they say that a picture is better than words. In this case, there are three photos, but the concept doesn’t change, and the difference between a cactus grown in a “natural” (or “wild”) way and one with a “garden-style”, based on basic notions and beliefs is quite evident. The plants I’m writing about are Ferocactus latispinus obtained from a 2012 sowing of mine. From that same planting, I’ve got at least forty plants. Over the years, I have given away some of them, but most are still with me and are growing beautifully. It’s important to point out that these are plants born from seeds contained in a single fruit (gift of a dear friend), sown the same day and grown over the years in the same conditions, i.e. in my greenhouse, in standard soil (pumice, lapilli and peat in equal parts), watered and fertilized with the same frequency. This is to say that the starting conditions, including the genetics and the grower’s hand, are the same. And yet, as you can see from the photo above, where the three plants (three at random of the twenty-five or so that I have kept for myself) are side by side, they show remarkable differences, at least to the discerning eye and the grower with a minimum of experience.

So let’s see, in this article, how and why different cultivation regimens, assumed as a whole and not just limited to the soil, affect so much the final result and really make the difference between a cactus grown and cultivated in any garden or generic nursery and a cactus grown by an enthusiast or an expert. (…)

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