Good day to you! On April the 1st 2011 I've also been sowing stuff as you might know. Most of it is growing well, some better than others and a couple of them have already been given away. That's the way you do it to keep a collection like this in a suitable size.

Aztekium ritteri

Aztekium ritteri

Yeah... I'm having some problems with this tiny species. I've sown 40 of them and they just didn't pop up. If I remember well, only 8 did and only 4 (as you can see) have survived. That's alright for me. It was one of the first times that I've been sowing cacti. Last year I've tried this species again and guess what? Nothing! Arg... I'll give it another try next year and do some more research before I start.

I've read that they should germinate in closed containers or bags (or whatever method you use that works for you) and be kept inside this closed environment for at least 2 years. The seeds are very tiny so I guess you should be careful not to crush them.

Carnegiea gigantea 

Carnegiea gigantea (Saguaro)

17 germinated (15 sown! Huh?!), 2 of them died in the first year and 2 of them I've given away. I'm satisfied with these results. I definitely don't need a lot of these giants in my house, even though they grow very slowly and probably won't even have branches during my life...

Carnegiea gigantea, double-headed

On the right you can see a double-headed Saguaro. I guess some can have branches during my life (if I may call it branches). Two headed cacti, it happens once in a while. During the last 2 years it has happened twice to me.

Trichocereus terscheckii

Trichocereus terscheckii (Cardon Grande)

My 'largest' cacti seedling! This fat-ass seems very healthy to me and I really have no idea how quick it will grow in the future. They say that E. Terscheckii won't be as big as the Saguaro, but that it certainly grows a lot faster! 

I've sown 15 of them, 7 popped out of the ground and these are still alive today (I've given 3 of them away).

Peyote news!

Lophophora Williamsii (Peyote)

The one in the front and the one on the left are sown here and the other two were a gift. As you can see, the one on the left side looks a little weird. That one and others of the same package were starting to rot and die, so I've tried to graft this one. Guess what happens... The grafted part died and the leftover started to grow again.

Lophophora williamsii v. Nuevo Yucatan (another Peyote)

A variety from Nuevo Yucatan. Tiny fat green little balls, growing well and looking good.

Lophophora williamsii v. La Popa Nuevo Leon

The most successful package of all 3. This variety from La Popa Nuevo Leon seems to grow really well. Lots of survivors and I guess this is a very strong variety. I'll try to grow some more of these again in the future.

The end of Peyote-News.

Trichocereus bridgesii

Trichocereus bridgesii

I don't really understand the growth of these little sticks... They are able to be up one day, laying on one side the day after and on the next day on the other side. The one in the middle is the prettiest of them all. The others are just weird and I hope they'll grow normal one day...

Astrophytum asterias

Astrophytum asterias

Growing slowly, but looking good. That's all I have to say about this species for now.

Browningia microsperma

Browningia microsperma

More or less the pride of my collection. I've obtained these rare seeds that were imported from Peru and almost every seed germinated and is now growing perfectly. I've already given 3 of them away and will probably keep the rest for myself. Amazingly pretty and healthy growing plants in my opinion! I'm starting to like the South American species more and more, mainly the ones from Brazil and Peru.

Mix package from a Dutch Hardware store

I'm not sure about which species I'm growing here, but they're doing well!

Some Ferocactus species?

Another Ferocactus?

Echinocactus grusonii?

Cereus something?

No idea...

That's about it. My ever-growing collection will soon need more space or at least some pruning. I'm thinking about a small greenhouse on one of my balconies (or on both) and later on a bigger greenhouse when I have the space for that!

Later!