What I'm planning to sow in 2016

Festive greetings to all the readers of this Blog! This post is about what I'm planning to sow in 2016 and about some cuttings that I'm after.

Yesterday I've placed my one and only order at Succulenta, the Dutch-Belgian Society of Cactus- and Succulent Amateurs which I'm a member since January this year. They have an impressive list with a lot of interesting species.

I've ordered the following:

• Acanthocalycium glaucum, a greyish/blue plant with yellow flowers.
• Astrophytum asterias, a spineless plant, also known under the name 'Sand Dollar Cactus'.
• Hildewintera colademononis. Just check out the pics.
• Lophophora williamsii, the Peyote cactus, one of my favorite species that, if available, I always add to my seed order.
• Mammillaria plumosa, a white and hairy Mammillaria. This is the first time that I'm about to sow a species from this family.
• Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri. I have no idea what it does and how to cultivate it. I've ordered this one because of its interesting and extraordinary look.
• Lithops, a family of little rock-like plants in many different colors and types. I've ordered 10 random species, so I have no idea of what to expect!

Then I'm also looking for some Euphorbia platyclada and Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis cuttings. E. platyclada is a succulent plant that looks kind of zombified: you would expect it to be dead, but it's not. B. brasiliensis is (duh) an Opuntia species from Brazil. It's one of the highest cacti in the world (maybe it is the highest!) and grows a wooden trunk after a couple of years.

That's all for right now folks! My next post will probably be about some new EDC gear that I've purchased or found underneath the x-mas tree during the last month and there might even be a small review on some Leatherman products.

Right now it's time to pour me a nice dram and watch 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' together with my lovely wife. We always watch Harry potter during these festive days at the end of the year. Some people might find these movies/books childish, but I believe that they contain a certain amount of wisdom, and above all: fun!

Now it's time to leave you alone with David Bowie and his weird song 'Blackstar'. Have a nice day and till next post!

Rhipsalis elliptica cuttings

Hello you world wide web wanderers! Here's another blog post about jungle cacti. Rhipsalis pachyptera to be more specific. 

Rhipsalis elliptica

 In my previous blog post I've made a promise to show you more photos of my Rhipsalis-plants while they were flowering, but I decided not to, because when more flowers appeared, others disappeared.

This week I was looking at the plants, this species in particular, and I saw a lot of ugly, damaged parts on them. So today I've decided to make some cuttings and plant them. This way I keep the existing plants pretty and meanwhile create some clones. I hope to see some new growth in the upcoming spring.

Rhipsalis elliptica

 Aren't they ugly?! They won't be that bad with some extra leafs/particles on them. I find this an easy-to-grow plant that flowers without much afford.

Rhipsalis elliptica

And what will I do with all these extra plants that won't survive outside in my greenhouse? Exactly! I'll give them away! Some weeks ago, my sister told me that she has thrown her Selenicereus in the trashcan after being "attacked" by it... That hurts, RIGHT?! Well, here's a cactus that won't hurt you and also, like Selenicereus, will dominate your windowsill. Enough kidding: this is a really fine and pretty species that doesn't need much care and flowers easily.

Check out this photo from my previous blog post:

Rhipsalis elliptica
 flowering

And here's a link to that post.

Have a nice day and see you next time!