Peyote News, January 2015

An article on my Lophophora williamsii collection! It ain't huge yet and I don't possess any plants that are mature enough to flower (this year just might prove me wrong!), but because of the fact that this is one of my favorite species, I feel like sharing them all at once!

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa

Let's kick-off with this new plant that I've bought in the end of last year. I haven't introduced it online till now, so: here it is! Another Lophophora williamsii! Caespitosa is a variety and not a different species. This variety is often a hybrid, but they can also pop up in a normal seed-tray and aren't even that rare in their natural habitat.

My Balcony-Greenhouse

Balcony-Greenhouse

It's cold outside and today and I'll have to turn on the heater a little bit today. Don't mind the mess! I'll clean it up in spring. ;-)

Lophophora williamsii collection

Where it all began...

Lophophora williamsii - Peyote

My first Peyote! I've bought this one in Amsterdam together with my wife. I was showing the city to her and of course also the famous Flower Market and there were a lot of cacti there! I have to be honest, because I normally complain about nursery-plants, there are some pretty plants around!

We've bought this plant because of its different appearance and squeezability. We didn't even know about the "magical" history and were quite amused after we've found out! Not that I've ever tried one, but this species is a curiosity for sure.

A couple of weeks later I've ordered a Peyote grow-kit @ Azarius.nl (I've also bought my San Pedro cutting there). The lack of knowledge in combination with a vacuum cleaner have made an end to this experiment (check out my older articles to see how that went!).

Sown in 2011

Lophophora williamsii

Lophophora williamsii - Peyote

No variety, just a "normal" Peyote! This means that the seeds were from cultivated plants without any trace of habitat.

Lophophora williamsii var. Nuevo Yucatan

Lophophora williamsii var. Nuevo Yucatan

The name of this variety comes from its origin. The seeds I've bought are probably from cultivated plants, but when you go a couple of generations back, you'll end up in the natural habitat of this species:

Nuevo Yucatan

Lophophora williamsii var. La Popa, Nuevo Leon

Lophophora williamsii var. La Popa, Nuevo Leon.

Same story, but there's something different about this variety. I don't know why, but I've had many survivors from this seed-badge. I've bought them at the same place as the ones mentioned above, but almost all of them have germinated and they just seem a little bit bigger and stronger than the others. I don't have an explanation for this...

Sown in 2012

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa

Let's see if they'll have many heads within a couple of years. I've read that they'll start to sprout very young!

Now let me just show you a photo of these seedlings when they were only 2,5 months old:

Lophophora williamsii var. caespitosa, 2,5 months old

I'm showing this photo to you, because I would like to make some comparison to the ones I've sown last year.

Sown in 2013

Lophophora williamsii var. Cedral, SLP

Lophophora williamsii var. Cedral, SLP

2013, the year of DEATH! A huge tragedy has come over all the plants sown that year... As some of you remember, I've had some problems with the thermostat of my heater and simply fried everything I've sown!

BUT there are two survivors. Let's see if they still have it in them to become proud and mature Peyotes!

Sown in 2014

Lophophora williamsii var. Entronque, El Huizache

Lophophora williamsii var. Entronque, El Huizache

Something went wrong again! As you can see, they're all elongated. This normally means a lack of sunlight, but strangely all the other seedlings are looking normal! I've added a little fertilizer to the sowing-soil and I think that this was a huge mistake, because there was already some fertilizer in the potting-soil that I've used for my mixture. A good lesson for this year! I still hope that they'll get their natural look back and grow up pretty and all. We'll just have to be patient...

Above I've shown you a photo of some 2,5 months old L. williamsii var. caespitosa, which were also quite elongated and just check out how pretty they look in the first pic!

A special note on this badge is that I've sown them on the same day my son was born. Another reason why we all should hope for the return of a pretty and natural appearance!

The Great Poll

"The Great Poll" has ended this week! We have a winner!

The Great Poll

And the winner is.... 1. Astrophytum caput-medusae. Thank you, that's the most expensive one you could choose! That's no problem at all, because it's an awesome looking plant too and fits will very well in my collection. Remind me to give you one when they're older...

The End

All I can add is that I have good hope for a flower on one of the two older plants this year and that I might buy some older an ready-to-flower plants the next time I'm going to visit a cactus show.

Take care and till next article (which will be about pipes and something that I've added to my collection!)!

Seed planning 2014

Almost April the 1st. And as you might know, this is sowing day for me. Only this year it's a little bit different, because I'll become a dad in the same period! (within a couple of weeks!)

The plan is to sow at the same date our son is born. I think it'll be kind of cool that - if he ever gets interested in cacti - he'll have some Aztekium ritteri, sown at the day he was born. Or maybe he'll just don't give a fuck! Hah! Well... Then I'll have some A. ritteri sown at the day my first child was born. =P

I've ordered everything at ADBLPS from France again. You have to know that the photo's below are from their site. I've used their photo's because the seeds that I'll sow are coming from these plants!

Astrophytum

Astrophytum asterias, Gonzales/TAMPS/Mexique [GK 85/96] - 100 seeds

Astrophytum asterias, a species which I've tried to grow back in 2011. Germination went alright (13 out of 20), but within the first six months ten of them died. The rest died in the following 6 months... My bad, because I've re-potted them in a substrate consisting of 100% Seramis(fired clay) and probably over watered them. My conclusion: species that like mineral substrate won't do well in 100% fired clay. It just keeps them to humid.

Astrophytum coahuilense SB 1474, Lerdo/DUR/Mexique [MG 56.3/97] - 20 seeds

I was first thinking about ordering some A. myriostigma seeds, but then I saw this fellow. First I had them both on my list, but later on I´ve decided to choose the one I like the most; Astrophytum coahuilense! Although it's looking quite similar to A. myriostigma, it's a different species for sure. A coahuilense has more grey flecks on its body, different flowers, fruit, seed and Embryo (according to what I've read here and there online!).

Escobaria

Escobaria missouriensis 'wissmannii' [GK 1198/90] - 100 seeds

Escobaria missouriensis, one of the most frost resistant cactus species in the world, so I've read. Some northern populations are resistant to -35 -45°C (-31 -49°F) and although they prefer good drainage and a little drought before being watered again, they should be able to survive cold and wet conditions at the same time. Don't believe me on my word here! This will be my little experiment and I'll be glad to tell you if it worked out or not. I've ordered 100 seeds of this species, so there is enough testing material for the following years. I'll even have some experiments with seedlings outside in the cold.

Aztekium

Aztekium ritteri [U/94] - 100 seeds

Aztekium ritteri. I've grown (and am still growing!) this plant before. In 2011 I've sown 40 seeds. 8 germinated and 4 of them have survived. These 4 seem to be extremely strong and indestructible right now.

Aztekium ritteri, 4 years old

Aztekium ritteri, 4 years old

They're not bigger than 2 mm and have just survived 5 months without water (winter rest)! Anyway, in 2012 I've sown 20 and none of them have germinated. This time I'll sow 100 of them and use the Fleischer method described on this page of Succseed. I'll also sow in two different pots with two different substrate mixtures.

Aztekium hintonii [GK 4994/13] - 20 seeds

And last but not least: Aztekium hintonii, a littl less ancient looking than A. ritteri, but still a cool looking plant! There is one other species of the Aztekium family that was discovered last year by Mario Valdez Maroquin. It's named after him; Aztekium valdezii. Sadly it's natural habitat is getting plundered right now by idiots that only care about money and don't give a fuck about the fact that they're causing this species to become extinct in no time. By the way: it's also illegal to possess plants or seeds... My advise; don't buy plants or seeds online for extreme prices. Wait till the true cacti breeders are able to sell seeds from cultivated plants for normal prices, because you'll support the extinction of a great plant if you don't have the patience to wait a few years.

Wish me good luck!

The only thing left to do now is wait... When will my son be born? Will my seeds arrive on time? Will I have the time to sow on his birthday?! Ah! What does it all matter! Right now it's being the most exiting time of my life and I'm looking forward to everything. I know it's no piece of cake, but I don't mind. Cake is too boring and I'm ready for something more, something real, something with a meaning. It all feels very natural and of course life won't always be sunny, but that only gives a contrast which makes you appreciate more what you got when things do go right. Wise words here! Keep them in mind. ;-)

Adios!