Cacti-update & some random stuff

Maihueniopsis darwinii

Ahoy! It has been three months since my last post and I can't say nothing blogworthy has happened. Especially my personal life is going like a roller-coaster (in a highly positive way!), but that's not what this blog post is about. Today's post is about a couple plants (randomly chosen) of my collection and some other stuff.

Echinopsis subdenudata

I haven't seen any flowers yet, but check out these buds on two of my Echinopsis subdenudata:

Echinopsis subdenutata

I've bought this E. subdenudata back in 2009 on the flower market in Amsterdam. Since 2011, it's flowering each year. Mostly it has one or two buds on it, but this year I count five!

Echinopsis subdenutata

This tiny E. subdenudata was a gift from someone of the Cactiguide.com forum and was sown in September 2010. Normally, this species has huge flowers, so I'm wondering what will become of this little fellow!

Brazilian Orchid

Orchid (Brazil)

The small Orchid in the back was a gift from a dear friend in Brazil. It was flowering the day I've received it and then didn't flower for over two years. Very soon these buds will turn into beautiful, little yellow flowers.

Some random chosen plants

Trichocereus terscheckii

I've sown this T. terscheckii back in 2011 and although it doesn't look that big in this photo, it's kind of huge comparing to the other seedlings that I've sown back in that year. I've given away a couple of them, but if I compare those to this monster... It is supposed to grow a lot quicker than a Saguaro, but the first few years feel like ages.

Maihueniopsis darwinii

This is the biggest bastard of my collection! I'm not talking about the size of the plant. It's the razor-sharp spines which makes this guy a real son-of-a-bitch. They'll pierce right through your fingernail if you don take caution. This Argentinian mountain cactus is actually outside on my balcony for a couple of years now. It seems to survive pretty well. Even a wet and cold winter couldn't kill this plant and It has been covered in snow too a couple of times.

EDC

Keychain with emergency whistle, NiteCore Tube & Leatherman Brewzer Prybar and an Opinel No. 10.

The two new additions to my EDC are the Leatherman Brewzer and the Opinel No. 10. I already wanted a mini pry bar for a long time! I immediately hear you thinking: "What the @#$% do you need a mini pry bar for?!". Well, it's to save all the other stuff that you're using to pry with. Think about a knife-tip, key, bankcard, fingernail or whatever you would use to open, loosen, detach, reach, etc. This thing is so small that I don't even notice it in my pocket, but it's there when I need it and... It has a bottle opener on it! (it also has a hex bit holder, box opening notch, flat screwdriver and an oxygen tank wrench on it).

The famous Opinel knife. I've seen this knife everywhere they sell knives and always thought it couldn't be that great, because of the low price. I also thought that this knife wouldn't lock. Well, I was wrong. It does lock and it's an amazing knife for the price you're paying! This French product came on the market in 1890 and has never left since. It was originally designed for farmers, so that they could have a decent knife for a decent price. The locking-ring (Opinel Virobloc) was invented in the 50s and although it's not as strong as the back-lock on my Buck, it provides all the safety an experienced knife owner needs. The blade on this No. 10 (10 also stands for 10 cm blade length) is made out of high carbon XC90 steel. It will rust, but if you take good care, it will show a nice, black patina over the years. Another nice thing about carbon steel is that it's easy to sharpen. For me this is the ideal knife to carry around in my EDC pouch. I won't use it daily, but it comes in handy while working with my plants, smoking a rope-tobacco or outside in the woods on a camping trip. I'm só positive about this blade that I've bought the smaller No. 8 (which is actually Opinel's most famous model) for my dad. He likes it a lot too and carries it around in his pocket.

The End

That's it for today. I hope to give you an update on my plants soon with some nice shots of flowering species.

What else can I write? My family and me went on a trip to Austria and it was amazing there! We went to a historical place called Bad Ischl, a quiet little place in the mountains. I won't bother you with a full travel journal, but I can tell you this: nothing beats traveling around with your wife and kid! Some people swear that your life ends the moment you start a family, but I strongly disagree. Everything I do and witness is one million times more intense. The smile on my son's face when he's happy is something I can't describe with words. Life's great!

Some short notes about Bad Ischl: fresh and blue water, beautiful mountains, Jä­ger­tee, nice and polite people, lots of hunting trophies, WWI was signed there and on the highest mountain in the neighborhood I've ate the best Goulash of my entire life! Auf Wiedersehen!

My son and me in Austria

Torturing cacti!

Good day to all of ya!

Here you are, on my blog and thinking: 'What the hell?! Torturing cacti?!'.

Yeah... Nothing will be always 100% like you would like it to be and this unfortunately also applies for cacti. This was hard year for me as cacti-breeder! Besides the damaged plants and a little boredom at work, life's very nice to me.

Now what do we have here...

Armored Scale-insects

Armored scale insects. Their name is cool, but they really suck, literally. These little, parasitic monsters also go by the name Diaspididae. They feed themselves on the sap that they suck out of plants and can do serious damage to their host.

Where the hell did they come from and why are they only attacking one plant? No idea, but they were spread all over my Weberbauerocereus johnsonii. I've tried to cut them out, but there were more than just a few. I could not even separate a decent cutting, so I've had to give up and trow the plant away.

Sun-burned cacti

Normally you can recognize it quite easy when your cactus (or other succulent) is getting burned. The plant will slowly start coloring red (keep in mind that some species are supposed to have that color!) and if you notice it on time, you should put it in the shade immediately. Mostly the plant will recover quickly without any damage, but sometimes you're too late.

As you can see, this Echinopsis subdenudata has some permanent damage. The plant won't die, but it ain't pretty either...

And then there is also another scenario...

I should have paid more attention to my balcony-greenhouse. During the summer it was opened day and night and when it got colder and the UV-index was below 4, I've kept it closed. I thought the summer had ended and autumn was on its way, but I was wrong... Two very pretty and sunny days melted a couple of my plants! Holy crap! Not entirely, but they do have some serious damage. Earlier this year I've had the same problem with a couple of my Saguaro seedlings:

Sun-burned Saguaro seedling

And here is the solution to this problem. As some of you know, I'm kind of addicted to IFTTT (pronounced like gift without the G) and I have already made a lot of recipes. Some (in my wife's opinion all!) of them are completely useless and others are quite handy. Check out this one:

The idea is to receive a warning when there is a possibility that my plants get burned. During the beginning of spring, for example, cacti are much more sensitive. After a long winter without much light, they suddenly get struck by stronger sun beams. Now I'll now it on time and will be able to provide some shade. Or it will warn me to open up the greenhouse again when I think summer is over and it's actually not...

I have another IFTT that warns me whenever the wind speed rises above what my green-house can handle, so that I'm on time to save my plants before some sort of storm starts raging on my balcony.

Beating up cacti

What?! No, it wasn't in purpose! Sometimes you accidentally hit or step on a cactus or let a pot fall on the floor and sometimes the guy that is supposed to replace the windows in your house brutally mutilates a Selenicereus hondurensis by closing a window! Arg! Okay, breath in, breath out. Shit happens and it's a plague anyway, but it still sucks monkey-balls when a plant gets damaged!

Smashed Selenicereus hondurensis

The End

That's about it for this blog. Let's wait and see if I can still turn them back into beautiful plants. The'll probably be alright and maybe even flower next year. In their natural habitat they're used to hard and brutal circumstances and are kind of famous for being tough bastards! Well... Next blog I'll blend in some pipes, whisky and bullshit stories again, because this blog is a little bit too serious. Of course this isn't a funny subject! Haven't you seen all the damage?! Pfffff.....

Another thing! I'm back playing Go again and I am slowly getting better and better (I can almost defeat the CPU on level 2... Damn bastard!). Of course this is the place where I'll try to convince you all to play Go and I'll probably bother some persons about my new hobby!

Check out these sites:

• App: Go Free
• Website: Fly or Die

And I wouldn't be Stan if I didn't add a real Go Board to my present-wishlist:

• Wishlist

Now go practice Go and till next Blog!

Selenicereus (again) and Echinopsis subdenudata flowering (also again)

Hi! Welcome (back)! Another blog about cacti. This time about Selenicereus (I've written about them before. Check THIS LINK to see the article). Do you remember that small part of cactus that I've borrowed from some public place? Well... It has grown to what you can see here below!

Selenicereus pteranthus

The borrowed part was about 25 cm long and if you look well, you can see it laying there inside the container. Within 2 years a 1.15 m branch has grown on it. Strong growth for a cactus if you ask me! Earlier this week, to my surprise, I've spotted something on top of it...

Selenicereus, branching

Believe it or not, but when this branch had just appeared, I hoped it would turn out to be a flower (as you might know, selenicereus species have one of the most pretty flowers of them all!). 2 days later it appeared to be another branch... This thing just won't stop growing!

Talking about growing, here are the babies! I've sown them on April the first, 2011 (last year).

Selenicereus Grandiflorus in the front and S. Hondurensis in the back

 I've given about 10 of them away to friends and family and just look at what I still have. Because of their horizontally growth they use much more space than other cacti. That's why I can say that I have way too many of them. If you're interested, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to send you some!

Selenicereus Hondurensis on the left and S. Grandiflorus on the right

These last 2 photos look a bit vague, but if you click on them to enlarge them, you'll see a bit more details.

That's all for now about Selenicereus. Next time I hope to show you some nice photos of one flowering!

Echinopsis subdenudate flowering, again...

The bad thing about this plant is that it flowers at night and you need be very lucky to spot them flowering in the morning after. Besides that it's a very cool and easy flowering cactus.

Wonnebald!

No Blog without Wonnie anymore! Nope! We're all very crazy about this latest family member. Between the regular meals we feed him raw flesh like chicken parts and he's growing like a Selenicereus! He'll be a tough guy in the future.

Nothing more to mention! LATER!

Last week on my favorite cacti-forum

Last week on my favorite cacti-forum - on Cactiguide - I've asked a question about cold-tolerant species that might survive the wet and cold winters we have here in Holland. Within a day some people replied to my question and named me some species that are worth it to try and also some some that already have survived here in Holland. There are a couple of species around that can stand extreme cold (up to -20) and are often covered with snow, but none of them can stand cold and wet together... So one person named me two species; Gymnocalicium bruchii and Maihueniopsis darwinii. I could find some Gymnocalicium bruchii seeds very quickly (on ADBLPS, where else?!), but Maihueniopsis darwini is one of those that are a little bit harder to find. Then someone from the forum offered to send me some Maihueniopsis darwinii cuttings...

Within a day the following package arrived and... Well.... It contained a little bit more than I was expecting!

Maihueniopsis darwinii

 This is one of the Maihueniopsis darwinii cuttings I was talking about. He has sent me another one, but that one I gave away to my friend and fellow cacti-collector Bob. As you can see, this little friend can cut you up with those huge and sharp spines! If you don't believe me, you should ask my friend Bob about it. ;-)

And... There was more... A lot more!

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa, the Buckhorn Cholla

The following cacti are all in pots of the same size;

Echinopsis subdenudata

Notocactus sellowii

Eriosyce subgibbosa

Mammillaria nivosa

 I have never liked the Mammillaria family a lot, but this one has changed my mind about them! If you're wondering what I'm talking about, I suggest you to just google Mammillaria nivosa and if our taste is similar, you'll understand me.

Matucana aureiflora  (aureiflora means golden flowered)

Trichocereus pachanoi

Hey! That is just nice! Two San Pedro cacti! This, my friends, is another 'medicinal' species that is also used - just like Peyote - in shamanistic ceremonies. I already have one in my collection, which was a cutting that I've bought from the Azarius webshop, but these two are grown from the seed. It takes a little while for them to speed up their growth, but when they start, they do start and grow around 30 centimeters a year. (a little wiki-link for those who would like to read a little bit about this magical plant!)

Gymnocalycium berchtii

Gymnocalycium berchtii, my favorite of the package! A dark flattened species that seems to like dirt.

That's it for tonight. Only wine and Jazz is what's left for me to end this weekend. Ow! And of course my lovely wife that's making her homework in the living room right now! She's becoming better and better in Dutch grammar and sometimes when she asks me for a little help, I have to check fucking Google to be 100% sure that I give the right advise! Can you believe that?! Soon her vocabulary will become richer than mine! Ah well... It keeps me awake and in this way I can refresh my memory about my own language once in a while. ;-). Aahhh... Actually I'm very proud at her! Her Dutch is getting so pretty and... Aah! I'm lucky with her and I love her so fucking much! Back to wine now...

Echinopsis subdenudata, flowering again

Hello again! Today's Blog is a short one and it's about one single plant; the Echinopsis subdenudata, a common plant which you can find in most stores that sell cacti (at least here in Holland). Why and why now?! Well... This night on of my plants has flowered for the second time this year and... Well... Judge for yourself, but I think it's pretty! This is one of the plants that I haven't bought because I thought it was extremely beautiful. This is actually my wife's choice when we've bought some cacti in Amsterdam. And right now I'm happy that I've bought it, because it's one of the more pretty plants I have! I've written a Blog about it before, last year, when it was also flowering. Check it out over HERE!

Echinopsis subdenudata, flowering

Now let's give you a short description of this one... Like all the other Echinopsis species, E. Subdenudata is also from South America. Their natural habitat is the Tarija Department in Bolivia, but you'll also find them elsewhere (also in Paraguay for example). Their short stems can reach a hight of 8 cm and up to 12 cm in width. They have woolly areoles that only contain spines at young plants, older plants are completely spineless. As you can see on the photo, the flower reaches a size, bigger than the entire cactus. E. subdenudata is a popular cactus, because it flowers easily (and at an early age).

I have my own theory about this 'easy' flowering thing... A lot of North American cacti never flower in our living rooms. They need a cold place during the winter, just like in their natural habitat. They need a winter-temperature of around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius and human beings prefer a warmer place in the winter to watch television...

There are many South American species, on the other hand, that aren't used to cold winters. They like a winter-temperature around 20 degrees Celsius, just like us! And.... This was my theory... Hey! I'm not a pro and I'm always open for critics.

 Echinopsis subdenudata

Another little thing of great importance is that some cacti need more sun than others, which is a serious thing to think about. With less sun than the plant actually needs, it'll grow, but it'll grow less well. It won't be 'happy' (wait! Now I look like a plant-hugger! I don't do that... Cacti have spines and... Well... Ok! My Peyotes don't... But I also don't hug them! ). Try to grow 2 similar plants under different conditions and you'll see what I mean.

What more can I say? Echinopsis subdenudata flowers at night. Too bad... But! In the morning you'll still be able to see them (which is the reason why these photos are kind of dark). And... You'll also smell them.

Time for my Gandalf-pipe, some German aromatic tobacco and a beer! Can't wait to see the Hobbit! Yeah... Nothing to do with the rest of this Blog, but I'm almost done, reading the book and up till now (haven't read the last 4 books of LotR), I like this story more than Lord of the Rings! All those pipe-smoking dwarfs in Bilbo's little hobbit-hole. Fantastic! Ok... I'm flying from subject to subject again. Time for a good smoke... Have a nice weekend!

Gandalf pipe

By the way, something completely different now; if you have the time, listen to THIS interview with Daniel Quinn. Answering questions about world's problems in few time is kind of hard, I imagine, but he's doing a great job! Cheers!

Echinopsis subdenudata flowering

Aloha! I'll try to keep it short this time, because... Actually there is no because, but I need to start with something!

As you probably know, I'm growing cacti at home. April 1st, I've sown a lot of different species. From the tiny Aztekium Ritteri to the great Saguaro. And of course I've also sown around sixty Peyotes (I have to think about the future! ;) ) A lot of them have popped up already and I think that right now I have more or less seventy-five seedlings. But this is not what I wanted to write about! Arg! This is the exact reason why my blogs always end up huge... I wanted to write something about a cactus that I already have for some years...

The Echinopsis subdenudata, not a very difficult cactus to grow, but I was really surprised when I saw it during the last week. Most people don't even know that cacti can have flowers, but if you treat it right, you'll have a very healthy plant that can have flowers every year.

Check out the following photos. (also see the dates and the hours to realize how fast it grows!)

11-5-2011

12-5-2011

13-5-2011 - 18:30

14-5-2011 - 0:30

14-5-2011 - 1:00

14-5-2011 - 12:00

I think this is something really amazing! How fast a flower - that is bigger than the cactus itself - grows in just a few days! I am really impressed with it. For someone that grows cacti, this is the coolest present you can get in return.

Ah! And have you seen how I'm turning into a great photographer? I don't want to brag, but... But... Of course you know I'm talking bullshit right now! But I'm finally understanding our "simple" camera. Do you recognize this problem? That you've bought something with a lot of functions, but never have taken the time to read the manual so that you can really use all these "amazing" functions?

Now it's time for......

__________________________________________

PEYOTE NEWS!

My wife has bashed the seedlings I've sown in 2010 on the floor with the vacuum-cleaner (for all the feminists: I also use this thing!) and now they're all dead: THE END!

Yeah... It sucks... After all it was my own mistake, because I've putted them on a weird spot for a while... On the other hand: they were kind of weak and weren't growing that well. It's really useful to first read a lot about something first and then start with it instead of the opposite! The seedlings I have right now are twice as big in only one and a half month. Temperature, sunlight and watering from the bottom is the key.

__________________________________________

Something completely different now. Last month I've had another pipe-smokers-meeting. This time in one of the only old tobacco-shops left here in Holland: Schimmel in Zutphen. A very nice place with a historical tobacco basement, which is already there since the seventeenth century. Very interesting to see!

I'll just add two photos, a group-photo in front of the place and one of my booty. ;-)

PRF-Meeting

The booty! A corncob-pipe, three cans of tobacco and some samples. (the ashtray isn't new)

I know that many of you think that smoking pipe is something for your grandpa and not for some "young" guy like me. I don't agree with that. (of course!) I smoke pipe because it makes me calm and helps me to order my thoughts. It kind of breaks the stressful routine of life and... I like the taste! 

It doesn't combine with everyone, because a lot of patience is needed and... Nowadays most of us don't have the time for patience. Wake-up and make some time! (if you want of course)

Uhhmmm... I wanted to show some photos of my flowering cactus and I'm already talking about stuff like pipe-smoking to "Idon'tknowwhoreadmyblog". Time to "brei" an end on it for today!

I feel like drinking some beer right now and play World of Warcraft now my wife isn't using the account! Till next blog! FOR THE HORDE!