Too many seeds...

Good day to all of ya! It's time for another post about cacti and an update on this year's sowing plans. The idea was not to sow hundreds of seeds this time, but those who've read my previous post about cacti already know about this mission's failure. A nice guy from the United Kingdom has already sent me hundreds of seeds and that's on top of the placed order at Succulenta.

Here are some photos were taken in my greenhouse:

A 5-year-old Trichocereus terscheckii (Cardon Grande)

It might be hard to imagine, but this cactus can reach over 8 meters in height. This will take many years of course, but the Cardon Grande grows a lot faster than the Saguaro for example. Somewhere in the future, this green little fellow probably will cause some discussions between me and my wife. But for now, I'm good. :-)

A 4 year old Pilosocereus gounellei

Pilosocereus gounellei, also known as the Xique Xique cactus, after the equal named municipality in the state Bahia of Brazil. I've sown this 4-year-old plant back in 2012.

4 year old Browningia candelaris

This Peruvian cactus was also sown in 2012. Adult plants have a typical "candle shaped" form. Google this species and you'll see that this is actually a very weird plant!

4 year old Browningia candelaris?!

This little fellow came from the same seed package as the previously shown B. candelaris, but it's different from all the other plants ever since it first popped up. I'm guessing that it came from a lost seed or maybe is a sort of mutant. If it will survive for at least 5 years, I'll be able to ask an expert to help me out with the identification.

Too many seeds...

Cacti seeds

Cacti:

• Acanthocalycium glaucum
• Hildewintera colademononis
• Mammillaria plumosa
• Lophophora williamsii
• Astrophytum asterias

Other succulents:

• Titanopsis hugo-schlechterii
• Lithops bromfieldii
• Lithops coleorum
• Lithops fulviceps
• Lithops gracilidelineata
• Lithops insularis
• Lithops lesliei var. burchellii
• Lithops marginata var. dabneri
• Lithops steineckiana
• Lithops turbiniformis var. subfenestrata
• Lithops turbiniformis

What?! I've added a link to a Google image search to each species for those who are curious.

 

Too many seeds... Good to know that not all of them will germinate and if so, survive the first 3 years. Not good to know is that I'll be out of space very soon. Nothing to worry about, because I'll just build a larger greenhouse!

When I tell someone that my collection contains more than 400 plants, that person usually thinks that my house looks like the Sonoran Desert or something alike, but that ain't the case. I actually have 96% of my plants outside in a small greenhouse on one square meter. I'm very creative with space and I'll be alright for a couple of years more. These succulent plants usually grow very slowly. Take for example one of m5-year-oldld Saguaro seedlings which has a diameter of only 1,5 cm.

The next challenge is to find a place where all my plastic seed containers may stand for at least 1 year. Sunlight, protection against Wonnebald (our cat) and my wife's approval are of great importance. A cacti collector's life ain't that easy as you can see!

That's it for today. Till next post!

What I'm planning to sow in 2015...

Welcome (back?) on my Blog! Sit back, grab a beer (or whisky), lit your pipe (or not) and get even more bored than you already were.

Every year around December and January I ask myself the same question: 'What will I sow this time?!'. Since 2010 I'm sowing each year on April the 1st and that day is coming closer and closer! If you're not an "Amateur-Cacti-Breeder" and/or collector yourself, you're probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about, but for me it has become a sort of addiction. Addicted to sowing cacti and other succulents! It sounds a little bit silly, but see it in a different way: I don't do heroin and I don't feel the urge to put things on fire. Accept for my tobacco and merchandise of The Doors, of course...

I'll keep it short! This is what I'm planning to sow:

Trichocereus pachanoi, the San Pedro cactus

I don't have any adult plants of this species yet, but here is the largest one I've got:

Trichocereus pachanoi

I've bought this plant in 2010 as a cutting and right now this San Pedro is the tallest one of my collection. It's a nice and easy plant to grow and I would like to have a couple of more. A little Google-research will teach you all about its "magical" abilities and there are a lot of cuttings and grow-kits on the market, but keep in mind that, although this plant isn't illegal, extracting mescaline from it and the possession of this drug is.

Growing cacti from the seed is fun in my opinion, but it takes more than just a few years till you have a decent size plant. Patience! That's the trick...

Sulcorebutia arenacea

This is a Globose-Flattened cactus from Bolivia that produces yellow flowers. I won't snatch any image, so here's a link to our great friend Google: Sulcorebutia arenacea

What can I say... I've tried to grow this plant before, but accidentally boiled the seedlings with a heater. It was a disaster that I'd prefer to forget...

Euphorbia obesa

A cool succulent from South Africa that I'm already wanting for a long time! I'll post some pics of my seedlings in the future, but feel free to Google.

Agave parryi

A winter-hardy Agave that should be able to grow outside here in The Netherlands! Let's see what the future will bring us. Of course I'll keep you informed.

Poll

And then there's the Poll! It seems that we have a winner, but it's still open till next week. What's it gonna be?! Scroll down and vote!

The End

This is it for today! I do have some news for you guys: 'Peyote News' is coming back! Next post will contain at least one part about our green/blue, friendly and spineless little friends!

Spoiler alert: a new member has joined the family!

Don't forget to vote! (and I'm not talking about politics)