I tried to stay strong and not buy any new plants. I really tried. And I managed for over a year. Mainly because I managed to kill a few of my favourite cacti and got a bit demotivated. The rest kept them alive, but didn't pay much attention to them. They rewarded my neglect with very few flowers this year.
Fair enough, I deserved it.
But when I saw this one in a shop, I had to get it! I just had to! I knew exactly what it was, and I wanted it for a while. Once I saw it on sale - a single plant in a tiny pot and for some reason (I don't remember what it was) I decided to put it back.
But the right time has come, and now I have it :)
Mammillaria Plumosa
This one is native to Mexico and with good care it will grow multiple offsets creating a cloud of fluff. Google it! It's gorgeous.
The pot I got had 5 plants tangled together. It took me a while to remove all the shitty compost nurseries pot the plants in and seperate them. Two biggest ones I put in two seperate pots and that's the two you see here. Three smaller ones I planted together and hope they will fill up the pot nicely.
And now the coolest part about this plant. It is also called a Feather cactus and you can see here why. The spines look like tiny, baby chicken feathers. They all point down, so they do not hurt fingers. You can pat it and it will feel like... feather. Pretty amazing!
The flowers are small, from white to more yellow. I have no idea how this one will bloom - hopefully it will show me some blooms in spring.
The one on the left was the biggest one.
And now for the constant bloomer:
This is Turbinicarpus viereckii. I have had it for a few years, and every year it amazes me with the amount of flowers. They are nearly constant from spring to fall. Usually it is just one flower, but as soon as it dries up, another bud pops up.
Unlike the mammillaria above, this one is very mean! It's like the little fluffy angel and the mean, evil bitch.
The long and very sharp spines do hurt. But that is ok :) It is a gorgeous looking cactus! And it is one of my favourite (knock on the wood).
I just wish it did self pollinate so I could grow more of them. But this type just won't do it. I have tried to find another one this time, but no luck. So I ordered seeds of a few types (flaviflorus , lophophoroides, pseudopectinatus and I am still eyeing Valdezianus and Alonsoi) and will be sowing them in spring. Maybe crossing will work. They are lovely, small plants.
Just look at those beautiful, long, black spines protecting the fluffy top with a flower.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
This is now it looked like 4 years ago :)
Such a little baby!
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
Wow beautiful cactus flowers, only this is the first time I have seen a flowering cactus, I love this type of cactus 😀, Thank you brother @ewkaw for sharing and I know even more with the type of cactus 👏
Thank you!
Yay! Congratulations on your plumosa, they are a big favourite of mine. Somehow that extra-rainy weather we had killed both of mine but I managed to get another.
I haven't seen that Turbinicarpus species before. Good luck with the seedlings, I'm keen to see progress!
Thank you! :) So glad I got it.
This is one of the plants I got from Andrijana.
Thanks! I will definitely post about it, there will be few new species for me so I hope I manage to grow them.
The fluffy, baby chicken feathered is just perfect for those who try to avoid the gorgeous spikes haha
Oh yes it is! There is many cacti like that. Or completely spineless to.
I dont mind some poking here and there :p
Excelentes fotos de estos bellos cactus, me gustan muchos los tengo en la coleccion la plumosa y los turbinicactus¡¡¡ hoy debo subir algunos de la especie astrophytum que me florecieron en el jardin espeero les guste. saludos y gracias por ewl post y las imagenes
Oh wow! Another cactus fan :) I am looking forward to see your astrophytum. I have one only, but it never bloomed.
If you can check my last post I uploaded to the Succulent Browers community that I showed the ones that were in bloom yesterday my friend !
Yes I just saw it :) Absolutely beautiful plants!
I watched your profile too and you have beautiful plants my friend I will follow you 👏😊 Blessings!!!!
Thank you! Now as many as you though :)
You've been curated by @plantpoweronhive! Delegations welcome!
Thank you!
What beautiful specimens you have, it looks like you take good care of them! Excellent pictures! Greetings!
Thank you! I am trying :)
You are doing well
A constant bloomer, you just cant beat that! Nice 😊
Now you cant! Especially that most cacti bloom once a year and the flowers last only a few days tops.
Do you caress it? 😟 Well if I had a Mammillaria Plumosa (I laughed at this name) I think I would do it too. 😏
I pat it :) It's quite nice.
🤣
Damn, I need a Turbinicarpus viereckii too, without a doubt it should be in my collection, and don't worry about neglecting the plants, in one or two years that they get used to the new conditions they will give you a lot of flowers again, what happens is that we get them wrong with the care and fertilization, in nature they do everything much better and nobody takes care of them, right?
Get it is you can. It is very cute!
That is true. But then again, they live in their natural environment that they adapted to and dont have their roots constrained by square pots :p
You are right, I felt like doing an experiment with some astrophytum, I'll think about it and we'll see what happens in a couple of years, I do not say months because when we speak the language of cacti we must speak in years and decades haha.
Hello ewkaw!
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