u/Cultural_Patience329

It’s very small, and slow growing. Ideas?

I think it was given to me in 2017, really very old, from a private collection. The soil was already extremely compact then, I really didn’t have the courage to repot it, but the time has really come, since this year it hasn’t bloomed for the first time.

I need advice from experienced growers of large and old plants.🥲🫶🏻

Tomorrow will be the day.

Lovely little shop in Tokyo, with an absolutely amazing selection of alien monsters. I was impressed by the spectacular size of some of them, and the shapes, the shapes! Guys, the shapes of those asterias...🤩

Unfortunately, bringing one home was impossible, the procedures for export are too complex, and the risk that they would not pass customs was too high, but maybe it’s better this way... I could only buy a few vases, and the staff was really nice (like all the Japanese I met❤️).

I came back from my trip a week ago and, as soon as I got back, I found the seedlings in excellent health. I removed some “dirty” seed skins, put some back on their feet and sealed. Now, after 5 days, I had to reopen them: I fear contamination, in a small corner I found all the plants completely dead! What remains is in the last photo: small green water bubbles, with signs of fungal infestation. The seedlings still can’t stand being exposed to the open air to dry a little, and even I tried to spray them with copper/sulfur, they would suffer too much.

I’m afraid I can only pray...

Mammillaria guelzowiana robustior

Mammillaria day, plus some turbinicarpus, plus repotting queue, plus granny with back pain.

These three kids were given to me by a specialized Sicilian nursery, I meet them every year at a fair, I buy some new plants, and they always give me some gifts! 😊

They were raised in a 5cm round vases, today it’s time to give them a “big guy” pot. I am very satisfied with the result.

The mix is my usual: 1/5 akadama, and the rest 2/5 pumice and 2/5 lava, with a pinch of leonardite.

Now I will water them by immersion with water treated with a little Previcur to be sure not to have accidents with fungi. The roots were beautiful despite their substrate being a little too organic for my taste.

As you can see, my new pots are never a lot bigger than the old, i prefer them to grow slowly, but strong(and to keep them dry).

I sowed these seeds on Tuesday afternoon, and since there are many and they started to photosynthesize I decided to inspect them. There are 4 varieties: akabana hidote, akabana japan, starshape, and rainbow flower, 36 seeds each (but in each sachet there were many more).

I had sterilized akadama slightly pulverized and wet for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker, washed every object involved with bleach, washed the seeds with water, and then sealed the box with kitchen film. Today I found a lot of seed skins with black mold(!!!), I removed them with sterilized toothpicks, and I treated all with Previcur 1ml/l. I know they’ll slow down, but in a week I’ll be on a flight to Tokyo, and I’ll be away for a week, I don’t want to risk finding a culture of mold when I get back, and all the kids dead or infected😬

Here at 10 in the morning there are 31^ celsius, the box is in the shade, but bright, they seem happy to be born now and here, and it’s always an honor for me❤️

I still have some seeds given by them to sow (astro mix), my pod in maturation, and other ready seeds, which I will sow in the same way, but I think that first I will wash the seeds with hydrogen peroxide, this time.

This pod seems ripen… what do you say?😬

Sorry for the poor quality of the interior photos, I can’t focus very well, but there’s a soft yellow capsule.

The brush is an expensive Kolinski for nail art with a cap, I went crazy to find it for my cacti, and after just two days in my garden it has an illegal tenant😑

This is a little piece of my garden. It’s not all in bloom yet, it’s not perfect, but on days like these I feel really privileged. Sorry for the mess😂