Gymnocactus viereckii

This is the first Gymnocactus that has been added to the collection here at Death Valley Shack, due to the fact I have not come across many that have been for sale, but there other names for this plant read below. The spine coloration is what I find interesting very similar to the new Opuntia that Loree of Danger Garden has added to her collection.

Origin is in the Tamaulipas area of Mexico and found at an altitude of around 2500 ft. Growing solitary or occasionally clustering they live in cracks in rocks, on cliff faces, getting very little nutrients, and growing nearly free of organic matter. The only naturally occurring organic matter will be leaves blown around and getting caught on the spines. G. viereckii will grow to about 7" in height and 3" in width, it's a small plant but the flowers are a bright magenta or pink with a greenish-white throat making up for the size.Other names that have been given this variety is Thelocactus viereckii, Pediocactus viereckii, Neolloydia viereckii, and Echinocactus viereckii.

Gymnocalycium cardenasianum

This is one of the other plants I purchased out of the four at the OCSS this last weekend. Besides Agaves, Gymnocalyciums are my 2nd favorite succulent to collect and I have a number of them in the Death Valley Shack.   

Gymnocalycium cardenasianum

Origin is southern Bolivia and has been classified by some as a subspecies of G. spegazzinii. The spines are long and eagle claw like. The growth is to a width of 7 1/2" and a height of about 11". Flowering is in July or June and white to pink in color.   

New Gymno from the OCSS

Friday was the kick off of the three day sale that the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society is having at the Portland Nursery 5050 SE Stark location. The sale will be during the hours of the nursery. If anyone has the chance go by and see a great selection of cactus and succulents for sale. Plus some of the members have brought a few specimen plants from their private collection for display.

Gymnocalycium andreae v. dopianum

This Gymnocalycium is one of the plants I purchased from Luther of Kara Nursery.

It is only about 1/2 inch wide.

Seedling Update

The seedlings are about 10 days old now. Its interesting how they change, but still have no characteristics of the actual plant at this time.  I'm thinking it will be about 4 or 5 months before they start showing any detail or maybe sooner. I'll keep posting about every 10 days to keep track of changes if there is any. 

Epithelanta

Echinocereus

Mammillaria

They Grow Up So Fast

It's amazing to me that the seeds were planted on the 26th of June and I already have cactus seedlings.........actually they were up on the 4th. If you click on the name you will be taken to another page and see a photo of a mature plant.

Echinocereus rigidissimus

Mammillaria pilcayensis

Epithelantha bokei

A Flower for the 4th

First thing this morning around 7am went out and watered the plants in the Death Valley Shack. Not much going on inside..........Later in the day went out to see if the flower had opened and there it was. The open flower of the Notocactus ottonis, a beautiful butter yellow. Once again the flower is very large compared to the plant. Its what will happen with a little sunshine.

Notocactus ottonis

Very excited about this flowering, this Notocactus has been in the collection for about three years now. It will be a yellow flower, hoping there will be a second color.....but most are a single color.

Notocactus ottonis is a very shiny green globular cactus, up to five to six inches tall and the same in diameter. Spines are typically recurved toward the body and can be bright cinnamon or golden brown.  It is a cactus that likes light shade. Origin of the Notocactus ottonis is South Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. 

This cacti like many cacti has many synonyms, the most common being Parodia ottonis. 

Death Valley Shack Nursery

It has been a little more than 4 months since I wrote the first blog about the seedlings. The photos below are what they look like today. The Notos are a little bigger, but the Gymnos are the same size. 

Notocactus haselbergii

Gymnocalycium tillianum

I planted three different seeds, Echinocereus rigidissimus, Epithelantha bokei, and Mammilaria pilcayensis on the 26th.  The seeds were purchased from Mesa Gardens back in February that have been on ice since then and I'll see what the outcome is, hope its good.
I just placed another order today for Coryphantha pallida, Escobaria vivipara var. bisheeana, Mammillaria senilis, and Pediocactus simpsonii var. nigrispinus. The Pediocactus seed is a variety collected from Jefferson County here in Oregon.