Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

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. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Gymnocalycium pfanzii

I love walking in to the Death Valley Shack seeing flower buds one day and SURPRISE.....Succulents and cacti play by their own rules on how soon they will open or when. I have had some cactus bloom and never have seen the flower when it opens. It seems down right mean!

 

Gymnocalycium pfanzii grows in the areas of south-east of Bolivia, north-west of Paraguay and north of Argentina. Found growing in deep, rich soil in sunny rocky areas, on slopes, or under spiny shurbs. The color on the flower is amazing, classified a white flower with a carmine/pink throat. 

Friday, August 12, 2011

Gymnocalycium Mostii

Love those Gymnos, (can one have to many, but what is to many?).........I purchased this G. mostii from Kara Nursery at the Oregon Cactus and Succulent Society Sale at Portland Nursery on Stark St. in July. This plant is about 6+" wide and about the same height. And of course it had the bud when I purchase it, one of the reason it was added to the collection. It is usually a weakness when a Gymno is setting flower buds. I have not had the chance to see the flower open, since I'm at work during the day. Maybe I'll get to see it tomorrow if the flower is still in good shape.
The flower color is listed as pink, but to me its a little more on the apricot side. G. mostii is from the area of Córdoba in Argentina where it grows among grasses in the mossy cracks and cavities in rocky cliffs. The plants in habitat are different from its neighbors. Some have strong spines others weak, curly, straight, long or short ones and in all different combinations.

They have been described as solitary, but they can also form groups with age. It is a summer grower species that offers no cultivation difficulties. Water regularly in summer and keep this plant almost dry in winter at a minimum temperature of 32 degrees.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Blooming Gymnocalycium

Have been waiting for this little beauty to bloom. Love the way the flower bud is puffed up like a little balloon. Then when it opens it is a beautiful satin yellow. It is marked Gymnocalycium bruchii, but after looking up more information bruchii flowers are mostly pink or maybe white. Nothing about yellow flowers........But the flower is still pretty.

From the Greek words

gymnos meaning "naked"

kalyx meaning "bud"


Gymnos live in various habitats and elevations in Argentina, part of Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Bolivia and part of Brazil which is the South-Eastern part of South America. The largest of this genus may achieve 7 inches in height and 12 inches in diameter, while most of the species stay well under 5 inches in height and diameter. This small size have relatively easy care requirements making them very popular in cultivation. These flowers are naked without any spines, wool, or bristles. In all species, they are smooth and scaled, resembling the tips of young asparagus shoots. Nearly all species have white, cream-colored or pale-pink flowers, while a few will have dark red or yellow. Flower size is moderate and typically flowers are 1 to 1.5 inches wide. While flowers come easy and at an early age on Gymno plants, they usually need high-heat to open fully and thus do much better in a greenhouse.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Gymnocalycium achirasense var. orientale

After looking thru my many books and viewing websites,I believe this to be a Gymnocalycium achirasense var. orientale. I'm very sure I'm correct, but I would not bet the greenhouse on it. As always the flowers are amazing.........I moved this plant from Death Valley Shack to the kitchen table to enjoy the flowers!

Gymnocalyciums in habitat are found in South-Eastern South America in various environments and elevations.

The Gymno. achirasense grows in Argentina in the foothills of the city of Cordoba. The variety name "orientale" means that it lies in the most eastern part of the habitat. Achirasense is a (usually) solitary cactus, flattened or globular, dark-green, grey-green to olive green, 2"-3" in diameter up to 2" in height, but in cultivation it can become 4" high (or more) over the years. 10-12 spines which are stout and aggressive, but usually fewer in young plants, bent against the body with a rib count of 12-15. Central spines are usually absent or they have 1 erect. The flowers are some of the largest in this genus, often growing larger than the plant, whitish, pale pink to lavender, with a darker mid-strip.The cultivation of this plant as well as other Gymnocalyciums is simple. They are summer growers, water regularly in summer, keep rather dry in winter. They will flourish in full sun (not direct) or light shade. The Gymnocalyciums are one of the easiest of the cacti to grow, to have flower and can flower at an early age.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Gymnocalycium vatteri

The genus name gymnocalycium comes from the Greek for naked calyx
referring to the flower buds bearing no hair or spines.

This is a very slow growing species from the grassy hillsides of Serria Grande of Cordoba, Argentina at an altitude of about 2500 feet. Generally solitary, older plant specimens may cluster from the base. The body is flattened with a green-blue or dull grey-green color reaching a width of about 3 1/2" and about 1 1/2" in height. 1, 2, or 3 spines that are stiff and bent to the body. The most characteristic vatteri form is the one with a single spine. Flowers are white with light pink throat and about 1 1/2" long. Named after Ernst Vatter of Buenos Aires.

The plant above in the collection is in a 3" pot.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Oreocereus trollii

OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN

The name Oreocereus comes from the Greek for 'mountain Cereus'.

Oreocereus trollii, native to the mountains of South America in the of regions of Argentina and southern Bolivia, it is slow to form clumping clusters of chunky columns to 2' in height. Columnar stems are densely covered in white wool (actually white radial spines that have evolved to resemble "hairs"), that totally obscures the body of plant. Some bright red spines are visible above the wool . The flowers are violet red and semi-tubular in shape.

You will notice that the plant above is starting to clump at the base. It has been in the collection for about five years and planted in a 5" pot.