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. 

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.

Scarlett Ball Cactus

Notocactus haselbergii

A nice surprise this weekend, went out to the greenhouse and there is it was bloomin' in all its little glory (just waiting for the bud to open). You can see the seeds from the last time it bloomed which I think was just this last Spring. I might try to propagate the seeds........... I have a feeling it might be more work than what its worth. This Noto has been a great little bloomer since I have had it, blooms at least twice a year for me. I have had it about 5 years and it is in a 5" pot.

A solitary, fast growing, little cactus from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil that is flattened, a bright green, almost completely concealed by dense spines, up to 4" tall, 6" in diameter. The crown of the plant is usually set at an angle to prevent water-sitting.The spines are silvery white, eventually with a yellowish tip, soft and bristly. Bright orange to brick-red flowers that are up to about 1" wide and each can last one to three weeks. It flowers at the end of the winter or in early spring for a long period of time (The bloom period can last up to two months!). Normally start flowering when the plant reaches about 2" in diameter. Named after the collector Dr. F. von Haselberg.