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. 

Funny Looking Little Plants

Now this is exciting.....The photographs below are two cacti species that I started from seed around the first of November. I purchased "Gymnocalycium tillanum" from Mesa Gardens in Belen, New Mexico. The other seeds came from the Notocactus haselbergii here at Death Valley Shack. I had written an entry March 4, 2011 that the Notocactus was blooming and there were a few seeds on it that I would try and grow. That is them in the picture below. To me the cactus seedlings look like little alien or sea creatures.

Notocactus haselbergii

Gymnocalycium tillianium

It was not as difficult as I thought it would be, but the out come was not as high as I thought either. I'll have to do some tweaking on the next group which I'm planting up in the next couple of days.

Bloomin' again

NOTOCACTUS HASELBERGII

This is the same little Scarlett Ball cactus blooming again that I posted about in December. The dried flower in the picture is from the December blooming. This is the cactus that has the seeds on it and I'm going to see if I can get them to sprout.

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.