What cacti do you buy?

[LithopsRule]

Dear Folks,

In order to help fund my cactus and succulent hobby [obsession? ], I would like to grow a few cacti to sell, as well as to simply enjoy. This must be quite a common way to earn "plant pocket money"?

Generally, I have grown what takes my fancy and then given away or (once!) sold the surplus seedings. But the question occurs now: What sort of cacti are the most profitable for an amateur to grow themselves in the UK to sell on to other enthusiasts? (while enoying them in the meantime)

Clearly some cacti are truly mass-produced in the Canaries, and some are so slow-growing that they would never earn their keep financially (Copiapoa?).

Another way to look at this: What sort of cacti do you buy, rather than grow from seed yourself?
I know this is a "how long is a piece of string" question , but it might start a little discussion to illuminate the way we choose what to grow from scratch and what to buy in at a more advance stage?

Yours in naivety and curiosity, Euan

[AnTTun]

I used to buy slow growing ones And I still prefer to buy 'dust size seed' ones. My hands are too shaky to successfully graft them and I don't have enough time to care about them so even when they germinate well, they usually dry out. Also, I'd rather buy 10 youngsters for 1 E each than 1 mature plant for 10 E.

I'm sure this wont help you (almost) at all because in next 10 posts you'll probably get 10 different thoughts Like you said.. measuring the string

P.S. One thing can be 'measured' easily tho: having a PayPal account and sending plants by post sells more than 'come in and bring cash'.

[DaveW]

Novelty always sells, so anything that is new tends to sell to collectors better than most old species. If your selling to the general public rather than collectors then looks sell. It is then pretty plants that sell over something rarer but ugly.

Personally, like AnTTun, I tend to buy plants that are either difficult or slow to grow from seed. However unless you can grow them quickly and are a good seed raiser they are unlikely to be very commercial, although David Quail does seem to have the propagation of slow growing stuff like Ariocarpus sorted.

Plants go in fashions, what everybody was after a few years ago now most have got, so that is one problem with seed raising for sale. You need to be ahead of the game and thinking what will still be selling well in a couple of years time when your plants are ready, so its then a case of quickly raising the new or hard to get to supply your forecast market.

DaveW

[AnTTun]

Good point DaveW. 'Guessing' could often be crucial. For example, I'm mostly cactus collector. But next year I plan to buy some pseudolithos and stapeliads. The smaller, the cheaper, the more, the better. If I make it, the year after I wont be looking for any of them. I doubt we are helping here but you asked for it

[Aiko]

If you have to take the guess, I would go with Pseudolithos. I see that name pop up more and more. It might be the Ariocarpus of tomorrow.

[DaveW]

If Pseudolithos is the Ariocarpus of tomorrow, can I have all your Ariocarpus when you dump them tomorrow?

DaveW

[Aiko]

If Pseudolithos is the Ariocarpus of tomorrow, can I have all your Ariocarpus when you dump them tomorrow?

DaveW

Nope. I think they are pretty. And although they are on offer by the thousands on fairs and websites (I guess they were of market value a dozen years ago so everyone started to sow them?), I still have sown a thousand seeds this summer just because I like them so much!

[Lindsey]

None, I get a few Gymnos as swaps. I've been buying Haworthias

[Thord]

At the moment I´m mostly buying Sulco´s with collection numbers and ditto Mamms, otherwise it´s mostly the very slowgrowing ones that I´m buying,Ario´s,Aztekium, Geohintonia and such,but I will also buy a nicelooking plant of any kind that I see.Even if I have that one already I´m always willing to buy one that looks better than the one I have. I would think that what would sell would be the ones that you almost always see as grafted,ie Aztekium,Blossfeldia,Discocactus horstii and so forth ,on their own roots. Graft them for a more speedy growth and then degraft and root them !

[sechjoh]

I buy Eriosyce and Copiapoa plants, but grow most of mine from seed