Soaking the Copiapoas again 2 days ago brought out many flowers again on several species, heres a few I just selected to take a picture - (serpentisulcata, haseltoniana, cinerea & columna-alba - all grown from habitat seed).
Admittedly some species don't flower as readily as others, some of the more common species though, just keep going like a 'conveyor belt' throughout the whole growing season.
The cinerea bottom left, is a first flower for this plant, 8cm seems a good size for this species to start, I've just added it to the gallery.
Here are four older plants. Clockwise from top left: C. Dura, C. Coquimbana, C. Humilis v.Montana, C. Esmeraldana.
Copiapoas are terrific value for money if you like lots of yellow flowers throughout the season. I have a couple named 'Rubriflora', however they've not flowered yet and I don't live in hope of seeing red, so's to speak.
copiapoas 05.09.2012 002.JPG (197.9 KiB) Viewed 3119 times
C.taltalensis usually starts flowering from about 3 to 4cm, and your right, they're rarely red, even ssp. desertorum usually flowers yellow.
What size are your 'rubriflora', because the age of Copiapoas doesn't determine flowering but the size, and most Copiapoa species flower when quite small.
This is probably the reddest taltalensis (rupestris) I've flowered and its not from south of Taltal, but habitat seed grown from the San Ramon.
another from San Ramon seed, but here the flower not as red and the spines darker.
Benjy: here's the first Rubriflora that met my eye when I just pottered off to the greenhouse. It's a small KK plant (which could explain a lot) with a huge tap root. Very slow growing. Having given it another look, I felt that it looked rather like an Imbricata, however who knows?
And I take it that you prefer Echinoides to Dura? Basically the same to me!
Peter wrote:Echinoides to Dura? Basically the same to me!
Yes, agreed
Phil_SK wrote:
Benjy wrote:the age of Copiapoas doesn't determine flowering but the size, and most Copiapoa species flower when quite small.
So are, for example, krainziana and solaris exceptions? Or are we just not able to give them the right conditions to promote small flowering?
Not krainziana, but yes to solaris.
All the forms of krainziana found high and low on both sides of the San Ramon flower when very small too, about 3 to 4cm, but more commonly when the reach about 7cm, all the plants I have above this size flower.
solaris is probably the 'only' exception, and I give mine the same treatment all round,
I still don't think they have to be large to flower, it 'must be' something else thats missing.
I haven't flowered any, but my C. solaris plants seem to thrive on more sun and heat than other Copiapoas, without even a hint of scorching. Hope I didn't just jinx myself!
Yes, more sun and heat could well be a key.
It would be nice to understand solaris better, because C. atacamensis grows throughout
much the same habitat range as solaris, but is easy to grow and easy to flower.
.....C.solaris don't always appreciate the soaking
Last edited by Benjy on Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
