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Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 8:36 pm
by gerald
There are many beautiful plants in collections but lurking in the corners surely there must be the odd monster that would win 0/10 at a show but nevertheless is loved by the owner regardless. I have a Copiapoa humilis that has just been reunited with me after about 30 years, it's the sole survivor from the collection I had when a boy, and as you can see it's been through some tough times, and under my care is now showing signs of growth. I think think it's indestructible and I hope it will be with me for another 30 years:
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Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 8:41 pm
by iann
I just can't compete with that! My ugliest cactus could be a supermodel compared to yours :lol:

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 7:26 pm
by Phil_SK
I was hoping you'd get loads of responses to this. Perhaps everybody but you and me are growing only immaculate plants. I know I could probably provide a top 20 if needed. Ugly plants do have a certain beauty, though, not least when they flower. My rather scarred Lobivia maximiliana 'charazanensis' is blooming today, distracting from its battered appearance.
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Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 7:29 pm
by majcka
I think I even had one:
Gymnocalycium gibbosum var. nobile
Gymnocalycium gibbosum var. nobile
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It was dead who knows how long and nobody even realise that. :bangh:

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 3:31 pm
by Peter A
I can't really compete. and it seems a little unfair to the plant to post this one as it's rather young... but....
ASIArio kotschoubeyanus seedling perhaps 1.jpg

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 4:57 pm
by Phil_SK
Ugly babies sometimes grow up into handsome things.
I bough this Copiapoa cinerea ssp columna-alba mainly for its odd looks. The year after I bought it, it began the first of two eruptions, 'turning inside out'.
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It's taken a while, but it's now starting to look a more presentable plant.
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Perhaps I'm using my imagination a bit too much but the larger hear looks a bit flatter along one axis than the other.
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So it's not always compost heap or major surgery.

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 6:05 pm
by Liz M
This is mine, an unspecified Echinopsis. It comes into bud regularly every year and when it flowers it is spectacular. However, it is prey to RSM and although it recovers every year, with new healthy growth, it always ends up looking like this. Last year, there were loads of buds but no flowers, definitely due to the miserable summer and lack of sun and heat.
IMG_7664.10001.jpg

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 6:11 pm
by Tony R
I've got plants like that, Liz, some old Notocacti spring to mind, but this summer I've vowed to take all such plants to the local tip ('recycling centre') - so ugly cacti no more! It's the only way I can make room for the ever growing Gasteria collection, particularly now that they have all been repotted. :smile:

Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 3:55 pm
by Lithos
Found this Geohintonia mexicana at an antique fair in Buxton - well preserved, but some may say ugly
DSCF3749.JPG
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Re: Post your ugliest cactus

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 6:25 pm
by Ross M
What colour are the flowers? :razz: