Would appreciate some advice from the resident experts on how I should pot up and take care of my new (albeit pricey!) Avonia quinaria ssp.quinaria
I was thinking of putting them in a shallow pot just slightly bigger than its current form (5.5 cm) caudex.
Potting media being planned was pure pumice (2-2.5 mm particle size).
The seller advised me to plant it up in pure pumice, water once after a month and forget about it till winter is over as they are very easy to rot.
I don't think they're easy to rot, although I imagine they would if they were wet for too long. Small root systems so don't overpot. You'll see when you dig it up. Don't give it much more soil than the existing roots because they aren't going to grow a lot bigger. Any system that dries out quickly should work. Even watering in cool weather isn't a big problem, although if you really persisted then I guess you could kill it. You can always err on the side of caution because they'll survive a very long time without water.
Your old plant is very shrivelled, so probably will not plump up the caudex until next spring at the earliest. I would advise a clay pot, but have no experience with pumice, so that may be OK with a plastic pot. Avonias are best treated as summer growing, even though they come from areas bordering winter-rainfall regions. The watering advice is sensible, but always clean off any dead stems/flowers before winter, since these can go mouldy with botrytis and rot the caudex from the top.
It is very unusual to find large Avonias for sale. Did it cross your mind how a vendor could afford to sell a ~30+ year old plant for only a few quid?
Apicra wrote:
It is very unusual to find large Avonias for sale. Did it cross your mind how a vendor could afford to sell a ~30+ year old plant for only a few quid?
Derek Tribble,
Harrow Branch
It cost me around £60 including shipping so was not just a few quid Does that sound to be reasonable price for a plant this old?
Thanks for indicating the age of the plant... it seems really amazing that this plant is so old, I have started on a section of my greenhouse with very old and large caudi's! Its a crazy obsession of mine
I was disgusted to see three of these shrivelled plants offered for sale by William's Cactus nursery at the MSG Event last Saturday, because they are very probably dug up from habitat and sold without any attempt at artificial propagation. Trade in Anacampseros and Avonia is monitored via CITES Appendix II. I suspect these were imported into the EU via Specks nursery in Germany which has now closed :-). If these plants were imported from South Africa (or Namibia) with CITES licences, then such a licence was issued contrary to the nature conservation policies of their government.
In buying this plant, you are encouraging their illegal trade, although I accept you were probably unaware of that. The nurseryman, however, should know better and never put their customers in that awkward position.
Apicra wrote:I was disgusted to see three of these shrivelled plants offered for sale by William's Cactus nursery at the MSG Event last Saturday, because they are very probably dug up from habitat and sold without any attempt at artificial propagation. Trade in Anacampseros and Avonia is monitored via CITES Appendix II. I suspect these were imported into the EU via Specks nursery in Germany which has now closed :-). If these plants were imported from South Africa (or Namibia) with CITES licences, then such a licence was issued contrary to the nature conservation policies of their government.
In buying this plant, you are encouraging their illegal trade, although I accept you were probably unaware of that. The nurseryman, however, should know better and never put their customers in that awkward position.
Best wishes,
Derek Tribble
That is very interesting, I will probably try propagate them myself in the interest of conservation as I heard they are dioecious.
Derek do you have any guidance if an 8 cm x 8 cm will suffice or is it too deep?
Keenly awaiting BCSS to publish some guidance around what is acceptable in the United Kingdom with regards to procurement of plants.
Well, I have five Avonia quinarias - both the red and white forms, a couple must be getting on for 30 years old from when originally purchased, so similar or larger than yours. As far as cultivation goes, they are all in clay pots - the larger ones in shallow pots, with a well drained potting mix of JI + plenty of grit. They sit on saucers and are watered from below, they will take reasonable amounts of water in summer, but they must be in full sun, to stay compact.
I would not pot in plastic, and, unless you are experienced in growing plants in pumice, I wouldn't advise that either.
Propagation from seed is extremely sloooow, and possibly you would get a caudex of 1cm in about 5 years, (I have done it!), but no reason why you shouldn't try.
It's very unfortunate that so many of these plants are taken from habitat, for the very reason that they ARE so slow from seed, and I suppose there will always be a market for them on the-auction-site-that-will-not-be-named. I did notice, however, that Darryl Craig of Coronacactus (in the USA) was selling small plants grown from seed for about £11, (plus heavy postage of course). He used to post on our forum some years ago - really nice guy.
I grow mine in plastic Except for this one which is in a ceramic bonsai dish! Before you get carried away, that is a very shallow dish and it could still be considered to be overpotted.
You just have to make sure that your combination of pot, soil, roots, and watering practices ensures that the roots don't sit in soggy soil for long. Clay pots are a last desperate measure to evaporate water when all other measures have failed. I use them only as a last resort or a decorative statement. They have a tendency to dry out far too fast when there is no risk of rot, and no more quickly than plastic when it is cool and humid. The evaporation process itself leads to all sorts of issues which can easily be avoided by using a non-porous pot with a suitable soil.
Having grown from seed, I would suggest that your plant is over 20 years old, much older if from habitat. The caudex develops slowly but steadily and I don't think there is any way to push it along like grafting a cactus.
Does that sound to be reasonable price for a plant this old? 
Except for this one which is in a ceramic bonsai dish! Before you get carried away, that is a very shallow dish and it could still be considered to be overpotted.