Matucana Madisoniorum about to flower; self sterile or can I pollinate? Any care advice/experience/tips?

[AmyJay]

I have this beautiful little plant bought from Tony Irons just a few months ago and I’m extremely new with cacti but I believe I’ve noticed a bud start to form (yay!). I couldn’t find much information online as to whether it’s a self sterile or fertile species; do any of you kind people know?

If it’s self fertile I may faint from excitement; it’s such a lovely plant and I’m so happy that it’s happy enough in my care to flower.

Also, if anyone has any care tips, please shout - its currently in a very chunky/airy mix of bark, perlite, grit and a dash of coir as I heard they can be prone to rot. I have it in an east facing window and supplement with grow lights in the evening. I do have a new greenhouse but I haven’t been brave enough to put it there yet (bit worried it feels a bit humid in there despite a small window and the door being open all day). I’ve moved other succulents and my 2 other cacti in there who are testing it out first.

Thanks for any tips! They’re VERY welcome
( )

[el48tel]

They claim it's capable of pollination from other genera. Never been successful myself with intergeneric hybrids.

[esp]

Matucanas are generally not self fertile.

It's not particularly rot prone for a cactus. It is, of course, far less tolerant of persistent damp than many non-succulent houseplants.

The greenhouse is probably the best place for it over summer, but it is quite tender so will need some warmth when night temps regularly drop much below (say) 8 or 10C.
Summer humidity, especially if there is some air movement, is not likely to be an issue. In late autumn, winter or early spring it's more of a problem, even more so especially when cool/cold.

Gradual adjustment to full sun is needed when moving into a much better lit situation - weather with largely overcast but short sunny spells is great to help the transition.

[el48tel]

An afterthought ....
You could try pollination with cement dust or something sterile or even pollen from a different genus. It might induce self pollination. Experimentation is always worth a try.

[AmyJay]

Thanks for the speedy responses el48tel and esp; much appreciated!

Sad to hear it’s likely self sterile as I’d love to try growing more, this plant is so beautiful. I think I may be a fan of the plants with low-no spines (at the moment anyway).

I’ve never read anything about using cement dust - how interesting! I may have a go at pollinating from a different flower and I’ll see what happens. Not too much to lose, like you say. It’s my first cactus flower, so no matter what, I’ll be awfully excited!

Do you think it’s worth trying to move it to the greenhouse now, while it’s starting to produce a bud, or am I best waiting until after it’s flowered?

Here are some photos (if I’ve done this correctly) of the plant in question:

[Diane]

While it looks pretty in a decorative pot, unless it has drainage holes in the bottom, it will rot. Always best to plant in a proper plant pot, and if you want to use a decorative cover pot, be sure to remove it after watering so it doesn’t sit in water.

It should be fine in a greenhouse now, but acclimatise to strong light to prevent sunburn. And as previously mentioned, it doesn’t like cold in winter, and best kept above 10°c in winter, so bring it indoors before the nights get cold.

[AmyJay]

I bought this plant especially for the pot; was looking for a cacti that was “bulbasaur-y” (because I am, unashamedly, an adult child), not too spiney and quite small (at least for now) because it’s such a lovely pot! Unfortunately it’s just awfully small; I don’t know that even my smallest pots would fit inside, unfortunately :/

Luckily it’s clay and had a drainage hole already; I then proceeded to add 8 more because I was concerned after reading these were especially prone to rot (which it sounds like may be misinformation?).

Thanks for the concern though; it can definitely be especially tricky to grow rot prone plants in pots without drainage holes - especially in the UK where our weather tends to air on the side of humid and dark unfortunately!

Random question, if you (or anyone else) can help - what does sunburn look like on a cactus? I’ve seen it on so many other plants but I’m not sure what to look out for with cacti.

[Phil_SK]

what does sunburn look like on a cactus?

[AmyJay]

Woah! Thank you Phil; definitely not what I would have expected! Hope those plants have bounced back now

[Phil_SK]

Yes, these recovered in time (photos are from 2014).