Ugliness forgiven

[Diane]

It may not win any beauty contests, but this 20 year old Leuchtenbergia principis repays it's shabbiness when it flowers!

Leuchtenbergia principis

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[Eric Williams]

I agree Diane,I also have a venerable plant that flowers every year for me,and todays the day. The look of the plant did improve when re potted with some limestone chippings and a little more water. The improvement could also have come about due to the fact it was re potted any way. Cheers

[AnTTun]

I'm not sure thats the rule, maybe it is: double the uglier, double the flower... that kind of stuff

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[AnTTun]

P.S. Without the plant in the background, I'd almost say these are different plants, flowers are so different in so many ways. But beauty is the same. Right?

[Stuart]

Has anyone found a way of growing this without the dieback on the older growth. I've given up growing it as a sales plant because it always has a scruffy lower half. The only plants I've seen in habitat, which presumably have less water than in cultivation, have all been small but haven't had the dieback that we get in cultivation. There was a clean 20+ headed plant that won best cactus at the US National a couple of years ago.
Stuart

[Diane]

True, Stuart - I wonder whether having a free root run in habitat is the reason? They definitely need plenty of water when in bud, or the bud aborts.

Love the frilly flowers on yours, Antun!

[TS Hakansson]

They need plenty of water during the growing period, else you will have the dieback of the tips and an unnecessary ugly plant. They also flowers only from the new tips, so pamper your plants!