BCSS - Forum

First time flowering and what a cracker!! Plant 7cm tall, flower approx. 3.5 - 4cm dia.

That is a very neat and nice plant!

I really like that!

Very nice. I don't find these easy to grow; by which I mean I don't currently have a live one.
What is your secret?
David Lambie
Bristol

Does this have a big root? Or is it fibrous rooted?

I don't have a secret with it. It gets the same treatment as the rest of the general collection with regard to watering and feeding. During the winter the greenhouse will get down to 4 or 5 deg. C . It is grown in the same compost mix as the rest of the collection i.e. a very open well drained mix of 2 parts JI , 2 parts cat litter (both grades) and I part coarse grit.

I think it will form a tuber/tuberous roots. I say 'I think' as it came as a rooted cutting with just a good crop of fibrous roots that were showing signs of thickening up. I potted it up in my mix and that is what you see today. I expect it will stay in this pot for several more years yet.

I also have a rooted cutting of M.pygmae and 2 clones of M.pulchella in the process of rooting - keeping my fingers crossed!!

I was surprised to find several species of Micropuntia for sale on a recent visit to Kent Cacti, it just does not normally appear on nursery lists. These had been vegetatively propagated as in this post. I am struck by the similarity of the flower to that of the Mexican Opuntia chaffeyi and that has got cylindrical stems and tubers too. I have no idea about the current generic concepts in the Opuntia group.

I don't have any Micropuntia's, I did see some on sale at one of the plant Mart's a few years back, but when I returned to the stall they had all gone. I suppose you could consider them the North American equivalent of Pterocactus in their habit. I keep looking and hope to acquire some in time.

There is a good article on them by Elton Roberts for the Tephrocactus Study Group here:-

http://tephro.com/index.php/the-journal ... html?id=38

Also see:-

http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/CACT ... cylindrica

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/MICROP ... halica.htm

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/MICROP ... leyana.htm

I too was struck by the similarity to Opuntia chaffeyi, which I have Terry:-

http://tephro.com/%22index.php?option=c ... Itemid=101\"