Uebelmannia Pectinefra - or is it?...

[JonNo]

Back again hoping for advice please.

A few weeks ago I saw this advertised for sale on-line by a cactus nursery.

uebelmannia pectinefra.jpg (74.67 KiB) Viewed 2138 times

I've always fancied an Uebelmannia Pectinefra, to my eye there is nothing else that looks quite like them, so I dug deep for the just over £10 price and bought it.

A few days ago this arrived.

The plant is obviously young, it is barely 2 cm in diameter. It is shall we say in the process of developing ribs, of which there are eighteen, and individual areoles run down them. My question is, do the long "fluffy stripes" that run the length of the ribs that so characterise the species develop with age - or have I been sent something else?...

I know there will be a number of you on here who have these so your observations would be appreciated, please. Thanks.

[Chris L]

A quick search on google shows this:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uebel ... 1638&hl=en

I am in no way an expert on Uebelmannia's, but it looks similar to http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/CACT ... longispina.

I don't know if will grow up to look like the type advertised, especially if it a subspecies or variety.

What was the name of the plant you ordered?

Was that picture use to advertise the plant?

[JonNo]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for the response, much appreciated.

I had tried a Google search myself but it didn't help a lot, there were just so many results... The link to llifle web site is appreciated, thank you, it looks a very interesting site and I think I'll spend a bit of time there..! but for now, yes, I think you're right, what I have looks very much like the longispina variant they mention.

Which is really quite different to what I thought I was ordering and thus quite annoying. The plant I ordered was called Uebelmannia Pectinefra, plain and simple, no mention of it being a variant. The vendor also has two others for sale both named as variants (v. multicostata rnk 1013, and v. pseudopectinif rnk) so I don't think it unreasonable of me to expect to be sent a non-variant - and yes, the picture is the one used to advertise the plant. OK, I was probably naïve expecting to receive that actual plant, but then again no description of what was for sale was given other than the picture... Also no mention of it being grafted. I did E-mail the vendor after receiving the plant to ask if maybe I'd been sent the wrong one but sadly that E-mail, like the others I sent asking where the order had got to, fell on deaf ears.

Oh well. Disappointing. The perils of buying on-line, eh?! Thanks for your input.

[NickHitchcock]

Who was the nursery you bought from? I would like to avoid them if you didn't get what you thought you would and that they didn't respond to your email. I can't think of a reason not to say, you are doing nothing wrong by letting others know.

[Stuart]

It looks to be the correct plant but it should have been clearly mentioned that the plant was grafted. Whilst there's nothing wrong with grafted plants, some people don't like them and it should have been made clear. It's not too good to see a photo of a plant and to receive something quite different. Uebelmannias are freely available wholesale in Holland and I'd expect there would be some looking like the one in the first photo and not grafted for around £10 at some of the Cactus Marts coming up in the next few months. Personally, I wouldn't want to be selling them during the winter months.
Stuart

[Chris L]

Who was the nursery you bought from? I would like to avoid them if you didn't get what you thought you would and that they didn't respond to your email. I can't think of a reason not to say, you are doing nothing wrong by letting others know.

Google the name.....that will find who it is. [Uebelmannia Pectinifera v. multicostata rnk 1013]

Which is really quite different to what I thought I was ordering and thus quite annoying. The plant I ordered was called Uebelmannia Pectinefra, plain and simple, no mention of it being a variant. The vendor also has two others for sale both named as variants (v. multicostata rnk 1013, and v. pseudopectinif rnk) so I don't think it unreasonable of me to expect to be sent a non-variant - and yes, the picture is the one used to advertise the plant. OK, I was probably naïve expecting to receive that actual plant, but then again no description of what was for sale was given other than the picture... Also no mention of it being grafted. I did E-mail the vendor after receiving the plant to ask if maybe I'd been sent the wrong one but sadly that E-mail, like the others I sent asking where the order had got to, fell on deaf ears.

Oh well. Disappointing. The perils of buying on-line, eh?! Thanks for your input.

How have you paid? If you've paid by Paypal then you can always raise a dispute.

Also the name is spelt wrong (as is lots of other stuff on the website) - should be pectinifera not pectinefra.

[Diane]

It appears to be U. pectinfera, not a variety or subspecies, but it is very young, so doesn't show the typical rib formation - yet. It will do as it gets larger. However, you have been seriously misled in that you were sent a grafted plant not mentioned by the seller (whom I have heard not so good from others, and I have also purchased plants from, which weren't quite up to scratch), so I think you would be well within your rights to ask for a refund, although you might have to return the plant.

[Ernie]

The seller of that plant used to be active on ebay but seems to have stopped recently.

[juster]

Very annoying JohnNo and I quite agree with others, you have been misled. Someone told me recently that he would not buy another plant from this nursery as they always died. As Stuart says, there are plenty of marts and shows coming along, where you can see what you are buying, these are a better bet.

[JonNo]

Thanks all for the input.

It seems you have figured out which nursery I bought from without me having to say, which I'm pleased about! You have a point Nick, perhaps I should "name and shame", but on the other hand I doubt the BCSS would appreciate me using their forum for the purpose of doing so... And being new to the forum, I don't want to get kicked off just yet!

Yes Chris, I did indeed pay via Paypal, and I have considered "reporting a problem". But, I would no doubt have to return the plant (more cost) and, given the lack of response from the seller, it would I'm sure prove to be be hard work - and frankly I don't want the aggravation..!

I can ill afford to waste £10+ on a plant or, more specifically, lose the space it now takes up, but hey, I've got it now - so its potted up and I'll do my best for the poor little thing! Looking at it I have doubts its going to last long anyway...

You're right Juster, buying from marts is surely the best way to go, but living as I do in the middle of nowhere and with limited opportunities to travel the reality is most of my purchases are made on-line. And whilst there have been a couple of minor disappointments before now, I have to say for the most part I've found my purchases to be acceptable - there are some really good sellers on E-Bay!

Thanks all for your help, it is appreciated.