BCSS - Forum

Some interesting Ariocarpus for sale on a well known online auction site at the moment. The seller appears to have quite a few

I looked at that sale and wondered....looks like a mature collection being sold off.
Several of the Arios have lost their roots. How would the experts recommend bringing them back to their prime? I don’t think my skills with Ariocarpus would be enough.
Some lovely looking plants there, though.

Cidermanrolls wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:51 pm I looked at that sale and wondered....looks like a mature collection being sold off.
Several of the Arios have lost their roots. How would the experts recommend bringing them back to their prime? I don’t think my skills with Ariocarpus would be enough.
Some lovely looking plants there, though.

The clue to their origins appears to be in the description title i.e. (wild)

Ross M wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:17 pm The clue to their origins appears to be in the description title i.e. (wild)

This, and the fact that the seller has no feedback at all, could suggest there is something rather shady happening.

The roots are probably still in Texas

I understand the scepticism, but it may be harsh. Look at the full set of plants on offer and they are from all over the place, globally. There are also a mix of ages.
I think a more likely explanation than illegal import is that the seller is a son/daughter facing the sad task of disposing of their parent’s collection. Look at Tony Iron’s listing now and you will see an example of collection disposal. Lack of any feedback is understandable if that is the case.
I won’t be bidding, I don’t think those Arios will recover.

Cidermanrolls wrote: ↑Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:32 am I understand the scepticism, but it may be harsh. Look at the full set of plants on offer and they are from all over the place, globally. There are also a mix of ages.
I think a more likely explanation than illegal import is that the seller is a son/daughter facing the sad task of disposing of their parent’s collection. Look at Tony Iron’s listing now and you will see an example of collection disposal. Lack of any feedback is understandable if that is the case.
I won’t be bidding, I don’t think those Arios will recover.

I'd completely agree, except the Arios are unpotted for some reason. Their description as "Wild" may or may not refer to them being an original collection from habitat, many years ago.

They look like habitat plants, years ago I got one of these from a contact I don't think it ever acclimatised, often they are unpotted for a really long time and just take a few years to die.
Your better with a grafted plant grow it to size and de-graft it, you will have a much better looking plant that grows well in cultivation.

At least one of those looks to have grown in a crack in the ground.

Not much doubt that they are recently collected from habitat, and its shocking how much of the root system has been hacked off in the process. The only way that these can have been imported into the UK is by smuggling, deception, or lying on the customs import declarations so that customs were not remotely concerned that live plant material might be included in the parcel. The latter is most likely, because many UK and European sellers, both professional and amateur, seem happy to flout the international plant health regulations and seem to think its OK to send and receive plants in contravention of these
rules.