BCSS - Forum

Which Gymnocalyciums can grow to 15cm/6 inches across and more. Single heads that is. I mean from your personal experience not from the literature. Saglionis, spegazzinii and cardenasianum for sure but which others? Monvillei, mostii perhaps? I read this morning of bodenbenderianum up to that size, now that would be an impressive plant.

I fancy growing things that get big these days, I've had enough of miniatures.

At shows I have seen a Gymnocalycium bodenbenderianum approaching that size, but I am not sure they grow this large as a general rule. They are so slow anyway! I am fairly sure I‘ve seen Gymno horstii reaching this size, they are certainly nice chunky plants with attractive white flowers.

Christian wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 9:17 am At shows I have seen a Gymnocalycium bodenbenderianum approaching that size, but I am not sure they grow this large as a general rule. They are so slow anyway! I am fairly sure I‘ve seen Gymno horstii reaching this size, they are certainly nice chunky plants with attractive white flowers.

I thought G horstii usually clumps before it gets three or four inches across.
I have a 5" diameter G. pflanzii not including the spines and a G. ochoterenae which is over 4" diameter but over 5" high that one is not a pretty plant as most of it's height is concertinaed body.
Both of them would have been in my original collection so will now be over forty years old.

Edit: My G . bodenbenderianum is also about that size but has just started to pup though obviously this could be easily removed.

Hi Nick,
I have gymno HU79- was told its multiflorum but a quick google says it might be horstii, the chap who gave me my plant had one that was football size, welcome to an offset.

I had a monvillei get to that size and then it started clumping. Didn’t look very good as it was the same height.

Gymno horstii does clump, but the heads get quite large - my seedlings are 8cm across and are just starting to flower/offset, and the plant I had in mind had much larger heads, and at least five of those. It started marking and hasn’t returned to the show bench thereafter, but it is definitely „big“ for a Gymno. I‘ve heard some forms of gibbosum turn quite large, but I haven’t seen those myself.

Thanks for your replies. Too wet this morning for the allotment so I had a brief look through the literature and have come up with 20 or so potential species including surprisingly for me G.glaucum.

I don't have much interest these days in a greenhouse rammed to the rafters with hundreds of plants and I am trying to downsize my collection. The problem I have found is deciding which way to go but I think I'm heading for bigger the better (all my Turbinicarpus are already gone) hoping that in the 20 or so greenhouse years I hopefully have left I can grow a few plants worth looking at.

G. saglionis is the obvious big one. G. spegazinii, which covers a multitude of sins, might get to that size but not any time soon. Same for G. ochoterenae/vatteri. G. pflanzi will also get to about that size, maybe quicker. After that, maybe some clumping ones. G. mesopotamicum clumps strongly although the individual heads are not big.

This is my Gymnocalycium multiflorum, pretty close to 6" across:

ralphrmartin wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 7:42 am This is my Gymnocalycium multiflorum, pretty close to 6" across:

IMG_20210509_102112.jpg

That's one I was thinking of Ralph. I saw some biggish ones last year in Cordoba, I think I sent you some seed, Quebrada del Condorito being the biggest.