Austrocacti

[ralphrmartin]

I got it from Pavel himself.

[Terry S.]

That A. ferrari looks very different to the photographs of wild plants taken by Sarnes, but cacti can change a lot in cultivation. I have bought two grafted plants of this species on an Opuntia stock and they never started to grow with me, it is the only austro that has given me problems in this way. Fortunately it is one of the easier species to germinate (perhaps reflecting its northern origins?) and I currently have a number of 1-year olds from Sarnes seeds.

[nobby]

Unfortunately, A. ferrarii belongs to the species that are not so easy to grow from seed. But if you already have seedlings - congratulations and good luck.

Nobby

[ralphrmartin]

I find that Austrocacti can change a lot in cultivation, from having weak straight spines to strong hooked spines, and from quite narrow bodies to wide bodies, depending on the cultivation conditions. They are perhaps more variable in this way than most cacti. However, the flowers should be fairly constant.

Nobby, what do you think my A. ferrari is? Maybe there has been a mistake somewhere along the way?

[Kees]

I don't think we should lump all fungi together. There are fungi that actually kill weak seedlings, they are very different from the ones that eat remnants of the fruit or dead organic stuff. There are more species of fungi than species of cacti.

I usually microwave the soil and sterilise seeds with iodine tincture. Works very well.

I never tried more aggressive chemicals.

Last year I was given 11 seeds of A. pauxillus from a friend who had gotten them from Nobby. 9 germinated. No special treatments. Sowed them in an earthenware bowl, covered them with glass and kept them under an Ikea grow light. Had a few innocent fungi that caused no damage.

I wasn't as successful though with A. patagonicus that I had off ebay. 30 seeds, not a single baby.

[nobby]

Nobby, what do you think my A. ferrari is?

Your photo reminded me of an A. hibernus that I bought many years ago here in Germany - see photo.

Austrocactus hibernus ex coll. Richter

I have also added a photo of A. ferrarii from our collection.

Austrocactus ferrarii

It's true, Austrocacti react very fast and extremely to light, water, fertilizer etc. .
But some characteristics should still be visible.
On the other side I know Pavel as a serious dealer, who you can trust.

Best regards
Nobby

[ralphrmartin]

Thanks Nobby. It does look quite similar.

[ralphrmartin]

This is what I mean about the spines varying. Look how much stronger the adult spines are on this:
Austrocactus sp. SAR1591. Incidentally, this seems to be a very fast growing plant. It's already about 10cm long, at about only 15 months old from seed.

(The photo is a bit odd - the plant looks erect, but is actually sprawling).

[ralphrmartin]

Another plant from Pavel: Austrocactus coxii aff. fma. minima PHA2136/1

[ralphrmartin]

This plant: Ausotrcactus subandinus SAR6842/4 has very unusual petals. Inside there is a structure which might be a few infertile stamens fused to the petal - anyway, the result is like a little spearhead on the inside of each petal, giving the flower a strange appearance. Can anyone suggest what the purpose of this might be? To help trap insects inside the flower for a better chance of pollination?