Most beautiful/rarest/etc cacti you have or had.

I thought I would throw this thread in.
I lived in Australia for just under 30yrs, returning to Blighty in 2015.
When I left, I passed all my plants onto the NSW Cactus and Succulent Society, for distribution to other members.
Here are some of the gems I got my sticky mitts on.
When visiting a collection in Newcastle, N of Sydney, I spotted this plant. Speaking to the owner about it, he told me that he had had it for over 2 yrs and it had done nada/zilch/nothing since and if I was interested I could have it for AU$2 (approx £1). As much as I bargained, he refused to accept anything more, so I very reluctantly paid his asking price .

Geohintonia mexicana


I also had, ungrafted,

Cintia knizei



Yavia cryptocarpa


Neoporteria atrispinosa


Setiechinopsis mirabilis


Fof

 

I've never heard of any of those, they must be rare. I shall trawl through my many hundreds of disorganized photos to find some of mine

 

Great thread topic, thanks @Fof ! Looking forward to hearing everybody's stories, cacti have such strong personalities.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo, but near the top of my list is a pillar Euphorbia cactus, one like this (Google photo) I had in the 80's.


It was a gift cutting from my Father's New Wife (as she was known when I was a bitter child of a broken marriage). The mother plant had severely injured her whilst they were trying to repot it, causing a black eye and endless amount of gossip about the incident.

So I got a cutting and true to the nature of the plant, it grew about 1m in one season and became so top heavy that it had to be tied in several places to the nearest upright by the window. It thrived, and it was only years later when moving it during the winter that I realised that the upright tubes were in fact central heating tubes scorching hot to touch. The plant hadn't blinked an eye and thrived in the spot.

Learning from mistakes has never been a strong point for me so guess what came home from Wilko some years ago

 

I've not got any cacti or succulents since coming back.
There, all the plants lived outside, with a clear plexiglass roof, to offer some protection from hail, or in a bed. Here I would need a greenhouse with heating. Not an attractive option with current costs.
Here, though, are a few others from Oz.
Garden bed

Cereus peruvianus on my block in Qld, grown from an arm I found on the local tip.

Epiphyllum cv 'Great Waltz'

Stapelia leendertziae

Huernia zebrina found growing at the side of a rural road in Qld and rescued

Crassula mesembryanthemopsis


I hope some others post some pics of their plants.

Keep smiling.
Fof

 

Here are a few of mine, I found the photos at last (they are all mixed up )
These were not flowering this year, this is the worst year for them flowering here

Parodia comarapana :-



Echinocereus pulchellus :-



Parodia veenienus :-



Thelocactus bicolor :-



Parodia warassii :-



A few flowering together :-



Mammillaria polythele :-



Neoporteria paocicostata :-



Rebutia perplexa :-



Rebutia heliosa :-



Echinopsis oxygona :-



I'll post a few more soon ...

 

All that i have is a Christmas cacti that's just coming into flower, it's always been in the same pot and had it for 20 years most of those in the kitchen where it didn't flower, not enough light so i moved it in the conservatory last year where it first flowered.

 

I watch this guy on YouTube, he's got a lot and grows a lot from seed and cuttings.

 

Some more flowers from the past (while hoping they'll do so again next year)

Parodia crasigibbus :-



Rebutia muscula :-



Parodia ottonis :-



Neochilenia crispa :-



Weingartia neocummingii :-



Stenocactus hastatus :-



Mammillaria pseudoperbella :-



Mammillaria rekoi leptacantha :-
(This one has died )



Gymnocalycium pflanzii :-



Aporocactus flagelliformis :-





Echinopsis subdenudata :-



Rhipsalis pilocarpa :-
(This one flowered recently but this is an old photo)

 

Hi all
Micheal. Gorgeous plants.
I've just ordered some Setiechinopsis mirabilis seed (see original post).
I found it quite unusual, in that it appeared to be a very short lived plant. Raised from seed, they grew for a couple of years and then burst into flower. Most then promptly died. They just seemed to flower themselves to death.
I am surprised at the lack of activity on the forum. I guess Facebook has "stolen" most of the potentail posters. I don't use FB as it requires giving them your "life history" to access and is so disjointed.

 

Hi @Fof I had to look that one up, it has a beautiful flower. I'm surprised they die after flowering, cacti don't usually do that.

I belong to three garden forums, one of them is almost dead. This one has most activity. I also belong to an art forum which is almost dead too.
Like you I blame facebook and such things and although I do have a facebook page I don't look at it often and I don't like it, it feels rather impersonal to me.

You don't have to give any personal information to join it though. I have said nothing at all about myself, and you can limit who sees what you post.
There are many groups on it you can join and I've joined several cactus and succulent ones, although as I said I seldom look at them.

Maybe the time of year has something to do with few people posting on here, and it also seems to me people enjoy posting on gossipy/moany threads. I don't look at those. Life's too short ...

 

I don't really grow cacti, but had a packet of seeds I've got 3 little ones not a clue what type they are do you think you'll be able to ID them ? All 3 look different to me hopefully one is capable of flowering they been growing for at least 2 years.

 

Garden forums are generally quite at this time of year, they just not as much to talk about garden related. Unless you grow Cacti or house plants etc

 

I haven't put any of my cacti on here as I dont really have anything unusual, mine are mostly grown from seed many years ago and to be honest a bit neglected these days.
I still have an interest in cacti but I tend to move on as the years go by, I had a spell of carnivorous plants but moved on from them.
I've found, over the years, my interest wanes in some plants and gets sparked in others, its an ongoing process.

 

It really is a bit of a dead time of the year regarding plant growing, even house plants know its dark and dont do much, cacti are bone dry and dormant.
The last couple of weeks have been more about survival rather than growing as far as I'm concerned.
And someone who is not with us anymore said regarding quiet forums, "you only get out what you put in" which is true really.

 

Valid comments, re time of the year. Simple ideas, like that, tend to bypass my tiny mind.
The setiechinopsis, isn't monocarpic, they just seemed to drain all their energy in putting out so many blooms over a fairly short time span. They always reminded me of some of the musical idols, from my misspent youth - they lived life to the full and went out in a blaze of glory.