Old Mammillaria

For the first entry, I thought it would be only fitting to catalog cacti from my original collection. These three mammillaria cacti survived the climate of the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area for between 10 and 15 years. I kept them under the carport (out of the frequent rains) with little direct sunlight during the summer. Then, when the temperature reached 40 degrees at night, I brought them in to a dimly lit window in my very humid basement and watered them, perhaps 3 separate times before they were allowed outside again in the spring. (Again, the 40 degree mark came into play.)

When we moved to Las Vegas 4 years ago, the climate change was a bit of a shock to their system. They had to get used to the hot sun and, in the process, two of their cohorts met their demise. In fact, the first one pictured below received a sunburn but still holds a place in my heart. Thenceforth, the southern exposure of the sun became their enemy. Now, I place my entire collection of cacti in an area which is shaded for most of the day. They are very happy there!

Mammillaria sempervivi - This particular plant has yellow flowers which I have seen only once. I hope they decide to come back but I believe the sunburn has deterred them. Offsets, which only form after 20 or 30 years have formed on the body of the plant but, again, the sunburn seems to have destroyed them. This plant is about 20 years old and the woolly white stuff is a natural occurrence in older plants. I bought this plant when it was a mere 1.5 inches in diameter. It is now about 5 inches from side to side.

Although I am pretty sure that this and the next plant are mammillaria, I have not tracked down the precise Latin name for them. The plant above began as two "fingers" sticking out of the pot. For a long time, only the one bigger finger started growing offsets. Finally, the other began growing an arm about 5 years ago. It began blooming dark pink flowers in a circle on the crowns of the plants two years ago. It seems happy!

Another mammillaria, this plant proliferates quickly. It began as a very small plant with only a couple of fingers and quickly became too large for the pot I had it in. I transplanted it to a large pot and again it grew. I separated it to three plants, and kept only one. That one began in a small 6" pot and is now over-growing in this 10" pot.

All three of these plants seem to take the heat and the cold pretty well. They also are not water needy. Ignoring them is the best policy and they will tell you when they need attention.