Windowsillcactusblog

Echinocereus fendleri

2008-05-06T20:37:00.002-05:00

These are some beautiful cacti if I can get them to grow into adult cacti. They have interesting skin colorations as seedlings, and Echinocereus fendleri can be fairly cold hardy. I doubt if they could ever grow outdoors in Wisconsin, but they do live in places with very cold winters.

Echinocereus subinermis

2008-05-03T17:25:00.002-05:00

This Echinocereus subinermis is a year and a few months old growing with a few other seedlings in its plastic pot. Lots of seeds were planted, but only a few plants grew, so I guess I'll have to plant even more seeds it get more plants.

Astrophytum asterias another one

2008-05-02T18:36:00.002-05:00

Here is another photo of an Astrophytum asterias seedlings and they are only a few months old. They are just starting to get their distinctive skin color and form.

Astrophytum senile v aureum

2008-04-29T19:50:00.002-05:00

This is one of 3 Astrophytum senil v aureum seedlings that are 2 years old now. They should start putting out spines soon - I think... They were started from Mesa Garden seeds number 70.03.

Astrophytum asterias superkabuto

2008-04-27T20:13:00.002-05:00

These Astrophytums and a really great hybrid and grow into some of the most beautiful cactus plants. This one is one of 3 plants started from seed 2 years ago and the seeds were from Mesa Garden under the number 48 Astrophytum asterias superkabuto. This is a plant that should never be placed outdoors in a state like Wisconsin because they will usually die from fungal attacks. They will grow well in a sunny window, but it is very risky to put outdoors in a wet climate.

Astrophytum asterias 47.05

2008-04-26T14:34:00.001-05:00

This is another Astrophytum asterias seedling two years old and has been living both under artificial light and sunlight. This one is also from Mesa Garden seeds, but the number is Astrophytum asterias 47.05 and is a beautiful plant too

Astrophytum asterias

2008-04-24T17:46:00.002-05:00

These Astrophytum asterias seedling is 2 years old now. This one actually survived a summer outdoors in Wisconsin last year, but is now sitting on a window sill. I'm unsure if this species would continue to survive being outdoors in the growing season and am thinking about keeping it under artificial light. The seeds for this plant and 2 other companions are from Mesa Garden and the number was 47.2 on their website.

Ariocarpus fissuratus

2008-04-22T18:17:00.002-05:00

These Ariocarpus fissuratus seedlings are about four months old and growing very well. They are under sodium and halogen bulbs and I plan to keep them indoors for the first two years. When they are larger and older I will put them outdoors in the summer for some real Wisconsin sun light.

Sclerocactus Seedlings 3 Months

2008-04-21T19:39:00.002-05:00

These Sclerocactus seedlings are 3 months old and even thought they are native to some of the driest regions of the country they need plenty of water.

Strombocactus disciformis 3 months

2008-04-19T20:55:00.002-05:00

These seedlings are three months old and they are so small it is hard to believe they are cactus plants. They look like small specks of green in the sand.

Thelocactus bicolor

2008-04-18T18:53:00.002-05:00

This Thelocactus bicolor seedling is starting to look like an adult plant in a kind of lumpy bumpy way. This plant is a year old and is growing in a plastic pot with too many other seedlings to count.

Two stems? Pseudolithos dodsonianus seedling

2008-03-30T11:19:00.002-05:00

This Pseudolithos dodsonianus seedling looks like it is starting out with two heads. It is a little larger than the other seedlings, and it will be interesting to watch this one grow.

Pseudolithos dodsonianus

2008-03-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

This Pseudolithos dodsonianus seedling is now a year old and just starting to look like an adult plant. I've tried to grow these plants from seeds for several years and this is the first year they are doing very well. This one shares a pot with three other seedlings, and I'll wait another year or more before trying to transplant them.

Pseudolithos migiurtinus

2008-03-17T18:27:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to grow Pseudolithos migiurtinus from seeds for four years with little success. Early plants were sort of sickly and slow growing and none of these have survived. One year I even put the seedlings outdoors in the shade to have filtered sun light. These, unfortunately died of sunburning and I won't try putting this variety outdoors again - even in shade.

This seedling is one of five plants in the same pot and they are a year old now. They are growing well under a halogen light and seem very happy with the cool winter temps. of our Wisconsin basement.

Sclerocactus Seedlings

2008-03-13T21:35:00.002-05:00

These Sclerocactus seedlings were started last summer and are a little more than half a year old. They seem to be doing well under artifical light, but I plan to place them outdoors for some real sun light later this spring.

Strombocactus disciformis

2008-03-12T20:46:00.002-05:00

Here are two Strombocactus disciformis seedlings just starting to show the shape of their adult form. These two are in a pot with about six seedlings who are a year old now and growing well. These plants, being only a year old, are only slightly larger than the head of a pin.

Pelecyphora strobiliformis seedling

2008-03-11T21:41:00.001-05:00

This Pelecyphora strobiliformis is a year old now and is in a small pot with, all together, 12 seedlings. They have beautiful spines now, but I think their spine formations will look a little different as the plants become adults. They still look very much like cactus seedlings.

Aztekium seedling two

2008-02-29T21:17:00.002-06:00

Here is another Aztekium seedling, and I wanted to see how this square format would look in the blog.

Aztekium seedling

2008-02-29T20:54:00.002-06:00

The Aztekium seedling is only a year old now. I've tried growing these cacti from seeds for many years and this is the first time I've been able to get them to live this long. They are slow growing and this one is only the size of a pin head.

Another Air Root photo

2007-12-23T17:21:00.000-06:00

Here are some more air roots which seems to be the way these cacti do most of their growing in the beginning of winter.

Air roots on Epiphyte cacti

2007-12-21T17:02:00.000-06:00

Here is the third in this series of air root photos. These are getting very long.

Epiphyte air root 2

2007-12-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

Here is another wild example of air root growth on Epiphyte cacti.

Air root photo one

2007-12-19T17:55:00.000-06:00

After bringing in all of the Epiphyte cacti for the winter they are putting out lots of air roots. Some of them are taking on interesting forms so here is the start of a series of air root photos.

Delosperma sutherlandii

2007-09-17T17:36:00.000-05:00

This plant was started from seed in December of 2006 and 9 months later it is making a flower. This is Delosperma sutherlandii - seed number 1476.5 from Mesa Garden.

Echinocactus horizonthalonius flowers

2007-08-23T21:17:00.000-05:00

These two flowers opened on the same day making a beautiful display. I wish I had a few more of these Echinocactus horizonthalonius and could get them to make seeds. As it is we only have one plant as a pet.