DaisyI said:I am fastinated! Are these cactus all miniatures? ..........
Mostly yes, here at our small retirement town home. I have difficulty walking and keeping my balance these days and so I cultivate small growing species in containers in such a way that they will be easy to maintain and carry. This is of particular importance during my winter maintenance regime which involves staging my plants indoors on south facing window sills at night, and during cold days, and carrying them outside to the patio for the benefits of sunshine and fresh air during the 60°F+ (approx. 16°C+) days that we frequently experience during our Tucson winters.
Therefor my cactus and succulent collection here at our town home consists of small plants mostly growing in 2¾" (7cm) square plastic pots.
I have selected the plants according to the following criteria:
Thin stemmed or small globular species that are of light weight.
Can be grown to maturity - producing flowers and fruit - in small containers.
Easily propagated via cuttings or freely produced offsets.
Maximum height of 12 inches (30.5 cm) including container height.
Not requiring a cold winter rest in order to produce flowers.
Examples:
Arrojadoa dinae
Discocactus buenekeri (sensu lato)
Since moving into our town home several years ago (after living in a home with a large garden including a free standing greenhouse) my cactus collection has been housed at two different locations:
Town Home: mostly small growing eastern Brazilian cacti (selected
Arrojadoa, Discocactus & Tacinga) that can be grown to maturity in 2¾" (7cm) and 3¼" (8.25cm) square plastic pots maintained on a windowsill or patio (on shelves under 30% shade cloth). I have also grown some selected species in our front garden patch.
Bach's Cactus Nursery (Tucson): When we moved into our Town Home, Dan (an old and dear friend) provided me benches (and adjacent floor space) in two of his commercial greenhouses to house any of my plants for as long as I wished. All of my other container grown cacti (various species) are there.
.......... And why don't they all tip over in their little pots? ..........
Well, sometimes the tall ones do tip over -- but not often -- the plant bodies are very light weight.
.......... By the way, every cactus photo you have shared are gorgeous ..........
Thank you.
James
