Uebelmannia pectinifera. Ubelmannia,

How to Care For & Grow Uebelmannia Cacti

Hi Guys 😀 In this Blog I will be talking about the Tropical Cactus Uebelmannia and How you can care for and grow this amazing and very unique looking cactus plant.

Uebelmannia pectinifera. Ubelmannia,
My Ubelmannia pectinifera Cactus Plant

I have made a special video for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to Care for & Grow Uebelmannia and you can watch this video by clicking HERE

ABOUT:

Uebelmannia Cacti are Tropical Cacti that are endemic to Brazil growing 650 -1,350 above sea level.

There are just 3 main species in the Uebelmannia Genus, 1, Uebelmannia pectinifera, 2, Uebelmannia gummifera , and 3, Uebelmannia buiningii, although more hybrids are slowly being introduced into the cactus market.

The most popular in cultivation is Uebelmannia pectinifera, and the rarest is Uebelmannia buiningii, U. buiningii is threatened by habitat loss in its natural environment, but is slowly becoming more poplar to grow in cultivation amongst cacti enthusiasts. 

Uebelmannia cacti have globular to cylindrical stems and have distinct ribs patterned with spines from their areoles . The colour of these cacti are bright green, green grey, or dark purple. 

They are slow growing cacti but can reach up to 3 feet over time growing from globular to more columnar.

These unique cacti were first introduced from South America in the mid 1960’s where it had a bit of a cult following.

Uebelmannia are still hard to find for sale and many that are for sale are often found grafted as they can be more difficult to grow on their own roots when young but when more mature will grow well on their own roots.

Because Uebelmannia are not the easiest to grow for beginners, its best to only grow these cacti when you are more experienced with growing cacti.

Uebelmannia pectinifera, Ubelmannia,
My Uebelmannia pectinifera Cactus Plant, these Cacti have have globular to cylindrical stems and have distinct ribs patterned with spines from their areoles . The colour of these cacti are bright green, green grey, or dark purple.

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS:

Uebelmannia like a very sunny position and a south facing position is ideal, these cacti love plenty of direct sunshine even in the Winter months.

SOIL:

These cacti need a VERY well draining soil and well aerated, I like to make my own soil mix up for these cacti that consits of 3 equal parts of loam, grit and horticultural sharp sand, they also prefer a soil pH on the lower side as high soil pH above 7.5 pH can damage their roots, however if you grow Uebelmannia that has been grafted they can take a soil that is higher in pH due to the rootstock that they have been grafted onto.

If you want to know How I make my own cactus soil for my Uebelmannia then here is a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon and you can watch this video below:

REPOTTING:

Re Pot Uebelmannia in Spring and Summer, ideally in Spring at the start of their growing season. Only re pot when the cactus has outgrown its pot and re pot into a pot only slightly larger than the last one, as too much soil around their roots can encourage root rot. When re potted leave a week to 10 days until watering again to allow the roots to settle into the new pot and soil.

WATERING:

From Spring and Summer water well allowing the soil in the pot to dry out before watering again.

In Winter these cacti do not like to be kept totally dry for very long periods and I water my Uebelmannia once every 6 weeks.

Uebelmannia like a water with a lower pH ideally around the 5.5-7 pH, because of this clean unpolluted rain water is preferred over tap water, however if your Uebelmannia is grafted it will be able to take a higher pH water.

FERTILISING:

From Spring and Summer when they are actively growing Uebelmannia like to be fertilised once a month with a good quality cactus fertiliser that is diluted to half the strength that they recommend for desert cacti. 

Do not feed during the Winter months when their growth is slowed down and they are resting.

TEMPERATURE:

Because Uebelmannia are Tropical Cacti they can not tolerate any frost and need an absolute Winter minimum temperature of 12 Celsius / 55 Fahreneheit and ideally above 12 Celsius /60 Fahreneheit.

In Summer they can take very high temperatures as long as plenty of ventilation can be provided, open windows in greenhouses and doors in polytunnels on very hot sunny days in Summer. 

FLOWERING:

Uebelmannia produce tiny yellow flowers that form a cluster from the crown of the cactus, all Uebelmannia will flower when fully mature if given plenty of sunshine and the correct growing care.

PROPAGATION:

Propagation of Uebelmannia is from seeds but growing these cacti from seed is very hard unless you are an expert in growing Uebelmannia. Most young seedlings are often grafted onto other rootstock for their survival.

If you want to watch a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to care for and Grow Uebelmannia cacti then you can watch this video below :

Thanks so much for reading Guys and Happy growing to you all <3 

 

 

 

 

Aztekium, Aztekium hintonii, Aztekium cactus,

How To Care for Aztekium Cactus

Hi Guys 😀 

In this Blog I share my tips and tricks on How to care for the Aztekium Cactus.

Aztekium, Aztekium hintonii, Aztekium cactus,
My 23 year old Aztekium hintonii grown from seed ( not by me ) 

I have made a video on my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants Of Avalon on How To Care for Aztekium, and you can watch this video HERE:

ABOUT AZTEKIUM:

There are just three species of Aztekium, 1, Aztekium ritteri, 2, Aztekium hintonii, and 3, Aztekium valdezii.

Aztekium valdezii has only recently been discovered from 2011.

The Aztekium Cactus grows in its natural habitat in Mexico growing on steep cliff faces that consist of mostly gypsum and some limestone gravel.

Aztekium is extremely slow growing and forms into little clumps over many years, it is one of the slowest growing cacti both in natural habitat and in cultivation. 

I have grown my Aztekium hintonii for over 23 years, I got it as a young seedling that was grown from seed from a Cactus Grower in the U.K called David Quail, it was the just size of my thumbnail and in all of that time it has grown only about 2 inches in height and width.

Because of their extremely slow growth and difficulty to grow when young on their own roots, these cacti are often seen for sale grafted onto other more hardier cactus stock, but once established on their on roots they can survive long term as long as a very careful watering is maintained and a very gritty well draining soil is used.

Aztekium, Aztekium hintonii, Aztekium cactus,
My 23 year old Aztekium hintonii

HOW TO CARE FOR:

LIGHT:

Aztekium like most cacti need bright light with some sunshine to grow healthy, however these cacti prefer to be protected from very strong midday sunshine and prefer more shade than a lot of the other types of Desert Cacti, and Aztekium would be best positioned where they can get either early morning or very late afternoon sunshine.

WATERING:

Aztekium prefer soft water that is not alkaline and clean rainwater is best to water these cacti with. Its best to avoid watering these cacti with water than has a pH higher than PH 7, as hard alkaline water can cause damage to the roots. If you use tap water check that the PH is not higher than PH 7 and allow the water to sit for 24 hours to allow the chlorine and other gases to dissipate.

If you are growing Aztekium that have been grafted, then the pH of the water is not as much a concern as most cactus stock used for grafting Aztekium are mostly Trichocereus or Pereskioposis, and these cacti are not so sensitive to water PH, however careful watering should still be given with all Aztekium cacti.

Water Aztekium from Spring through Summer ALWAYS allowing the soil in their pots to fully dry out before watering again.

Keep Aztekium totally dry throughout the Winter rest period with no water from Fall / Autumn and Winter, introduce water again from Spring when their active growing period returns.

SOIL:

The soil used for Aztekium must be extremely well draining, this is very important especially for Aztekium cacti that are growing on their own roots, especially when they are young as they can be very prone to rot, which is why they are often seen grafted.  If grafted onto hardier root stock such as Pereskioposis and Trichocereus they are far less prone to rot and grow faster, but as with all cacti except the epiphytes, the more well draining the soil the better.

Some growers of Aztekium like to add lie to the soil, but I have had success over 23 years of growing this cactus with my well draining soil mix that I use for most of my arid loving cacti.

Avoid using peat and houseplant soils for these cacti as they need a VERY well draining and gritty soil.

I like to use a soil mix of 3 equal parts of loam, horticultural sand and grit for my Aztekium hintonii, For more information on How I make my own Cactus soil click HERE:

FEEDING:

Feed Aztekium once a month in Spring until mid Summer with a good quality cactus fertiliser. Because these cacti are extremely slow growing its best to use the fertiliser at half the strength they recommend for normal cacti.

FLOWERING:

The flowers on Aztekium are very tiny and white or pink or lilac coloured, they grow from the top of the cactus when the plant is mature often after many years. 

Aztekium forms a woolly tuft and fine spines from the crown of the cactus when the plant is mature enough to flower.

I have not had my Aztekium flower for me in 23 years, but I hope one day to see flowers, patience is definitely the key when growing cacti haha, but I have heard of many growers who have had their Aztekiums flower after 10 years or less.

Grafted Aztekiums will flower much sooner than if grown on their own roots.

TEMPERATURE:

In Spring and Summer Aztekium can take high temperatures but they must be protected from extreme heat and strong midday sunshine, especially if they are grown behind glass in glasshouses or windowsills, and they like to have plenty of ventilation.

In Winter its best to overwinter Aztekium cool and dry above 5 Celsius / 41 Fahrenheit

PROPAGATION:

Propagation of Aztekium is done by seed that are very dust like, but it is extremely difficult and slow to grow from seeds, although germination rate can be high at first lots of seedlings will often die within the first few months of germination. 

I have never tried to grow these from seed myself but when my Aztekium flowers for e in the future and I get seed I will definitely have a go at trying to grow this amazing and unique little cactus from seed.

If you want to grow Aztkium from seed or any other type of cactus from seed read my page on this website Growing Cactus from seed  by clicking HERE

Here is a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants Of Avalon on How To Care For Aztekium Cacti and you can watch this video below:

 

Thanks so much for reading Guys and Happy Growing to you all <3 

 

 

Puna clavarioides, Dead man's fingers, Mushroom Opuntia, Maihueniopsis clavarioides, Opuntia clavarioides, Opuntia ruiz-lealii,

How To Care For Opuntia Puna clavarioides -The Dead man’s fingers Cactus

Hi Guys 😀 

In this Blog I will be talking about a rather unusual and very unique little Cactus called Puna clavarioides also called The Dead man’s fingers Cactus, Mushroom Opuntia, Maihueniopsis clavarioides, Opuntia clavarioides, Opuntia ruiz-lealii, Opuntia Puna clavarioides.

I have filmed a How To Care For video on this Cactus on my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon and you can watch this care video HERE

Puna clavarioides, Dead man's fingers, Mushroom Opuntia, Maihueniopsis clavarioides, Opuntia clavarioides, Opuntia ruiz-lealii,
My Puna clavarioides aka Maihueniopsis clavarioides.

ABOUT :

This weird and wacky Cactus is the type species of the genus Puna  also known as the genus Maihueniopsis. 

The Puna genus of cacti are some of the most diverse cacti of the opuntiads and are closely connected to Opuntia, Tephrocactus and Austrocylindropuntia.

These Cacti are all part of the very large group of the Opuntioideae Family of Cacti. The Opuntioideae  Family of Cacti are commonly known as ‘The Prickly Pear’ 

Puna clavariodes is a low growing geophyte cactus that grows in clusters up to 15 cms tall, with conical shaped stems of reddish brown to dark green to grey colour that emerge from tuberous roots.

In natural habitat this Cactus is found in Argentina growing in high altitude on rocks and sand between 2,000 -3,000 metres above sea level in a very dry arid environment.

The Puna clavariodes Cactus although part of the Opuntioideae Family of Cacti does not have glochids that are more commonly associated with the Opuntioideae.

The flowers on this cactus are a yellow /green colour and about 4 cms in length.

This Cactus is rare in cultivation and therefore not commonly seen for sale and when it is for sale it is more commonly sold as a cristate form that is often grafted onto a grafting stock cactus such as Trichocereus spachianus.

CARE & CULTIVATION:

LIGHT:

Puna clavariodes  likes a bright and sunny position all through the year, but can tolerate some light shade too but these Cacti grow better in full sun as long as they are protected from very strong heat.

A bright sunny greenhouse or a south facing window is ideal if protected from heat and sun scorch from glass on very hot Summer days.

WATERING:

Water well in Spring and Summer but ALWAYS allow the soil in the pot to fully dry out before watering again as these Cacti are very prone to rot if kept too wet due to their tuberous root systems.

Clean rainwater is always preferred if it is available, but tap water is ok as long as the Ph of your water is not too high ( above 7,5 pH ) Its always best to let tap water sit for 24 hours before using it to allow some of the chemicals to dissipate. 

Keep this Cactus totally dry over the Winter dormancy period with no water given whatsoever.

SOIL:

Puna clavariodes likes a very well draining mineral soil as this cactus is very prone to rot due to the tuberous root system and a well draining soil is a must. I like to use a soil mix of 3 equal parts of a Loam based soil with with Horticultural sand and grit. Check out my page on this website on GROWING MEDIUMS for more advice on How to Make Your Own Cactus Soil.

RE POTTING:

Re pot only in Spring and Summer when this cactus is actively growing, this is because it is a slow growing cactus and because of the tuberous root its best to keep this plant in a clay pot that is deep enough just to cover the tuberous root, it is always safer to under rather than over pot.

Do not water this cactus for the first 2 weeks after re potting to allow the roots and tuber to acclimatise. 

FERTILISING:

Feed Puna clavariodes in Spring and Summer every month with a Cactus fertiliser diluted at half strength, this is because this cactus is a slow growing plant and does not require lots of fertilising.

FLOWERING:

Puna clavariodes flowers in Spring and Summer with yellow blooms. A dry winter rest period will help to encourage blooming the following year.

TEMPERATURE:

Puna clavariodes likes to be kept above 5 Celsius / 41 Fahrenheit in the Winter months, but can take lower temperatures than this if growing this cactus in a very dry arid climate.

Protect this Cactus from very high Summer temperatures above 32 Celsius / 90 Fahrenheit.

Here is a video that I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants Of Avalon on How To Care For Puna clavariodes and you can watch that video below:

Thank you so much for reading and HAPPY GROWING GUYS 😀