The second Home Depot (Costa Farms) Cactus ID is correct too! I'm glad about that, seeing as how I have no room for doubles, but really wanted to collect one of each mihanovichii, mihanovichii var friedrichii, and stenopleurum. Which leaves one more to find. I wanted clear representatives of the species too, if they are distinct ones, so it's a happy day. Even better, these were less than $10 each at Home Depot, (can't remember exactly, something between $6-$8.) A pretty good deal seeing as how they're mature and I didn't have to pay shipping.
Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is identified by the yellow-brown, not fully opening flowers. It's considered a miniature cactus, this is about as big as it's ever going to get. Cool looking out of bloom and great for small spaces. In it's natural habitat (Paraguay) it isn't exposed to full sun all year, growing under bushes. This makes it an ideal cactus for growing indoors for most of the year if your conditions are like mine and you have to. I put it out in full sun for the few months of summer we have and this is the result.
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| 1st bloom opening |
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| My hand for size reference, and I have pretty small hands. |
G. mihanovichii may not have the stunning colors of friedrichii or other Gymno species, but it's beautiful in it's own way.
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| From the top |
So of course it's super cloudy today and although the flower never opens all the way, this one is should open a bit further, and it's still more brown than yellow. I've got more buds that should be ready to go soon, I'll put up some better flower pictures if I can get them at a future date.
Great blog, and nice post too. The photos are lovely also, considering the overcast weather. Looking forward to seeing this healthy cactus display all of its intriguing blooms. Congrats on such a great find! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you! NY doesn't have cactus nurseries so we really don't have much for choices without having to order online. It's nice to find something every once in a while.
DeleteOrdering online is a good option, but I also enjoy the thrill of finding something randomly in a nursery, and plants sent in the post can also run the risk of an injury, unless the sender packs them very well of course. Growing from seeds can be also rewarding.
DeleteTrue, having something shipped is riskier, but 9 out of 10 times it's the only way to get something I'm interested in. I only recently started growing cacti/succulents from seed, so I'm waiting a bit to see how it goes. I have a lot of cacti fruit, not through my own pollination attempts, so maybe some of it is viable. I'd like to get some experience in this year so I can order some seeds of things I'd like to try and be sure I'm not wasting the money!
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