DuneCraft Dusty Desert Cacti Microterrarium: A Review!

Years ago, on a request from a friend who was looking at buying a few of this product for her kids, we figured I'd try it out first, the DuneCraft Dusty Desert Cacti. I've successfully grown cacti and succulents from seed before, so may have of cheated with some knowledge that the typical consumer would not have, (explained later below.)

First, I spent a lot of time online looking for reviews, mostly to see if it was even worth trying. I couldn't find one single review with pictures of successfully grown cacti from this product. So here I am, apparently it's gonna be me. There were a mix of satisfied and unsatisfied customers reviews, but only about germination, nothing long term. What about if the novelty doesn't wear off? So I bought one. For $2.99 I figured no big loss if it didn't work. These can be purchased online or most hobby stores like Hobby Lobby or Michael's.

When I opened up the product it's basically a plastic egg, (actual egg sized) with a clear top, a tiny disk of peat wrapped in some netting, and a package of seeds. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture, but Click here for one. The one I bought had 6 seeds. From reading the reviews it's variable how many you'll actually get, but the package said it's supposed to have 5 types of cacti. I decided to follow the instructions as close as possible. If I'm going to be the one to review the thing, I have to do it right.

Ok, so what are the seeds it comes with?
1.) Giant Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea)
2.) Organ Pipe (Lemaireocereus Thurberii) nope, it's Stenocereus thurberi. The packaging was off here, along with typos, I'll let the taxonomy slide.
3.) Golden Barrel (Echinocactus grusonii)
4.) Fishhook Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus Wislenzeni) nope, it's wislizeni, but close.

I know, I shouldn't be a pain over typos and taxonomy errors, but come on, that's 3 errors in 4 sentences. Seriously, it seems like no one over there even bothered to google the names or look them up in a book. I will give them a huge round of applause for attempting to give the consumer the scientific names though, and not just the common ones. Then there's the fact that the label says "5 types of cacti seeds included." I don't know if anyone else has been counting thus far, but I only count 4.

Back on 5/5/12....It begins....

I guess the species they picked germinate fast or I got a fresh batch, as these were up in about 1.5 weeks. Not much to photograph, but a little green was a good sign.

7/5/12.... 3 months later....

I moved the terrarium out of the windowsill and under artificial light, as I got some eliotated (stretched) seelings. The instructions say windowsill and I tried to follow them as close as possible to keep this as close to what the average consumer has to go on, but my windowsills were too shady.

I lost one seed. It didn't germinate and started to mold so I had to get it out of there. I only took the top off to add a tiny bit of water once in 3 months.

But there's good news! They are finally starting to look like cacti. These seedlings start off looking like little green nubs with a forked top. Now they're starting to get some spines.

Without flash. You can see one falling over from getting eliotated.

With flash to see the spines better

I originally wrote this up years ago, and then decided against publishing it for various reasons. Then, I got an email from my friend and her daughter with pictures of  many beautiful baby cacti that her daughter is absolutely in love with. We may have created a cacti fan for life due in part to this experiment with this product. So although this product review is a little critical, it is a positive one because we all do have cacti growing.

A little under a year old, 4/5/13:

A little taller than my now dirty finger

The egg terrarium was knocked over by a cat and I was forced to repot. One was knocked off it's roots entirely, hence the rebagging. It'll be just fine. Still dealing with the results of the eliotation, but they will grow out of it as they're in an appropriate amount of sun now, ( the slightly pink tint.) However, they could have totally stayed in that egg for the year.

1/7/2015:

Same pot as 2013 picture above, needs repotting badly!

For anyone interested in this product review, I'll continue to update on this page as growth continues. If anyone reading this finds something unclear or has any questions about this product, feel free to leave a comment here (anonymously or otherwise) or email me. I will do my best to help, even if you're coming across this years later. I figure at least now there is an actual product review out there at all. Despite my initial criticisms I think this, and the other DuneCraft products, are a wonderful way to teach kids about growing things. I think it's a valuable experience for people of all ages really no matter how you chose to do it. Hey, I'm an adult and I am still having fun growing them! Also I love trying these products, so if there's something you want me to try and grow, let me know and I'll review it for everyone.

Parodia werneri ssp. werneri: 1st Cactus Bloom This Year

 Love this cactus, total of 8 flowers this round of blooming. Lots of other cacti budding up now...

Doesn't it look nice even when the flowers are starting to wilt? Like it's wearing a purple crown.

Can a purple "Moon Cactus" survive on it's own?

Everybody's seen "Moon Cactus" for sale. You know the one's that are usually red, yellow, or pink, a Gymnocalycium mihanovichii cacti grafted to the top of a Hylocereus cacti species? Don't think you know what I'm talking about? See here: "Moon Cactus"

There was some discussion as to whether the purple 'Hibotan' or "Moon Cactus" could survive on roots of it's own, as purple pigmentation doesn't mean a lack of chlorophyll, whereas the yellows, reds, and pinks are completely lacking any chlorophyll through a mutation. They therefore have to be grated to stock that does produce chlorophyll to survive, but what about the purple one?

I found a purple "Moon Cactus" in Home Depot after my G. mihanovichii var friedrichii succumbed to rot this summer (sigh, was my favorite one, almost gave up cactus growing for a minute there, but have since learned to alter my potting media and watering in this environment,) because this was as good a time as any to give it a shot. I removed the cactus and threw out the graft Hylocereus, let the Gymnocalycium's base heal and dry over for a few weeks. Then I just nestled it gently into some soil mix and let it sit for a while in some bright shade. I lightly watered the soil about once a month as the humidity was pretty high. Sure enough, the little cactus is now firmly rooted into the soil. Now it's trying to bloom.

So now I've got a small Gymnocalycium mihanovivhii var. friedrichii 'Hibotan'.....ha, can it's name get longer? The stalk and outer part of the flower is almost a violent shade of pink, more neon than a standard G. mihanovichii var. friedrichii. It's a little on the dehydrated side from having to make roots from a scarred over base, so now that it's settled in, maybe next year it'll grow some and flower better.

I felt a little bad for throwing out the Hylocereus base this cactus was growing on, but I already have a Hylocereus 'Halley's Comet' which is getting outrageously big. Then I was grocery shopping and guess what I found for sale....

Dragon fruit! Yup, this is the fruit of the Hylocereus undatus base plant that I threw out. Had I let it live on and flower, I'd get something similar fruit wise out of it. I love growing cacti from seed, so I was tempted to grow some of these seeds, but I don't have the space for them! Also, speaking of space, if anyone in the US is interested in a small cutting of my Hylocereus undatus x polyrhizus 'Halley's Comet', email me, I'll send you a piece for cost of shipping. They root easily from cuttings.

Cacti & Wallmart...

A few months ago I was half way through repotting a few things when I realized I was not going to have enough peat to complete the project. Crap! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a bag of pure Canadian Sphagnum Peat at 8pm at night?* Desperation and panic set in.

Then I realize.....seed starting plugs. They're usually peat. Sure enough, Ferry-Morse sells boxes of their peat plugs for refills for their tray kits. In the seed starting section are of course all those little packets of seeds too. Vegetables, fruits, flowers, and.....cactus? Well, this is an interesting development. Of all the years I've bought tags, shears, wire in this section of various garden centers I've never seen a packet of cactus seeds until just now.

Side note: Ferry-Morse also carries Moon & Stars Watermelon. I've wanted to grow those FOREVER! The absolute second I know I have a yard to grow these in, I'm starting these. They must be grown. Heirloom watermelon!

There were a good 50 seeds in the packet. The packet reads (my additions in ellipses): Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), Hedgehog (which apparently can refer to species of Pediocactus, Echinocereus, or Echinopsis, and people wonder why I hate common or nicknames for plants), Fishhook Barrel (Ferocactus wislizeni), Dollar Prickly Pear Desert (Opuntia robusta ?), Prickly Pear (really can refer to almost any Opuntia species), Christmas Cholla (Opuntia leptocaulis), Cane Cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata), Santa Rita Prickly Pear (an Opuntia cultivar O. 'Santa Rita'), and Cardo'n ("Cardón", Pachycereus pringlei).**

Yikes, that's a lot of glochids. Normally I wouldn't be thrilled with anything to do with Opuntia, but the O. 'Santa Rita' cultivar is a really nice one. I may put up with the glochids to have one. Opuntia are notoriously difficult to germinate, so no loss if I don't end up with any either. It would be nice if some of the Saguaro, "Hedgehog", Cane Cholla, and the Cardón germinated though. All of those are really nice too.

Then, because Wallmart...two boxes of Jiffy refill seed starting plugs, cactus seeds, car jack stands, and 2 sodas later, we were on our way home. Wallmart, usually the worst place ever.

Here they are today. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what some of these are now that they've started to differentiate? Looks like a decent mix of everything but Opuntias.

The whole group

Two different columnar types, one with five sides and a few rounded

Another columnar with four sides

*And yes, I am aware Home Depot sells Canadian Sphagnum Peat, however it is only in bales. The husband said no way are we dealing with getting that much peat home and then figuring out how to store it. Thus the desperate dash to Wallmart hoping they'd have a smaller bag.
**Is it odd to anyone else for any company to have that much seed of those particular species? I realize these have come from Holland where plant production is pretty bangin', but where are all these mature Cardón even flowering?

Matucana madisoniorum double flower

Matucana madisoniorum flowers all summer for me. It doesn't need full-all day sun to flower and grow well like most other species either. Everyone who likes cacti should have one in their collection.

Parodia mammulosa on a rainy day

Coming up next: Matucana madisoniorum, double flower

Cacti Happenings

Matucana madisoniorum is blooming again already. It's working on another 2 buds behind this one too.

I still think despite all the great qualities of this cactus, the fact that it grows this long red flower is the most interesting part.

 

The Parodia mammulosa x (?) seeds planted late last year have begun to look not only like actual cacti, but a ton more of them sprouted. If anyone would like a few of these, email me, it'll be a fun surprise to see which cactus they were pollinated with, quite a few years from now...

1st Cactus Flower of the Season...

...Is Parodia werneri ssp werneri (Previously Notocactus uebelmannianus)

 

I'm hoping the shorter than usual rest season the cacti got this year due to the move was enough for them. Then again, rest periods are probably shorter in their natural habitat then they used to get in NY anyway.

More cacti blooms to come!

Story Time and Rooting an Ugly Epiphyllum

I grew up in a house full of houseplants and fairly well manicured garden plants. We had an Aunt that lived close and has collected orchids for as long as I can remember. This is probably the reason I felt that we needed a houseplant or two to cheer up the place when I stopped moving about once every year and moved into this apartment with my then boyfriend/now husband.

Recently I found out it goes much deeper than that. I've been helping my father pack as he sold his house recently and came across a sad little Epiphyllum. It had been nearly crowded out of it's pot by cohabitants Crassula ovata (Jade) and Chlorophytum comosum (Spider Plant), no room left to grow it's roots. Seeing as how he's leaving his plants for the new owners, I yanked it out of the pot as best I could without disturbing everything else.

Unknown terrible looking Epi

Now apparently this plant and I have a history. When I was toddler sized my father woke me up at midnight to see this Epiphyllum bloom at midnight. I have a vague memory of being bitter about being woken up, but I do also remember the flower.

Now the moral of this story is to point out the hazards of such activities. When you ingrain something so deeply into someones childhood that they remember these events for life, well the consequences might just be this disaster of a plant hoarder, who is thrilled to set an alarm for a ridiculous hour to see something like an Epiphyllum or Echinopsis bloom before it fades by morning. I'm blaming my upbringing for this, because I'll be moving myself shortly and now I've got nearly 100 plants to figure out how to bring with me. Can you believe my father even considered me not moving mine?

So readers, What's your story? How did you end up with a plant collection? Go to the comments section, because I really want to know!

Part 2: Repotting the Epiphyllum

I decided to pot this guy up dry, with a little rooting hormone, and treat it as an un-rooted cutting. The mix is about 1:1:3 bark chips, potting soil, Hoffman Cactus & Succulent Mix. The Hoffman pre-bagged mix is mainly peat, bark chunks and perlite. I figured the peat/soil combo will keep it on the slightly acidic side and keep it from drying out once it's established, which Epis like.

All potted up

Rocks on the top and the twist ties are to keep it stable, as it's a little unbalanced with the weight of the leaves.

Close-up of the one good leaf.

I'm not sure if this is an Epiphyllum oxypetalum or not. The leaves look a little thick, but that might be the result of it's neglect. The color in the picture is accurate, it's been in nearly full sun all summer (resulting in the light green color.) It also does bloom white. If anyone had a different opinion please share.

Why did I not upload these earlier: Philadelphia Flower Show 2012

We take too many pictures of plants. We have a 1 terabyte external hard drive that's filled exclusively with music and pictures. We need another for everything else/a back up. Organizing everything was a huge project, but it benefits you guys because I keep finding things and wondering why I didn't think to share sooner.

I picked out some of the better pictures we took at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. We've gone the past 2 years and it's always a good time. The exceptionally bright lighting there makes for difficult pictures, so these were the best of the bunch. I labeled the ones I could, but if you know the name of something that isn't labeled please let me know in the comments. I wish I had written down more names, but it gets so packed with people at the convention center that it's difficult just to be able to see everything.

Anyway, lots of pictures of mostly orchids and cacti below. Enjoy!

Strelitzia nicolai

Spathoglottis

Dendrobium unicum

Paphiopedilum hybrid

Phragmipedium hybrid

Laelia purpurata (Thanks Michael for the ID)

Phalaenopsis stuartiana. Bought one of these at the show after seeing this one.

A few bonsai displays

I think this was my favorite. I love deciduous bonsai'd trees.

I love the bark on this one.

Next: Cacti and Succulent judging and displays!

Philadelphia C&S Society members plants

This nice Mammillaria

Awesome Notocactus scopa clump.

Cool Lithops diplay.

Out of bloom succulent display

Great potting for a display, or THE GREATEST potting for a display?

Really nice Astrophytum asterias, possibly a 'Super Kabuto' like cultivar?

Fuzzy Mammillaria

Astrophytum capricorne

Uelbelmannia pectinifera

Gasteria ellaphieae

Crassula columnella (Thanks LT for the ID,) too cute.

Crassula "Springtime' (Thanks LT for the ID.) This one was very tiny.

I don't know, but this is an awesome clump of cactus.
I know better than to touch displays, but it was difficult to keep my hands to myself with this one.
Normally I'm a cactus touch-er! Spikes be damned, I'll pull 'em out of my hand later

Next: Some AOS orchid judging and displays

Specimen Dendrobium kingianum

Close up of a D. kingianum flower.

Epidendrum hybrid.

Lycaste 'Arcadian Sunrise'. I love this one!

Very nice Paph hybrid, wish I could remember the name.

Phalaenopsis hybrid about to really start blooming

Cattleya hybrid

Vanda tricolor (Thanks Antonio for the ID.) I love this one as well!

Phaius tankervilleae (Thanks Michael for the ID)

Catasetum 'Pink Lemonade'. I killed one of these years ago, wishing I still had it looking at this picture.

Flower close up

Dendrobium spectabile. It'll be 10 years until mine's this size, lol!

I just like Nobile-type dendobiums, gotta get one someday.

View of Center City, Philadelphia PA, from our hotel room. It's pretty gray and cold still in March.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
I've got a ton more from the 2011 Show if you all want more.