At the end of February, I visited the natural science museum, which I wrote about yesterday. There were so many interesting things to see and learn about, but there was a greenhouse next to the museum as well, offering a lot of cute cacti to see.
For those of you who don't know, I live in a country where (in theory) there are four seasons and winter can be (or used to be) harsh, temperatures going as low as -20°C, -30°C. Cacti are not designed to resist to those temperatures, this is why cacti are indoor plant here and most people only have a few at home. Lack of space has a saying in how large, or small your collection is.
Although semi-desert cacti may be exposed to high light levels in the wild, they may still need some shading when subjected to the higher light levels and temperatures of a greenhouse in summer. Allowing the temperature to rise above 32 °C (90 °F) is not recommended. The minimum winter temperature required depends very much on the species of cactus involved. For a mixed collection, a minimum temperature of between 5 °C (41 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F) is often suggested, except for cold-sensitive genera such as Melocactus and Discocactus. Some cacti, particularly those from the high Andes, are fully frost-hardy when kept dry (e.g. Rebutia minuscula survives temperatures down to −9 °C (16 °F) in cultivation) and may flower better when exposed to a period of cold. source
Posting on Hive has it's advantages, always makes me learn something new and today I've learnt that the Rebutia minuscula survives temperatures down to −9 °C. I had no idea that there are cacti that can survive this type of cold. However, unfortunately we need more resistant ones because winter is way colder than -9°C here. This is why the museum set this lovely greenhouse up.
Most likely I've mentioned before, that I used to have a nice collection of small cacti and succulents when I was in high school. The truth is, I can't remember what's happened to those plants, but up until 2021, I had none. In 2021 I bought myself a cactus. Have been eyeing the cacti collection in each nursery for ages, planning to buy one, but never did, till 2021.
Cacti are known to survive on very little water and i know people opting fr cactus just because they say these thorny plants don't need much care. It's good when you don't have to spend much time with them, but then again, why do you need them, if you don't want to care for them, right?
The variety of cacti the greenhouse offers is very wide and even though at first glance, when you step in, you feel like you want them all, after a few minutes, reality kicks in and you know you can't have them all. This is when you start to have a better look at the collection and start to select the ones you'd like to have. At least that's what I did and ended up selecting the white one on the photo above.
I've never had one like that and find it more interesting than the others, due to that white coat, which is made up of spikes. I've seen small ones at the nursery and maybe my next one will be one of those.
These were smaller ones and many of them were of the same type, but that doesn't mean they were less attractive.
Who would resist those little pink cuties? I don't like pink in particular, but when it comes to flowers, I'm ok with it.
This one unfortunately proves they don't stay white, just the top. The rest, the older part becomes darker.
These are all of the same species, although they don't look the same.
The scenery changed here, instead of cacti, they had a lot of succulents, of all sizes.
This was the middle row with the tallest cacti of the collection. These reminded me of movies filmed in Mexico or Arizona. Some of them can grow pretty big.
And here's one I've never seen in my life. It's not the usual cactus type people know. It's an Astrophytum myriostigma.
Astrophytum myriostigma, the bishop's cap cactus, bishop's hat or bishop's miter cactus, is a species of cactus native to the highlands of northeastern and central Mexico. source
Bishop's cap cactus sounds just as interesting as it looks and I'd love to have one, exactly because it's very different.
This one looked like me on a bad hair day :)
This was the first cactus collection of this size I've seen, but also hope it wasn't the last. There are so many species out there, it would be nice to see more one day.
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I hope your cactus does well. I have the feeling we may watch your cacti collection grow 😉
Indeed, my cactus does well, I'm expecting it to flower soon but I'm not sure about growing my collection 😬
Oh, Bishop's cap - my grandma had that one. And it was also so nice with flowers when it bloomed 🙂
Aww, lucky you, you've seen it flowering. I envy you! Now I need to find and buy one 😊
Erikah, that is an outstanding collection of cacti and succulents. I have never seen so many beautiful varieties. They are a species I never grow because I know I would water them too often and kill them. I always worry I am not giving my plants enough attention and end up giving them too much. lol
It was indeed an impressive collection.
And I know perfectly what you mean. I'm watering my cactus pretty frequently and am always thinking what if it's too much. But then again, how can I not? I've been told not to do that, but as you said, how can you not water a plant.
That´s an impressive collection of cacti. (I´m always tempted to write "cactuses" but I know the plural form is "cacti", as unnatural as it sounds :D)
Cactus is often associated with Mexico but ironically, during those 2 years that I lived there, I didn´t see many cacti (they don´t actually occur much in the part of Mexico where we lived) so the biggest cacti I have seen so far were these monsters on Tenerife. Almost as tall as the nearby hotel :)
Cool shots and a great write up, thanks for sharing your cactus experience with us Erika! :)
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I'm with you on that, but yesterday, while writing my post, I ran a search and turns out, according to some sources, both are correct.
Thanks for the info, there's a lot I don't know about them and I'm glad you liked this collection. It was a very cool one.
Have a nice evening my friend 😊
This one was my favorite, it looks really cute!!
it almost looks like hair
You're right about that and trust me, I was tempted to touch them, but would never do that as it's not allowed and there are cameras everywhere. Was wondering though, how it would feel.
I fell in love with that white cactus with pink flowers and the Mamillaria sp I found rare but beautiful. What a nice collection @erikah
Those small pink flowers were cute indeed, no one can blame you 🙂
I love cactii, I have a lot potted up in my conservatory at home, I have never seen the Bishop's hat before, I am on the fence as to whether I like it or not,
Lucky you, to have space for a large collection :) I'm thinking of buying another one, but who knows. Maybe I can get a Bishop's hat.
Hmm, I have decided thats a no, tbh I don't think I have seen them in Uk, go fot it
I'm definitely interested now but most likely it'll going to be difficult to find one.
yes I agree, I will also keep my eyes open, you will be thr first to know
Love these!! I've always been a fan of cactus and thought that I'd end up as a lady with all kinds of species all around the house. But since I became a cat mom this thing has been lost on the way as it's a very dangerous flower for my babies. I hate when one passion sacrifices the other!
Oh God! I know what you mean, cacti are not kids and pet friendly, so you need to choose :)
Haaaahaaaaahaaaa :))
Wonderful cacti collection @erikah friend!... Excellent photos!!!!... Thanks for sharing!
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Oh my! So many thorns in one place! 😄
As you say, a very dangerous place 😂
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An extraordinarily beautiful collection, I saw the picture you attached and was so amazed by its beauty and I want to collect it too.
You can start collecting and growing them :)
There are lots of cactus plants, very beautiful, my friend
Yes, it was a huge collection and all beautiful species.
Wao! Beautiful collection, I love cacti, not because they require less care than other plants but because I love their flowers and thorns, I also read out there that they are very good at warding off bad vibes jjj The photos are beautiful ❤ The bishop's head one I had never seen, what a funny name.
Lol, it's interesting to read that you love the thorns 😁 I should repot mine and have been postponing it because of the thorns.
This is new to me, but good to know.
I absolutely love the catus, firstly because the balcony of my house, being closed, generates a greenhouse effect so it is a hell so only catus survive and secondly because they are plants that resist absolutely everything. I have a cactus that was given to me more than 14 years ago and it keeps growing, every now and then I have to give it its maintenance but I am very happy that it keeps me company although at the time when I let my hamster free on the balcony of my house it would go, carefully pull out the thorns and start eating it hahaha nowadays that hamster is no longer with me but I keep finding bite marks on my cactus.
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My balcony is open and can only fill it with flowers once the weather warms up as winter is cold, so I kind of envy you for that, although, I don't think I'd like that hot weather all the time :)
Wow, a 14 years old cactus, that's really something. Lol, bite marks left by the hamster, this was funny. Must have been brave as usually animals are not friends with cacti and once they experience what cacti can do, they no longer are interested.