Look like excellent quality plants to me! Good luck with them.

Christopher

I'll HIGHLY second that recommendation Nice picks Tom right down to the soil and the good news is no ID needed

Both are very unique!
Nice score.

Josh

nice short spined form of stenocactus not seen that one before

Tom,

That's a great Echinofossulocactus (c'mon - it's a much more fun name than Stenocactus) you got, and the sulcorebutia - what's not to like? Supposedly there are forms of S.r. which are green, some purple, and another form, too.

Just when I think I have an idea of whats out there..you get species of plants I admit I never heard of.
That last one besides being nice looking,in the photo resembles those pods "Aliens" pop out of . Poor Sigourny..
Hey,great plants.

think the other form of s.r is purple with golden/ yellow spines.

i prefer stenocactus its easyer to spell for us disslexics : P

Yes, the only downside to my order was that I was hoping for a more purple form of rauschii.

Does anyone know if external elements (e.g., sun exposure) has an influence on the coloration?

Thanks.

Tom

think im right in saying it should purple up in the sun mine used to ... unless you orderd the green form.. would have been sold as s.r 'green form' though

S rauschi is one of those finicky species that over the years I was unable to maintain in good shape. But about 2 seasons ago around the time that I started acidifying my water with a little vinegar - this and all other Rebutias stopped the annoying habit of forming ugly scar tissue along the base of the bodies that slowly creeps upwards.

That is one of the reasons I am a proponent of acid watering. I have seen the improvement with my own eyes.

Also, as for the coloration - I don't think it's so much the sun that brings out the color as much as it just depends on the particular clone. These burn more easily than other cactus species so be careful not to push it.

The flowers are tremendous - large and almost fluorescent magenta.

x

x -

How do you acidify significant enough quantities of water to satisfy your large collection? How much vinegar are you adding to what quantity of water?

Tom

The skin colour of S. rauschii depends on both the clone and sun exposure, some clones turn purple much more easily than others. I have seen purple plants become green when moved to a place with less intense sunlight.

Is there a way to tell if you have a clone that has more of a propensity to turn purple simply by looking at it?

Well, they use to be more purple, those I have seen turn green have not been as green as the truly green ones.

I think you should be well disgusted with your non-purple Sulcorebutia and forward immediately to me!
= )))

Tom - my mesembs for the most part show no change in growth habits when given acidified water, so I no longer bother with them. That leaves most of my cactus plants that are watered "artificially". Almost every other succulent stays outdoors during the growing season and enjoys natural acid rain. So...it's not as much of an effort as it seems.

I have one of those 2 gal plastic spraying containers that is designed for pesticides. I use it to mix up water + liquid fert + vinegar. I get good control with the nozzle and it is not too strong. I also make sure that whenever I water, it's enough that excess drains through.

I don't have an exact formula for calculating pH, that is too much effort for no good reason. I know my tap water is "hard" because a calcium residue is visible along pot rims. I add about 1-2 tbs per gallon by eyeball.

{{gwi:479699}}

x -

wow! that is something to look forward to...

mimime - the sulcorebutia is in the mail...;-).

X -

I have the same sprayer.

In addition to using it to water my smaller pots, I also use it to mist spray some of my palms, tillandsias, ficus, etc. Would they mind if the water they were sprayed with were slightly acidified with vinegar, too? I would imagine not, since the gist of what I am trying to achieve is to better mimic rainwater, no? My grow room may start smelling like a salad bar, though...

Thanks.

Tom

Just add some chopped shallots and salt, and your salad is good to go!

The smell is noticeable only if there are many pots being watered, and it is not strong or long lasting.

Pats - Jets...I predict the Pats win a close, low scoring battle. What say you?

x

As long as you don't add too much the smell should be bearable. The reason are 1. The concentration is low, and 2. most of the added acid is present as non-volatile acetate (salts) at pH above 5. Lower pH -> more free, volatile acid -> stronger smell.

The pH of salad dressing with vinegar is much lower (around 4 or lower I believe) and hence the smell is stronger.

...and, if worse comes to worse, I could dice up my pygmy date palm and have a feast! I'll be sure to stay away from the euphorbs...

Why, Jets, of course - but I have been wrong before ;-). Aren't we all tired of the Brady - Bellichick show by now anyway? And Rex is such an endearing character, don't you think?

Seriously, I will be pretty surprised if we pulled this one out under the circumstances. But, we are 1-1 vs. the Pats this year...and it depends which of the Jets teams shows up...

x - being a NYer, you are with me...right?

T

T - I am a Giants fan, never really had any strong feelings towards the Jets, good or bad. But I do find Rex and his circus annoying.

X,

A beautiful plant - TFS.

Does your circus include Mrs. Rex, too? Yes, that team seems too strange to win it all.

Tom,

I'm sure you know this, but maybe others don't - if you have such a sprayer as X and Tom have (the two-gallon one) mark it for fertilizer/additive use. Get another sprayer(s) if you're going to use herbicides/pesticides - don't use the same container for all of your sprayables.