THE  PLANTS  OF  THE  POTTED  COLLECTION

Aptly named the Sand Dollar cactus, this native of Mexico is fascinating in appearance and fickle in cultivation.  Too much water at the wrong time and the sand dollar becomes the mush pile.  Astrophytum asterias must have a very well drain potting soil and this soil should always be allowed to dry out between waterings.  Despite its desert home it prefers a little light shade in summer.  In Mexico it grows beneath the light shade of shrubs and trees. 

This is one of my seed grown plants.  I planted 25 seeds in 1995 and this is my only surviver. 

    No, I didn't cut the tips of the leaves off.  This is one of the windowed succulents from South Africa.  Windowed means that light is able to pass through the translucent leaf ends and into the center of the leaves where photosynthesis takes place.  In nature Haworthia truncata is partically buried in loose soil with only the ends of the leaves protruding above.  This protects the leaves from excessive drying out. 
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     The common name of this mammillaria is the 'old lady cactus', due to its covering of wispy, white hair-like spines.  It's another native of Mexico and is relatively easy to grow.  Give the old lady lots of direct sun, a well drained potting soil and plenty of water from May through September.  The flowers are small but have a nice contrast against the snow white spines.  This plant was another of my first generation seedlings.  I planted 25 seeds of this species in 1985, ended up with five seedlings of which I kept two.  It's twin was lost to the tornado (see the diary entry for the tornado)  and now this is my only old lady cactus. 
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     Here's another of the windowed succulents from South Africa.  It grows in an area of South Africa where rainfall is more plentiful and thus it is not as touchy as some of the South African succulents in terms of watering.  Frithia  belongs in the plant family Mesembryanthemaceae, usually called the 'Mesembs' for short.  As with other windowed succulents, frithia is often found growing with dirt and dust partially covering the plant.   In South Africa frithia's common name is fairy elephant's feet.  I've grown several frithia pulchra from seed but usually lose them over the summer because I don't water them enough! 
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     Of all the cacti suitable for growing as potted plants the gymnocalyciums are perhaps the easiest to flower consistently.  Given a situation with good light they flower over a relatively long period of time during the summer.  In addition to the regular flowers, I also like this particular gymnocalycium for it's multi-colored body coloration.  I potted four of my G. friedrichii seedlings (the plant pictured at right) in a single large pot in an effort to facilitate cross pollination and obtain some seed.  This has worked well and I am now growing quite a few little G. friedrichii.   This is one of my plants I keep outside over the winter in a heated cold frame. 

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     Lithops are the 'living stones' succulents of South Africa and Namibia.  They are fascinating succulents and seldom offered for sale at local garden centers.  They are not the easiest of succulents to grow, often rotting if watered at the wrong time of year or placed in a potting mix that is not well drained.  However, if given lots of sun, a well drained potting soil, and a dry winter, they make a remarkable potted plant, especially when they send up their late summer, early fall flowers. 
     Although I grow most of my Lithops now from seed, the plant shown here was purchased in the early 1990's as a two-headed specimen.  Each Lithops species has its own distinct color markings.
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     I'm partial to the white spined mammillarias and this is one of my favorites.  From a distance the plant looks just like a perfectly formed snowball.  It's a little touchy on water but if the soil is well drained there's usually no problem.  M. candida wants all the sun you can provide and then some. This is not a cactus for the windowsill.  I grow this plant outside in the open from mid May through early October.  It spends the winter in a heated cold frame where the temperature is allowed to drop to about 40 degrees F at night.  A cold (but non freezing) night temperature in winter seems to increase flowering. 
    This plant was grown from seed planted in 1991.

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     Putting species and variety names on haworthias is a bit of a crap shoot.  There is a wonderful book about haworthias called, "Haworthia Revisted" by Bruce Bayer, but many plants currently in cultivation are probably hybrids and some of the differences in species seem very subjective.  However, since plant taxonomy (naming plants) is still a somewhat subjective science, you can just pick a name you believe is right and leave it at that.  Anyway, this is an attractive haworthia and as most haworthia go, fairly easy to grow.  Plant colors will be different depending on the amount of light the plant receives.  The plant at the right is in its winter color.  During summer the color changes to include nicely mixed purples and browns. The plant show here was purchased from Steven Hammer, a small nurseryman specializing in succulent plants.

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