Great googly moogly!

#1

Part of me simply refuses the believe this is actually a Mamm...

: Mammillaria senilis; bella 016.JPG (117.37 KiB) Viewed 7387 times

: Mammillaria senilis; bella 020.JPG (133.94 KiB) Viewed 7388 times

: Mammillaria senilis; bella 017.JPG (131.02 KiB) Viewed 7388 times

Agavemonger · #2

Many years ago, at around Christmas time, I used to purchase a large array of different mammalarias and other species in bud and bloom from various assorted wholesale nurseries. I would then arrange these plants in mixed flats and take them, replete with their pixie-esque encirclements of gorgeous flowers, out on the road to sell to retail nurseries. When the retailers would place them up near the cash registers for impulse sales, it was invariably quite effective.

During the dark and rainy periods of slow winter sales, I always felt like I was contributing a little more Christmas cheer for the retail public. I fondly recall pulling in to the nurseries and getting out of the truck to the lovely smell of freshly cut Christmas Trees that usually wafted strongly right out into the parking lots if the wind was half right. I remember playing the game of cajoling the overworked and grumbling purchasing agents out to the parking lot, where I would roll up the back door of the truck right in front of them, exposing thousands of these 4 inch cacti in glorious full bloom. Typically, I would have perhaps forty or fifty different species with an arrayed palate of subtle flower forms and colors. Invariably, the buyer's interest would pick up a few clicks, and more often than not they would try a flat or two.

The sales of these plants helped me eke through the lean months of winter, when cacti and succulents are normally pushed way to the back of the store to make space for Christmas Tree sales and other related Holiday items like Poinsettias and other gifty stuff. Post-holidays would bring in the Rose season for a month or so, then finally sales normalcy would slowly return with the lengthening days of spring.

Those were definitely the glory days, when a myriad of wholesale nurseries grew countless species of these plants by the millions, and you could actually make a fair profit reselling them!

The Monger

#3

I wish the variety of Mammillarias you can get at the box stores here would increase. It is the same old stuff just about every time. Good to replace the occasional one the croaks every now and then, but for getting real variety I am stuck getting things on eBay or the DBG or BTA plant sales - or the occasional one from the ISI release. I love growing them - I have a bunch of hanging baskets under my patio roof that get morning in which most seem to thrive. And then I have a few in the ground - in the ground I have gotten really mixed results (you seem to have the knack for that though Ron!), I have a couple that have done really well, while many others lasted a year or two and then would all croak usually in the middle of summer, so I suspect sun exposure/watering issues.

Here is another one that surprises with not your 'usual' Mammillaria flowers:

: M. guelzowiana; DSCF5773.JPG (122.94 KiB) Viewed 7375 times

#4

@monger: Why did you stop? Arms of the likes of Altman's, RSN, and other wholesale nurseries get too long?

@mcvansoest: Terrific blooms! Had I seen either of these at big box, I might have thought them fake and walked right past... If you want to increase your chance of success with in-ground Mamms, pick a couple up at Shady Way during summer, then plant them immediately. And treat 'em just like Agaves. Some can manage full sun, but most can't, and all appreciate some afternoon relief. And avoid shade-lovers -- too much risk of winter rot.

#5

I have a M.senilis too, it flowered only twice and neither time did I get good pictures. The guelzowiana flowered profusely several years in a row and then I put it in a bigger hanging basket and since then it has decided to grow... it is getting big and multi headed now, but I would not mind a few more flowers on that one.

I was thinking that I should stop by Shady Way later in the year just to pick some stuff up for immediate planting. Any BTA/DBG stuff I usually keep in pots till the Fall so I am probably better off not getting any plants till the Fall sale anyway.

Agavemonger · #6

Gee.S wrote:@monger: Why did you stop? Arms of the likes of Altman's, RSN, and other wholesale nurseries get too long?

There just aren't anywhere near the amount of wholesale cactus nurseries that there used to be, and mark-ups aren't really profitable anymore, vs. the long hours and financing involved!

The Monger

#7

^ That's really too bad, I bet that was a lotta fun.

#8

mcvansoest wrote:I have a M.senilis too, it flowered only twice and neither time did I get good pictures. The guelzowiana flowered profusely several years in a row and then I put it in a bigger hanging basket and since then it has decided to grow... it is getting big and multi headed now, but I would not mind a few more flowers on that one.

I was thinking that I should stop by Shady Way later in the year just to pick some stuff up for immediate planting. Any BTA/DBG stuff I usually keep in pots till the Fall so I am probably better off not getting any plants till the Fall sale anyway.

I know it's a trade-off. You're more likely to find something exotic at a DBG sale, but at Shady Way, you'll find offerings you know can manage full sun. No guesswork involved. And I say you should shop in summer, because only then can you see just how well these guys are doing. Shady Way waters their full sun cacti every day all through summer. Even so, many look stressed. Select those that don't. Another nursery with a selection of clumping cacti out in full sun is Acacia Nursery, off Tangerine Rd. north of Tucson. Of all my Mamms out in sun, I have two species that stand out as never ever looking the least bit stressed in summer -- M. parkinsonii and M. supertexta.

#9

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#10

This is driving me mad. Who/what said Great Googly Moogly?

Agavemonger · #11

A phrase used in the South, often in early Blues songs.

Somewhat more recently uttered by Nanook of the North.

"And don't you eat that yellow snow"!

The Monger

#12

[youtube]Nmgice3ieZ4[/youtube]

#13

Agavemonger wrote:A phrase used in the South, often in early Blues songs.

Somewhat more recently uttered by Nanook of the North.

"And don't you eat that yellow snow"!

The Monger

Didn't know it was from early blues although believe Howlin' Wolf used it (and I'm a big Wolf fan) BUT it was Maggie and the Ferocious Beast that I was thinking of! Used to watch that with the grandchildren when they were small (both well over 6' now).

#14

M. standleyi is another Mamm that does really well in full sun.

: M. standleyi; Yard_Mamm 006.JPG (180.06 KiB) Viewed 7282 times

: M. elongata; Yard_Mamm 008.JPG (136.7 KiB) Viewed 7282 times

: Surprise! No clue on ID, apparently plural...; Yard_Mamm 017.JPG (199.89 KiB) Viewed 7282 times

#15

Nice! I should post some of my flowering mams.

I think the NOID could be M. longiflora it has several ssp.

#16

Yeah maybe, for the purple flowered heads.

And yes you should.

My Melos are also back at it now.

#17

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#18

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#19

These flowers usually only last a few hours, but cool weather has prolonged their life considerably.

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Spination · #20

Fantastic photo records of wonderful blooming events.

I've had to bite my tongue several times, but I can no longer resist the temptation.... Which are the googlies, and which are the mooglies.