Winter
test 2003: Individual participant card Nr. 084 David Van Langen
Texas (
U.S.A.)~ Humble
CACTUS ART
NURSERY
Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.
Here
is a pic of the local landscape taken in my back yard naturally wooded
areas ( unless developed) with scattered pasture land. Elevation appx 55
ft above sea level. Avg yearly rainfall is 45 inches even though we had
70 inches in 2002 and 100 inches in 2001. Attached is a pic taken in my
front yard the Ocotillo has survived and grown here for over 12 years in
spite of all the rain.
I would love to
participate in your testing of cactus this winter. I am located in
Humble Texas-- 20 miles north of Houston Texas. We get into the
upper teens from time to time but normally have mild winters. We can
have days of dreary, cold & wet weather followed by days of brisk &
sunny weather. Scleros & Pedios would also be good species to do a "Warm
& Humid Summer Test" with.
I have a large cactus garden in my front
yard that is exposed to all the elements ( good & bad) but grow most
of the choice plants in a covered ( with clear panels for a roof)
pen that I raise desert lizards in. It has metal walls to keep
critters in ( & out) but is open to the elements from all sides
above the 40 inch tall walls.
All but the "obvious habitat" shots are from my collection. I go to
great pains to try to duplicate the conditions that the plants
grow in habitat.
The
attached pic is out in the Lizard/ Cactus Habitat in my back yard.
The
baby Blossfeldia I am trying to grow on it's own
roots...
...hope it works!
The test plants in
their new home
Pedio in a pot in a sheltered location
Here's the Pedio that is in the Lizard Pen
Sclero glaucus
(nice spines!!!!)
January 02 2003
The plants arrived today---they look great!!! The Sclerocactus glaucus sure
has nice spines. The small Opuntia will make it easy to "conceal" the
graft they are not very intrusive.
January 04 2003
Here is the first pic of the new plants, One Pedio will stay in a pot in
a sheltered location .
June 07 2004 1) ...the Pedio despainii that is under the clear
roof of the Lizard Pen. It is plump and healthy but sadly it aborted its
flower buds in late winter. I suppose the clouds and lack of sunshine
may have been the reason it did not bloom.
2) ...the Pedio despainii that stayed in a pot. I was amazed to find a
small flower bud once I looked at the picture!! Maybe it will decide to
bloom now!!
3) ...Sclerocactus glaucus. It is in fine shape so far and I hope to see
it do well as our humid summer gets hotter. We only dipped to -2 C a
couple of times last winter and had quite a few frost at just above
freezing. No temps stayed below freezing for more than a couple of hours.
Overall-- we had a mild but dismal & rainy winter.
Kind regards and thank you very much for letting me participate in the "
Test Program "!! David
Texas (
U.S.A.) ~ Humble
Here
is a pic of the local landscape taken in my back yard naturally wooded
areas ( unless developed) with scattered pasture land. Elevation appx 55
ft above sea level. Avg yearly rainfall is 45 inches even though we had
70 inches in 2002 and 100 inches in 2001. Attached is a pic taken in my
front yard the Ocotillo has survived and grown here for over 12 years in
spite of all the rain.
The
attached pic is out in the Lizard/ Cactus Habitat in my back yard.
The
baby Blossfeldia I am trying to grow on it's own
