Cacti
Cacti are distinctive and unusual plants, which are adapted to extremely arid and hot environments, showing a wide range of anatomical
and physiological features which conserve water. Cacti all belong to one family, Cactaceae. There are hundreds of varieties offering almost every imaginable shape and size.
In most species, except for the sub-family of the Pereskioideae, the leaves are greatly or entirely reduced.
Cacti have never lost their leaves completely; they have only reduced the size so that they reduce the surface area through which water can be lost by transpiration.
Cacti are almost exclusively New World plants. This means that they are native only in North America, South America, and the West Indies.
The Tehuacán Valley of Mexico has one of the richest occurrences of cacti in the world.
Cacti like a well-drained soil. Specially formulated mixes made up of sand mixed into potting soil are available for small jobs. If you are repotting a larger plant, better drainage can be achieved by making your own mixture with 3 parts peat-based potting soil and 1 part poultry grit (a fine-grade crushed granite or limestone). Those few cacti from the jungles prefer to stay just barely moist and may require water weekly. They also should be protected from direct sun in the afternoon.
Below you will find a selection of plants on sale;
Ariocarpus retusus
Dolichothele longimamma
Euphorbia mammillaris
Echinocactus grusonii
Gymnocalycium 'damsii' v tucavocense
Lophophora williamsii
Mammillaria albicans
Mammillaria carnea
Mammillaria hahiana
Mammillaria matudae
Mammillaria matudae
Selenicereus grandiflorus
Trichocereus cuzcoensis
Trichocereus macrogonus
Trichocereus pachanoi
Trichocereus pasacana
Trichocereus peruvianus
Our collection
We have around 300 different species of Cacti in the office.
Many are mature specimens. A selection are below, more photo's will be added in due course;
Mammillaria parkinsonii
Cleistocactus strausii
Copiapoa cinerea
Further reading
Further reading should include;
British Cactus and Succulent Society Promotes the study, conservation, propagation
and cultivation of cacti and other succulent plants. Features message board, news, schdeuleis and more.
columnar-cacti.org is worth a browse.