LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[N3mesis_IceWing_NightWing]

@fluffycrow @Jener8or

Some early winter bloomers, do they even know it's winter?? It was 17F/-8C this morning.

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Wow, those are pretty!
Dang that's cold...here it's 27 Degrees F, but it feels like below 10

 

[TwoCrows]

Wow, those are pretty!
Dang that's cold...here it's 27 Degrees F, but it feels like below 10

You are up in Wisconsin? Did you get a blizzard the other day? We are expecting 1-3 inches tonight.

 

[N3mesis_IceWing_NightWing]

You are up in Wisconsin? Did you get a blizzard the other day? We are expecting 1-3 inches tonight.

Yea, I'm in Wisconsin. We got like 2-3 inches last night I believe...
We did have a snow storm like last week and we got, like, 6 inches! Maybe a little more!

 

[TwoCrows]

Yea, I'm in Wisconsin. We got like 2-3 inches last night I believe...
We did have a snow storm like last week and we got, like, 6 inches! Maybe a little more!

Stay warm up there!

 

[N3mesis_IceWing_NightWing]

Stay warm up there!

We'll do our best!
Same to you!

 

[fluffycrow]

@fluffycrow @Jener8or

Some early winter bloomers, do they even know it's winter?? It was 17F/-8C this morning outside.

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Gorgeous mammillaria and euphorbia ! It’s always really interesting how the mammies tend to bloom in a circle.
The second one is really cool, what type is it?


The lithops here have started splitting, by the way. So definitely no more flowers for this year

 

[TwoCrows]

Gorgeous mammillaria and euphorbia ! It’s always really interesting how the mammies tend to bloom in a circle.
The second one is really cool, what type is it?


The lithops here have started splitting, by the way. So definitely no more flowers for this year

Thanks Fluffy! The second photo is a Mammillaria gracilis fragilis, or Thimble Cactus. It bloomed all last winter too, it's a tough little plant, it's becoming one of my favorites! I've also got a Mammillaria hahniana with the tiniest of red dots forming in her "fur" so hopefully she gets those blooms going too. Mams love to grow "crowns" I guess!

Oh gosh, sounds your Lithops are SO far ahead of mine. I've only have one that is showing any signs of life, it's splitting and I think there is a flower bud in there. The other Lithops are just hanging out probably hibernating for the winter.

How are your Stepelias doing?

 

[fluffycrow]

Thanks Fluffy! The second photo is a Mammillaria gracilis fragilis, or Thimble Cactus. It bloomed all last winter too, it's a tough little plant, it's becoming one of my favorites! I've also got a Mammillaria hahniana with the tiniest of red dots forming in her "fur" so hopefully she gets those blooms going too. Mams love to grow "crowns" I guess!

Oh gosh, sounds your Lithops are SO far ahead of mine. I've only have one that is showing any signs of life, it's splitting and I think there is a flower bud in there. The other Lithops are just hanging out probably hibernating for the winter.

How are your Stepelias doing?

Cool plant! Is it a slow grower? The only mammillaria in my collection is super slow growing, but it does produce a lot of flowers in the spring.

It’s probably the fact that they’re outdoors. I’m sure that if yours were outside (somewhere where the rain and snow wouldn’t hit them), they would have started splitting a lot sooner too.

Ehhh. The variegata is almost double the size, so seems to be doing great. The hirsuta isn’t. I bought two, and each had three “nubs” (I guess). One recently died. No new growth whatsoever. I severely overpotted them, which is probably why, but still.
The huernia is still new. When I repotted from the nursery pot it came in, I found that some parts were rotting, probably from overwatering while it was still in the nursery. It’s not done anything so far, but it’s still early days

 

[TwoCrows]

Cool plant! Is it a slow grower? The only mammillaria in my collection is super slow growing, but it does produce a lot of flowers in the spring.

It’s probably the fact that they’re outdoors. I’m sure that if yours were outside (somewhere where the rain and snow wouldn’t hit them), they would have started splitting a lot sooner too.

Ehhh. The variegata is almost double the size, so seems to be doing great. The hirsuta isn’t. I bought two, and each had three “nubs” (I guess). One recently died. No new growth whatsoever. I severely overpotted them, which is probably why, but still.
The huernia is still new. When I repotted from the nursery pot it came in, I found that some parts were rotting, probably from overwatering while it was still in the nursery. It’s not done anything so far, but it’s still early days

Yes the Thimble Cactus is incredibly slow growing, the arms only grow a tad longer this past summer but it did thicken at the base a lot. It was pretty small when I purchased it 2 years ago, it also had rust or some sort of plant fungus upon arrival. Thankfully I got that cleared up and it's super healthy now. I think come this year it will start growing faster now that it is healthy.

Speaking of purchasing plants and having them die, I am so sorry Fluffy. It's the risk we take when ordering plants sight unseen. I lost quite a few that first year, that came with rot, fungus, over watered, bugs, etc... It's heartbreaking to lose them I know. I doubt over potting your plant would have killed it this fast, from what I can tell with my limited experience, succulents can take an awful lot of abuse before dying, UNLESS they are already on edge. Your plant was probably already struggling and probably would have died anyway no matter how you potted it.

 

[fluffycrow]

Yes the Thimble Cactus is incredibly slow growing, the arms only grow a tad longer this past summer but it did thicken at the base a lot. It was pretty small when I purchased it 2 years ago, it also had rust or some sort of plant fungus upon arrival. Thankfully I got that cleared up and it's super healthy now. I think come this year it will start growing faster now that it is healthy.

Speaking of purchasing plants and having them die, I am so sorry Fluffy. It's the risk we take when ordering plants sight unseen. I lost quite a few that first year, that came with rot, fungus, over watered, bugs, etc... It's heartbreaking to lose them I know. I doubt over potting your plant would have killed it this fast, from what I can tell with my limited experience, succulents can take an awful lot of abuse before dying, UNLESS they are already on edge. Your plant was probably already struggling and probably would have died anyway no matter how you potted it.

Huh, interesting. I guess the mammillaria genus is generally slow growing. Considering most of my collection is slow growing plants, I would like to add some more “instant gratification” succulents. Euphorbias so far have been great. I was hoping I would find some super fast growing cacti as well, but it seems like I’m generally drawn towards the slow growers (copiapoa for example). Oh well.

Thank you. I’m quite bummed about the hirsuta; I really hope I see some growth (and maybe even a flower) come spring.
It seems like they were very poorly rooted cuttings, so overpotting them as much as I did just put too much strain on their root system.
I’m a bit of a serial overpotter, as my rainbow cactus also got root rot last month. I always just think more room=faster growth, but nope!

Anyways, I’m done with watering for thing year, for anything that isn’t a cutting or a very small seedling/plant. The temps are low enough that the moisture isn’t getting absorbed as quickly as I would like, and I don’t want to hurt the whole collection