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help me pick some alien cacti for my shelf!

I'm setting up a shelf for just smallish Cacti & succulents and as I'm limited to a 36" x 18" x 18" space (which will include the light fixture taking up 2-4" of vertical space) I only want the weirdest of the weird.

I'm seeking advice as to some of the weirdest smallish cacti you guys know of, meaning odd shape, strange colors, etc. Please post a pic of your suggestions if possible as I know next to nothing about cacti and names alone don't mean much. I saw one that looked like nothing but a solid grey cube (??) I thought that was totally surrealistic! But I was lazy and didn't write the species name down and couldn't find it when I checked for it again later. I like the neon colored cacti at walmart but someone said that they won't retain that color for long if I cut it off and try to root just the colored top portion (revert to green). They all seem to be grafted ontop of a columnar cacti of some sort, will it stay neon colored if I cut most of the column off and reroot the grafted column under the soil so the column isn't visible?

One of the weirdest I've seen was the Dorstentia. I ordered 3 different species seed off ebay today: D. crispida / D. foetida (the seed is off distinct varieties grown by the seller if not actually diff. species) and D. hinklemanii (or something like that). Does anyone have experience with these HP Lovecraft "vegetable-horror" looking plants? How long before the star shaped exploding seed pods come out? In the first year or longer?

How big are these liable to get and how soon? Most flowering Dorstentia plants I saw pics of looked quite small (under 12") and I'd wager only about 6" on average but are these 10 year old plants?
 
Your "neon cactus" are grafted onto those poor little Hylocerus cuttings. Since they don't have chlorophyll, they won't survive on their own, or if the green part is buried. Another challenge is that those multicolored parts need diffused light or they burn, while as the Hylocerus needs bright light.

What about Lithops?
 
I would suggest Euphorbia platyclada and Pachypodium brevicaule. One looks like a purple-and-orange stick, the latter looks like a tree that grows on a planet where the gravity is so intense that it can't branch or grow tall (it's like a little ball of wood with leaves growing from a few points.)
~Joe
 
euphorbia are a good choice. so are Huernia.
 
they're not terribly unusual, but I'll put my vote in for Stapelia.
 
Mammillaria plumosa--"Feather Cactus." Looks like it's covered in feathers. Great cactus, but rot prone to excess moisture in winter especially.

Mammillaria tricamptotricha--"Bird's Nest Cactus." Very evil-looking.

Also, Gasterias (Ox Tongue or Belly Flower) have some very unusual forms. Try Gasteria transvaalensis or G. armstrongii. They also take dense shade AND flower in it, too.
 
I'm not certain what species it is, but my Mammillaria is definitely a good weird plant. Looks like a big white spiny puffball with yellow flowers and bright pink fruits poking out at al angles.
~Joe
 
Pseudolithos cubiformis is an wierd little guy. . Other than that I like Ariocarpus (I will take some photos later today for you).
 
Hey Sean, I've got some of the Pseudolithos they really are some of my faves!
P. cubiformis
P. dodsoniana
P. migiurtiunus (mine is tall and egg shaped kind of like the egg cases in the movie Alien)

How are you doing with yours? What's your setup/care regimen? People say that they are easy to kill and hard to keep long term.

Mine are planted in fired clay grit & cherrystone grit 50/50 and the ones that came potted are in just lava rock and/or pumice. I water once a week (saturdays) but the guy who sold me the cubiformis said once they turn all green and are in growing mode (not brown & dormant) I can water even more but I'm a bit afraid to turn them into slime (which supposedly can happen with too little water as well). Sure are cool though! :D
 
  • #10
I have my Pseudolithos in either 1:1 pumice/sand, pure sand, lava rock (pea-small grape size), pure crushed coral, java rock/sand. All of the mixtures have a bit of crushed coral. Personally I like java rock/sand. They are more difficult to look after but I think worth it, my father has at least several ten year old plants. I use DI/RO water, they are grown in a green house. I think that soil is key, something that retains water and stays dry enough even with excess water. I have yet to get seed, but know people who have, maybe I don't have the right pollinator.
 
  • #11
Thanks for the input. I'd been thinking about crushed coral and oyster shell, but wasn't sure if it would have unacceptable levels of sodium. Though I've read that some people water certain Lithops species with brackish water every so often...?

I'd been thinking about Pseudolithos flowers and difficulty of obtaining seed (not that mine are anywhere near flowering size) and wondering if one couldn't use a fine long haired paintbrush to do pollen transfers? I've not seen the blooms in person so for now, I'm just dreaming about it.
 
  • #12
My Ariocarpus hintonni is probably my favorite amongst my collection. It's a peculiar one with some beautiful flowers.
 
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