"Fat Plants" : cacti,succulents, caudiciforms, whatever..

[cohan]

i've been threatening a thread for cacti for a while, thought it might as well include any other juicy xerophytics not covered in the bulb threads---succulents, caudiciforms, whatever..
to start, here are some cacti that live permanently on my windowsills, last year's photos, for now (dates are in photo titles) ..
these are all smallish plants, in 3-4inch (7.5-10cm) pots,not necessarily young, but not ancient; most of these could be much more floriferous under better conditions, but i'm happy they flower indoors!
most are from commercial sources, purchased unnamed, so names should be considered approximate
pics 1,2 Astrophytum capricorne senilis
among the smaller in the genus, this should eventually form a small column
pics 3,4 Coryphantha durangensis
eventually a clump of cylinders, but no sign of offsetting, or growing, really, after several years
pic 5 Gymnocalycium baldianum
one of my few reds
pic 6,7 Gymnocalycium stellatum
this one stays tiny, the body is only about 1.5 inches/3.75cm across

[cohan]

this set shows one plant, one flower which you can see changing over the days its open, notice the view out the window, and you can see why its especially nice to have these flowers in early spring!
Gymnocalycium bruchii albispinum

[Rogan]

Yeah, I love succulents too, including cacti, aloes, etc. Here's one of my favorite giving heaps of colour and good cheer at the moment: Frithia pulchra, a little fingery clump of succulent leaves from the Magaliesberg mountains in the North West province of South Africa. It is known colloquially as 'Fairy Elephants Feet' or 'vingerpol' in Afrikaans.

[cohan]

Yeah, I love succulents too, including cacti, aloes, etc. Here's one of my favorite giving heaps of colour and good cheer at the moment: Frithia pulchra, a little fingery clump of succulent leaves from the Magaliesberg mountains in the North West province of South Africa. It is known colloquially as 'Fairy Elephants Feet' or 'vingerpol' in Afrikaans.

a beautiful one! does it keep its leaves mostly below ground for you? in the north in cultivation it seems to grow mostly above ground, though i think its mainly buried in habitat?
typically called baby's toes, along with Fenestraria; i like 'Fairy Elephants Feet'  much better!
mesembs are very underrepresented in my collection; i'd like to get more, especially conos..

[Rogan]

My Frithias remain well above ground level the year round - I not too sure how to get them to 'retract' as they do in nature 

I'm not particularly successful with Conophytum, and I'm not too sure whether it's my cultivation technique or my unique growing conditions, but I do have some success and also have my favorites, e.g. C. khamiesbergensis (...which does surprisingly well for me!), C. herreanthus and C. ectypum in all its forms. One I can't grow at all, and would dearly like to is C. burgeri, here's a tray full (if rather overwatered!) I saw growing in a nursery in the Western Cape - maybe in my next life... 

[cohan]

My Frithias remain well above ground level the year round - I not too sure how to get them to 'retract' as they do in nature 

I'm not particularly successful with Conophytum, and I'm not too sure whether it's my cultivation technique or my unique growing conditions, but I do have some success and also have my favorites, e.g. C. khamiesbergensis (...which does surprisingly well for me!), C. herreanthus and C. ectypum in all its forms. One I can't grow at all, and would dearly like to is C. burgeri, here's a tray full (if rather overwatered!) I saw growing in a nursery in the Western Cape - maybe in my next life... 

none of us has the conditions to grow everything!
there are no nurseries in canada selling conos that i have ever found! so it will be seed for me!
i like the burgeri, and so many others-so many genuinely odd plants, and different kinds of odd, and many very small, which is a big plus for me..

[Ragged Robin]

At last Cohan, you have revealed your secret horde - and what a sight, I've never see cacti flowering so well and the red flower is gorgeous but the light pink is very pretty too; almost like a waterlily as it opens. It's interesting to hear how they will develop and grow...the first plant I was ever given by my Mother was an Aloe and they have been firm favourites all my life since.  Can't wait to see some more of your gems.

[pel1]

Helllo all,
Good to see a thread on succulents! It was growing caudiciforms that started my interest in pelargoniums and cape bulbs, and I still grow some cacti and other succulents to this day.

 As an experiment I once tried growing fenestraria with its leaves buried, in a clay pot and on a high shelf with maximum light-I can report it rotted off very quickly!
regards, James

ps - surely someone on this thread will want my gasteria seeds? (see seed threads)

[Hristo]

Great colour on the G baldianum and the F pulchra guys!

[johnw]

Rogan  - What a splendid clump of Frithia pulchra. My tiny clump was a wobbly little thing that never flowered but still a favourite.

johnw

[maggiepie]

Cohan, terrific pics and plants.
I have only recently started to collect a few cacti and succulents, unfortunately none of these plants are named. Where is the best place to start trying to identify these plants?

Rogan, your Frithia pulchra, are fantastic, I have never seen these before.

[pel1]

Maggiepie-
Do you have any photos of your plants-someone on the forum should know what they are.

[maggiepie]

James, I can easily take pics but don't really know the best place to post the pics

[Maggi Young]

James, I can easily take pics but don't really know the best place to post the pics

Helen... post your pix here... then the Fat Plant Fans will be able to find them easily and it will keep them together with the other Fat Plants. 

[maggiepie]

Thanks Maggi, I was hoping you would show up 
While wating I was taking pics, I just finished resizing them 

Hoping someone can ID these.