Mammillaria luethyi thread

http://www.bcss.org.uk/forum/read.php?1,101809,page=1
^^
very informative thread.
sigh... isn't it just amazing. both the plant itself and the flowers. Trully the best member of the entire cactus family... if there could be only one member of Cactaceae it would be this.

Its deffinetly the coolest mamm ive ever seen, but it just make me think its monstrose lol, the size of the tap root and the nipples.

Awesome!!!

I planted some seed out and I have one germinate last week, it is as sloooooowww as to do anything. I really want at least one more seed to germinate, so have turned up the heat a tad on them to see what it will do

Look at that taproot willya!!!

Might have to try and get a few seeds myself. If it's got a taproot that big, it must be good.

Well that's my theory anyway

Awesome is the word.

my lone seedling is still going, some juvenile spines but no tubercles as yet. indeed very slow, my ariocarpus seedlings seem to grow faster!

calycium wrote:

I planted some seat out and I have one germinate last week, it is as sloooooowww as to do anything. I really want at least one more seed to germinate, so have turned up the heat a tad on them to see what it will do

how many seeds did you sow? It is VERY difficult to get seeds of this species to germinate. no one really knows why. supposed reasons include poor genetic diversity (very few clones are in cultivation) and that it's cryptocarpic (seeds are enclosed in seed capsules buried deep in the body and it is not possible to tell when they are ripe).

There is an excellent article on M.luethyi in the 'Cactus and Succulent journal' published by the Cactus and Succulent Society of NSW, volume 26, No.2.(October-December 2007). (which i bought specifically to read the article, a flowering specimen also doubles as the cover design).

i want one....
calycium.... whered you get seed from.
what an awesome plant

I bought 5 seed from EBay (where else) and they cost me a packet! Happy that I have one growing... disappointing to have 4 seed sitting laughing at me. This was a test germ. If I got 2 - 3 to germ I would have gladly bought more expensive seed and tried again.. Only one seed - at the moment, its an expensive seed at about $8/10

Still figuring if 1 seed is good enough for the collection, but with that I can't cross pollinate and get seed...
Luethyi is hard work! Go for Astros and ariocarpus and the like any day!!!

...

Clones are only a cutting from one plant meaning that unless the plant is self fertile it will not produce seed at all, seeds cannot be clones, although they may have the same limited parentage, which is what i think you mean? ......so that due to there being so few plants the genetic diversity of the said plants is limited to the extent that inbreeding and the like have reduced fertility of the plants. A seed grown plant crossed with another seed grown plant will help reduce this lack of diversity albeit slowly so is in no way at all is it irrelevant.

...

Do bear in mind if you do buy Mam luethyi from botanical-archive (ebay Italy) that Mam luethyi isnt on the permissable import list so there is a fair chance they will get seized & destroyed so you will have done your $.

So the majority of the population in Eu is a clone and seed was wild collected also? Doesnt seem to me that there would be limited parentage if the wildcrafted seed germed well, that would be the basis of the breeding population for the serious growers that would have wanted to get their mitts on a rare new plant. Plenty of diversity there and i seriously doubt the collection of seed or even plants would have stopped, cmon, we are talkin about cacti collectors for gods sake lewis haha.
Lots of plants (not just cacti ) are either poor producers of seed or germ rates when taken out of their natural range, its just the way it goes.

Quote :

The other is that luethyi is cryptocarpic.

Sorry lewis, i have no freakin idea what you mean by that.

Like i said, a clone wont produce seed unless it selfs so the seeds arent clones, as far as i can see the only problem with luethyi is poor germ rates, that is no reason at all to throw in the towel. A good reason perhaps to try your hardest to source seed from different countries.
Bottom line is, if you have a plant that is rare and hard to come by and the oppourtunity to further the population on a large or small scale then DO IT.

@ shortly - would they label the seed as another sp for you if you ask them nicely? Some places are kind enough to do so.

PD wrote:

@ shortly - would they label the seed as another sp for you if you ask them nicely? Some places are kind enough to do so.

BA will do so if you ask them to

PD wrote:

Sorry lewis, i have no freakin idea what you mean by that.

If you read my above post... 6 down from the top you will see a definition.

That's where I got my seed from - Italy... but only one seed for $10.50 is expensive, and still I'm not sure it is a seed growing, its sooo small!!

Ya, tiny tiny.
well does it look like this?:
http://forum.auscactiforum.net/mexican-cacti-f14/mammillaria-luethyi-germination-t266.htm
well this one is still around. hasn't changed much though, very very slow. a couple more tiny spines if viewed under a magnifying glass

no, mine looks more like a green fleck, very green and has some tiny white spines in a clump on top. Can't take a photo, it is too small.

well... im trusting its the same... being from the same source, possibly even the same seed pod! they are probably siblings.

Just out of interest Lewis and calycium; how long did your seedlings take to germinate? I have also planted some recently and have yet to see anything green What is the ideal temperature to grow these little stunners?

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Thanks for that lewis. I will try dropping the temp a little as it is at 35c at the moment, been in there for over a week now and they have not yet starting to grow.

All my astros have germinated in this time which leads me to believe that I will need to purchase more seed and start again

Was so looking forward to seeing them grow. Oh well maybe next time

Huggie,
my temp is set on 28 degrees, but I vary it between 27 - 30. 35 is too hat. My first one took about 5 days (and I think I have just had another germ agter 2 weeks - happy)

Still very small, and almost looks like a tiny clump of white fungus.

Huggie I agree with calycium...........I have mine at 30 and germination seems better for me at this. Since I have upped it from 26 I have things starting to germinate that have been sitting doing nothing for 6 weeks or longer (not cacti though) Most of the seeds I am sowing now like a little more heat.

calycium wrote:

Still very small, and almost looks like a tiny clump of white fungus

Yikes!!!!!!! are sure that it isn't fungus