2007 visit

Welcome

Elizabeth & Johan de Vries - 2007

July 7, 2007

There are 3 glasshouses in the property for the personal collections.
One for Rebutias, Digitorebutias, Aylosteras…
Another one mainly for Lobivias.
And last but not least, the most interesting one for me : the glasshouse for Sulcorebutias. I think that you can probably find there ANY Sulcorebutia you need (there are about 6000 different clones) ! ! ! For example there are 50 different clones of S. rauschii.

This is a glimpse of the collection. It’s a sight for sore eyes !

S. tarabucoensis v. callecallensis VZ 056b/02

S. canigueralii VZ 159/6

S. canigueralii VZ 099

S. elizabethae VZ 235/1

S. elizabethae VZ 204/10

S. tarabucoensis
v. hertusii VZ 450

Some S. pasopayana

Some S. mentosa

S. tarabucoensis ssp. patriciae VZ 461 et VZ 462

S. rauschii VZ 050 a/2

S. tarabucoensis v. aureiflora VZ 037/4

S. mentosa v. swobodae
VZ 147/6

New species

I don’t know if I can call this a scoop but I have had the chance to see some species that were unknown to me. Johan de Vries says that they are in “propagation phase”. Within one year, maybe two, when they will have been propagated in a reasonable amount, they will be available for personal collections (this is to avoid “speculation” I suppose). I’m sure that collectors will give them a warm welcome. Have a look !

JI would like to digress for a moment. Have you ever noticed that Sulcorebutias are not really expensive plants, even for the new species. On the other hand, you see the price of Astrophytum caput-medusae or some years ago the price of Mammillaria luethyi. Am I right if I say that Sulcorebutias collectors and propagators work more wisely and don’t look only for big profits ?
Or maybe more simply : are Sulcorebutia so little seached by collectors ???

S. roberto-vasquezii
WK 986/KR7

S. vargasii WK 995/DV2

S. vargasii v. viridissima
WK 996/DV1

S. vargasii v. viridissima
WK 996/DV4 + DV5 + DV6

A l'heure du choix !

The last part of the visit is in a large greenhouse built with a metal frame covered with a plastic film.
That’s where you can find the seedlings, the cuttings and the “mother plants”. The “mother plants” are grafted plants from which cuttings are removed on request. This year, there were also a lot of rooted cuttings : a lot of plants from the personal collections had been repotted and the cuttings had been removed at that moment.

All you have to do is to choose amongst the seedlings and the cuttings the plants you'd like to see in your own collection. But it’s not that easy : too much choice ! ! !