Blooming cacti - Lobivia arachnacantha v. vallegrandensis

Okay, this is gonna be the last one of the blooming cacti from the last season (I still don't know how could I forget about those beauties). Now I am ready for the new season to start and I hope to see all those blooms (except thee that didn't make it) again and hopefully few more. There is a lot of plants that were way too small last year to bloom, or were freshly rooted cuttings. I see most of the cacti started actively growing already and started to plump back after I watered them last week. The dry winter rest always shrinks them like raisins.

Lobivia arachnacantha v. vallegrandensis

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This one I received with no name, but cactus guru said it is Lobivia.. so I guess it is :)
It is still a very small plant and I think it will stay fairly small. Here it still grows in one of those tiny coffee cups I got when I run out of pots. They are just the same size as those tiny 5 cm pots you can get cacti and succulents in, and the cactus is maybe 1,5 cm in diameter. If you look closer on the photos you might see small off shoots that started to grow on the sides. Still dug up deep in the soil. After a repot few weeks ago I uncovered them all so they get some more sun and fresh air to grow. It also has a proper, square cactus pot! Should be enough for 2-3 years I hope.

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This little beauty can be also called ** Echinopsis ancistrophora subs. arachnacantha** (the names keep changing.. just like with orchids. Someone is bored I guess) and natively grows in Blivia and Argentina. The body stays dark green, but when stressed it can turn darker purple-brown, which I have already seen on my cactus. The summer sun is just merciless here.
Spines are small, harmless and almost flat. Just the way I like them.

I have two of those plants. The other one is smaller and didn't bloom. This bigger one managed to grow one large, hairy flower! Just look at those petals! They are so delicate and thin that the sun almost shines though. Nice dark red colour, pointy tips and a bit of sparkle - yep, it is beauty.
And as I mentioned in yesterday's post...I wonder if I could cross-pollinate it with some other cactus and get some cool colours out of it! They just, JUST need to bloom in the same time.

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And since I already showed all the cacti that bloomed for me, I sat down and went thought all the posts and made a little list. Looks pretty cool I must say. Now you can see all the pretty flowers. Just mind you - those are not all cacti I own! Those are just the ones that bloomed.
If you want to see more, just click the image - it will take you to the full post.


_{Chamaecereus hybrid}	_{Sulcorebutia Canigueralii}	_{Mammillaria camptotricha}	_{Mammillaria Glassii}
_{Gymnocalycium baldianum}	_{Mediolobivia mudanensis}	_{Lobivia Arachnacantha}	_{Rebutia hybrid}
_{Mammillaria Bombycina}	_{Mammillaria Gracilis Snowcap}	_{Mammillaria haageana}	_{Mammillaria backebergiana}
_{Chamaecereus silvestrii}	_{Mammillaria prolifera}	_{Rebutia Fabrisii var. Aureiflora}	_{Lobivia Wrightiana}
_{Aylostera Flavistyla FR756}	_{Parodia concinna}	_{Mammillaria Copper King}	_{Gymnocalycium Brushii}
_{Mammillaria backebergiana}	_{Gymnocalycium damsii}	_{Echinopsis subdenudata}