A Gymnocalycium's transformation

A few days after this year's New Year celebrations, I purchased a plant of Gymnocalycium anisitsii subsp. damsii*, a very commonly available plant in the Philippines, for experimental purposes. In my mind, I wanted to change the plant's soil with one that is purely mineral, and subject it to the vagaries of weather conditions, just to test what a mineral mix can do to a plant under harsh conditions.** For many people, such a mix would be tantamount to a death sentence: nutritionally very poor, very open, and dries too quickly. A bias towards the use of a heavily organic soil as one that is suitable for cacti cultivation has been accepted as gospel truth, despite the great numbers of plants succumbing to rot or sunburn in so many collections, particularly with the novices.

For this undertaking, I removed all the offsets and gently sprayed off as much of the old soil, which consists of leaf litter in advanced stages of decomposition. The plant was not air dried nor was given water therapy. Immediately after repotting, the plant was thoroughly drenched and placed in an exposed location where it will receive sun for about 7 AM till sundown (it still does). Rains interrupted by sudden bursts of sunshine was quite the norm from January to March, with the current month, April, being the driest, though we have had intermittent rains for 5 days two weeks ago. No fertilizer is given. Watering is carried out without any fixed schedule; sometimes the plant gets watered about thrice a week, or it will receive no such irrigation for almost two weeks at a stretch. By the end of March, watering is mainly dispensed via nocturnal spraying lasting 3 seconds, on average, about twice a week. There is a conscious effort to keep the plant on the dry side, in keeping with its rhythms in the wild. Full dryness at the height of the short dry season may bring irreversible negative effects, however. Granted, this is a very adaptable and tough species but I would like to stretch the plant's limits without sacrificing common sense.

Photo below shows the same plant as it looks like by the latter part of January. Upon its purchase, it was ringed by many offsets, was very green, and turgid. On this photo, the channels between the ribs have started to become more prominent. The appearance of new spines on the crown was sign that despite the suddenly harsh conditions, growth is taking place.

And here is the most recent photo of the plant. The ribs have become narrower and the spines became more aggressive. Apparently, the plant has favored the production of longer spines in place of a multitude of pups. From what I understand, these plants develop longer spines under more severe conditions, perhaps as an effort to provide themselves with a bit more overhead shading. Specimens found growing in more protected and shaded aspects have far shorter spination. The body has taken a more olive coloration with brown suffusion- a sign of increased production of anthocyanin pigments. At the crown you will see the emergence of new spines, which shows that even in quite hostile conditions, growth continues. If you think the absence of organics in the soil will halt the plant's development, time for a paradigm shift. Look closely enough and you will even see buds forming around the new spine growths.

For an idea of how the nominate subspecies looks like in the wild under difficult conditions, please click here: http://www.cactusinhabitat.org/index.php?p=specie&id=175

This angle illustrates the progress of the spines' development, with the ribs' tubercles becoming much more prominent. Insufficient water has caused some wrinkling, but I do not mind. The plant is healthy, and I have not an iota of doubt over that. Beginners will be distressed if they see signs of water stress, with frantic cries of help answered by advises of "more water"; both camps clearly do not realize that in the wild, cacti are also subjected to the changes of seasons, and wrinkling as a result of it is perfectly normal. If I put this next to a shelf with others of its kind, this plant will surely stand out.

I have other plants going through such 'torture tests', but this one has become a poster child for the speed by which its appearance has significantly changed. If I still haven't convinced you to switch to a heavily mineralized soil, I do not know what will.

*This plant is frequently identified as G. damsii, and its habitual production of a large number of offsets places it under var. multiproliferum. However, G. damsii, and all varieties treated under it, is best treated only as a subspecies of the variable G. anisitsii, therefore, G. anisitsii subsp. damsii.

** From photos I have seen of G. anisitsii in the wild, there appears to be quite a volume of organic matter on the soil surface, but the immediate soil itself seems inorganic. What this probably tells us is that humus accumulation is very thin and contributes very little to the plants' nutritional needs. Following the tenets of Dag Panco's philosophy, I have opted for a mainly mineral soil instead of one laden with organics. Dag of course is instrumental in advancing the idea of a purely mineral mix in Romania and Europe in general. My intuition has so far proven correct.