Escobaria vivipara- complex

[Weiser]

Cold hardy, moisture tolerant, low growing form, beautiful flowers,adaptable- -Five key phrases to look for, when choosing a cactus to fit into your rockgarden.
Escobaria vivipara is one of these cactus. It is found in  seventeen  U.S. states and three Canadian Provence's. With such a vast territory variability is to be expected. Again E viviaria does not let us down. The E. vivipara complex contains nine named varieties and one closely associated species.
The varieties are: arizonica, bisbeeana, deserti, kaibabensis, neomexicana, radiosa, rosa, vivipara (the most wide spread) and buoflama(the name is an acronym of Bureau of Land Management). The associated species is Escobaria alversonii at one point considered a variety.
The highest degree of variability occurs in the south western states. As you will see from my shots var. vivipara is a low clumping mat and arizonica a cylindrical upright clumper. The other varieties fall in between these two forms.

I grow six of the varieties in my zone 7 garden. They have all proved to be perfectly happy and health. In my previous zone 4 garden I grew var. vivipara for twenty years and never had winter kill or any sign of rot. I still grow this same cactus plant.
First is var. vivpara
Second var. rosea
Third var. neomexicana
Fourth var. buoflama
Fifth var. bisbeeana
Sixth var. arizonica

[Hoy]

It is a pleasure to view such fine plants!
Maybe some of these could take my winters too?

[Weiser]

Hoy
Look for Escobaria vivipara var. vivipara. It is the hardyest and most moisture tolerant. This is the variety that can be found in the southern prairies of Canada.

[Hoy]

Thanks, I'll do that!

[RickR]

I will send you some seed, Trond.  Mine are from the Minnesota/South Dakota border - the easternmost colony of variety vivipara known, I think.  And therefore the most rain tolerant, one would expect.

[Hoy]

I am pleased, thank you!

[Carlo A. Balistrieri]

I love these little hardy guys. During my move, I built a small hardy cactus bed. Mostly opuntias at this time, a major goal is to include smaller and barrel cacti.

[RickR]

Welcome to the forum, Carlo!  Nice web site.  Would you (or anyone else) like some seed too?  I still have plenty.

[Jeremy]

Rick and All,
My Coryphantha (as I call them) vivipara seedling/grubs aren't doing much of anything. After enthusiastically wiggling up out of the dirt all green and then getting whiskers, they turned a reddish color and just sit there. They get about 2 hours direct sun, 4 hours filtered, and the rest high shade and plenty of moisture. Should I be feeding them? I gave them a dilute slosh of Miracle-Gro. What do they want of me?  J

[RickR]

The reddish color, as you might expect, is a reaction to high light and/or austere conditions.  As long as they are still plump and not shriveling, there is not a real problem, but perhaps they would grow faster if they received a little less direct sun.  When I grew my seedlings, there were to the north side of the house, a little away from the building, where the received late evening sun.  I don't think I ever fed them.  How is the water you are applying?  Is it high pH tap water that went through the water softener?

[Jeremy]

So the little tykes are sunburnt! They have been relocated. Thanks!
They're getting well water, untreated, pH unknown. I could water them with rain water, but it's likely to be pretty acidic here in Mass.

[RickR]

I don't think I would actually call it sunburnt, perhaps just a heavy sun tan.  More than likely, there is no damage done.  I forgot you were in Mass.  Here in the Midwest, municipal wells are from limestone aquifers, and further treated to an average of around 7.8-8.0 pH to reduce pipe corrosion.  I would expect the same for city water there too.  But well water, I wouldn't have a clue.  You could try watering with distilled water for a while and see if it makes a difference.

A local cactus and succulent grower acidifies his water to 6.5-6.7 pH.  He found that high pH was the limiting factor for growth of his plants.  He grows all his plants in 52 Mix, which is mostly processed pine bark, and has a pH range of 5.5-6.5.

[RickR]

Coryphantha vivipara, grown from seed collected at the Minnesota/South Dakota border.  The two-tone coloring of the petals vs. sepals (I am assuming) seems more pronounced this year.

[Lori S.]

Beautifiul, Rick!  How many years do these take to bloom from seed for you?  I have one survivor from the seeds you sent me years ago (remembering to water the seedlings was my downfall!)

[RickR]

Yes Lori, it is surprising how much water those little tykes need.  I'll be sending you Jeffersonia diphylla and Peltoboykinia watanabei seed probably next week.  I'll throw in some more of the vivipara to play with, too, as I still have lots.   You won't get any seed from the one cactus (even though you may get berries) - it is self incompatible.

I think it took around 4-5 years to flower.  Maiden flowers, at least for me, always have less petals and washed out color, compared to later years.

Major hand pollination of my plants took place a few days ago, and I will get good berry set.  This year, I plan on eating some of them.