A few of my Mamms

Hi there --

I posted an ID topic last evening, and received a very helpful response, so I thought some of you might enjoy seeing a few of the Mamms currently residing in our backyard here in Arizona. This is just a sampling of some of my favorites, we have about 20 Mamms all told, among hundreds of other cacti, Yuccas and Agaves. It's quite overcast today, so the shots aren't as bright as they might be, but for us it's a treat to be able to snap a few pics in something other than glaring sun.

Good morning GermanStar,

thank You very much for the impressing photos!
I wish, that I could cultivate my plants outside - but it is to cold in Germany. . .


Best regards

K.W.

Hi Germanstar,

The photos are very good and make me jealous that we can't grow these plants very well ourdoors in the UK.

Do you have ID for some of them.

I'll be happy to give you my best guess:

1. M. spinosissima ssp. spinosissima
2. M. melanocentra ssp. rubrograndis
3. M. magnifica
4. M. rhodantha ssp. mccartenii
5. M. parkinsonii

Very nice GermanStar.
I do not see Mamms in the ground too ofen so it is nice to see some. I love the arrangement and plants in your last photo.

Steve

Thank you, I like them quite a lot. I'm actually an avid Agave collector, but use quite a few cacti in the landscape as well. Mamms are all close to rocks we use as staging areas, in the company of small Agaves. We'd use more, but can only keep them in the fenced yard. Our home is central to the territory of an extended Peccary family, and Peccaries eat Mamms the way kids eat M&Ms. They'll also eat Thelocactus, Coryphantha, Parodia, and a host of others we haven't tried, I'm sure. In the end, only Ferocactus, Cylindropuntia. Grusonia, and Echinocereus seem safe., unless it's just too large to tackle.

And here are just a few more...

so beautiful !!

Excellent, so nice to see when all my plants are in full hibernation mode!

Glad you enjoyed the pics. The nejapensis like to flower just as winter is getting ready to kick off, which suggests a very tender plant. It's winding down now, but may be in a spot of trouble as we have a particularly nasty arctic cold front headed this way. I'm not too sure which of my other Mamms are at risk, I've noticed an awful lot pessimism online in regard to Mamm hardiness, i.e. claims of extreme tenderness that seem at odds with my small experience. Let's hope most or all can survive a night or two of mid to upper 20's F.

I guess you must have a dry soil and dry atmosphere, as I wouldn't try to keep any Mamms at subzero (C) in our damp climate. But for many, as no doubt you know well, it can get pretty cold at night when the skies are clear.

I think that humidity levels are a key factor, as is soil dryness, and though in a greenhouse her ein the UK, one can dry the post out pretty well, you can do nothing about the air humidity, which this autumn and winter have been stupidly high with all the rain.

I was in Mesa once for a Conference, and went out along Apache Trail leaving very early in the morning, just as the sun was up, and it was about 32F then according to the thermometer in the car. But in 2009, I redrove the route in late April and it was anything but that, well into the 80's FF.

I like your climate!

Yes, I like it here as well, though it does present some small horticultural challenges, i.e. occasional wicked cold snaps in winter, and a level of heat/sun many succulents cannot tolerate. We were down to a tad below freezing last winter two consecutive nights, and we lost a nejapensis, our one and only loss. But they're talking hard freeze this time, and possibly several nights running -- it's going to be a bad one. Of course, as an Agavephile, my main worries lie there, but I'd sure hate to lose any of our beautiful Mamms. At least they've all had a good chance to harden off, but that isn't going to help a nejapensis still busying forming buds and flowers. Perhaps I'll go out and dig it up....

And yes, the Apache Trail puts on a good show, doesn't it? We're about 40 minutes from the Apache Junction side of the trail.

Hi GermanStar, Instead of digging up your vunerable plants and risking damage to the roots, why not try protecting individual specimens with something as simple as newspaper or similar. Holding it in place with some rocks. Take it off when the danger has passed. Derek.

Thanks, I'll be covering plenty of plants, but covering will at best buy about 2°C, which won't be enough to protect a tender Mamm that has not or cannot harden off. We're looking toward something like -4°C here or even worse. As I had mentioned, we lost a nejapensis last year at about -1°C. They're really very tender, and apparently not well-suited to survive here.

4-5 consecutive sub-freezing nights, a nearly unprecedented cold snap. Mamms and other cacti under cover.

We're back at 21°C now, but endured evening lows of -4°C, -5°C, -8°C, -6°C, and -1°C. I know it's early and a Mamm or two might yet turn to mush, but they all seem fine. A Melocactus even seems to have made it through without incident. Other than several lightly damaged Agaves, we seem to have managed. We still have another four weeks before the threat of sub-freezing weather abates. No repeats please.

Glad to know that most, if not all, are OK. Nice to think of 21C, as I look out on 14cm of snow here, west of London, most of which fell today! Pretty but the greenhouse will stay unvisited unless the remote thermometer shows problems there.

After the freeze... Two Mamms flowering and M. hahniana starting to bud.

Coming along... The one M. hahniana got a bit toasted last summer and it's still pouting, I'm afraid... They really put on a fabulous show last winter, as opposed to this modest display.

Looks as if they came through the cold spat all right. Nice pics.

Tiggy

No gaudy displays after our harsh winter, but a fair amount of activity...

Lovely pics. I also want to try leaving some plants through the winter, but at the moment I'm just studying to find out which will be able to resist, plus I will only try it then when I have more than one of a species (just in case ). I would also be checking them every day in order to try and rescue them should it be necc. Need to find the right spot as well where they won't be too exposed. A bit unpredictable here the weather, being so high up as well.

Really nice layout there GermanStar.
tiggy

Good luck! I'm supposed to be zone 9b here, we just had some very unfortunate weather test the tolerance of an awful lot of my plants recently. I did lose two plants, both cacti, Pilocereus lanuginosus and Oreocereus doelzianus. Thankfully, all my Mamms made it, which just goes to show that many Mamms are not nearly as tender as reported. I have several Sansevieria outside as well, and while some were substantially damaged, all survived and barring a similar cold snap next winter, should outgrow the damage soon enough. So keep 'em dry and give 'em a try!

Will do. The biggest challenge will creating a spot where they don't get too much moisture and are not too exposed. The weather changes so musch from one day to the next up here on the mountain. And then I have to consider the humidity. Ths week has been beautiful and were sitting outside for our afternoon cup of tea, today however is another story. Blustering winds sleet and will continue for the next couple of days according to the weather forecast. The greenhouse was over 32c.with windows and door open, and today the heater has not even gone off. It's nice up here in the summer but the winter is very unpredictable. Hope your experience of extreme cold is a one off and the plants pick up and return to their normal spledour. Love looking at your photos, they're beautiful.

Tiggy

Today's color.... Mamms will be taking a back seat to Echinocereus before long. 95°F today and spring is sprung!

Don't want to leave M. mystax out of the mix.

Not a Mamm, but a pic I thought some might enjoy ...