BCSS - Forum

Hello all,

I am looking for seeds which are not readily commercially available. Is there any kind of community exchange for these occasions?
If anyone knows how to get a hold of Operculicarya decaryi seeds in the UK I would be very grateful for the information.
I have tried commercial sources with no luck. UK sellers of these seeds are out of stock with no plans to restock due to Brexit red tape. I was told this by a seller and the others have stopped listing / have no availability for the past year so I assume they are in the same boat.
More expensive import options are available (with a £50 fee for a phytosanitary certificate) but even then there is no guarantee it will make it through customs. Ideally I wouldn't risk the wasted expense.

The longer version of how I lost my most precious plant last year:
viewtopic.php?p=313628&hilit=decaryi#p313628
I still haven't quite accepted the loss due to something as stupid as a boiler losing pressure! Even if I can't bring the plant back, I'd like to start again in memory of my mum who gave me the original when I was a kid.

Thanks,
Cameron

Many rare plants have even rarer seed availability. Operculicarya pachypus is harder to obtain than O. decaryi. I bought 3 small seed grown seedlings several years ago, and I'm hoping that in a few years I will be able to produce my own seed. It's more expensive, and time consuming, but it's still a pleasure to grow them despite their small size. I'm sorry I can't offer you a simpler solution.

Finding seedlings (not cuttings) isn't easy either, but it's easier than locating seed.

Good luck in your quest!

You can do root cuts of these as they have quite knobbly roots, managed one but the top growth is slow.
Cuttings never took,
Tom- how large or old do these have to be to flower I have two reaonable size operculicaria pachypus that have never flowered, maybe they need to be some where warmer/sunnier than the UK

Tina wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 9:20 am You can do root cuts of these as they have quite knobbly roots, managed one but the top growth is slow.
Cuttings never took,
Tom- how large or old do these have to be to flower I have two reaonable size operculicaria pachypus that have never flowered, maybe they need to be some where warmer/sunnier than the UK

Mu O. decaryi start blooming when they are around 2' tall. My O. pachypus haven't bloomed yet (about 7" high), but I've seen bonsai trained specimens blooming at about 10" high. They have thick trunks and may be many years old.

Are they growing in warm/sunny climates I can't imagine them flowering here my o.pachypus are a reasonable size, probably ex habitat no flowers yet but my pachycormus discolor does flower so maybe its age I'll keep my finergs crossed, I bet they have tiny little flowers must drag out my book.

Tina wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:22 am Are they growing in warm/sunny climates I can't imagine them flowering here my o.pachypus are a reasonable size, probably ex habitat no flowers yet but my pachycormus discolor does flower so maybe its age I'll keep my finergs crossed, I bet they have tiny little flowers must drag out my book.

Both species flowers are roughly the same size (~3/16" across), but they are easy to distinguish. O. decaryi has plum colored petals, and O. pachypus has yellow-cream colored blooms.

The Newsletter of the Henry Shaw Cact. Succ. Soc. (based in St. Louis, Missouri) arrived here today, so I thought you guys might like to see a photo included in it of Operculicarya decaryi.


Photo courtesy of Ralph Olliges of the HSCCS. So this isn't my plant nor my photo.

Not sure what I think of the look of this plant since I presume it's been trained into this shape, which is far from natural looking.

So, in comparison here's my own plant which is c. 1 m tall with an erect stem c. 4 cm diam. at the base.


And here's a close up of the leaves.


BTW my plant has yet to flower, but it grows quick and fast during spring and summer here in Scotland, where it lives in a cosily warm conservatory all year around. In the winter it sheds most of its leaves. On Tina's advice I give it loads of water, tailing off somewhat in the winter. She also tells me that it's probably impossible to give these plants too much water.