Take a look at Dyckia Brazil Blog

Anything that doesn't fit in the other forums ;-)
also for NON-bromeliad topics.

Moderator: Timm Stolten

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Constantino Gastaldi
Beiträge: 146
Registriert: Sonntag, 1 April 2007, 0:40
Wohnort: Santa Catarina- Brazil

Take a look at Dyckia Brazil Blog

Beitrag von Constantino Gastaldi »

I invite you to trip to Brazil right now and stroll around my Dyckia Garden. Here I try to show you some of my timid work in Dyckia cultivation and understanding. Brazil wilderness guards many more Dyckias species than tells you science and the common sense. You will see old ones and recent discoveries. You are my guest, my very first class guest. I do think knowledge makes the difference and together we all come to know a lot more.
Be welcome: http://dyckiabrazil.blogspot.com
Note: This invitation was made here under the prior knowing of Herr Timm Stolten who I thank here too.
Constantino - from Southern in Brazil.
PS - Please remember The Shakespearean language is not my first, so pardon me for my linguistic errors.
El Fakir
Beiträge: 28
Registriert: Samstag, 18 Oktober 2008, 9:31
Wohnort: Grenoble

Beitrag von El Fakir »

Great job, Constantino!!!!
This is very of you to share your country jewels!!
The new discovery Dyckia sp Vila Cristina - Caxias do Sul - RS is amazingly beautiful!

Thierry
El Fakir
Beiträge: 28
Registriert: Samstag, 18 Oktober 2008, 9:31
Wohnort: Grenoble

Beitrag von El Fakir »

You're right: this species is unique with its two color spines!! And it seems to be a big Dyckia. Does it offset?
Thierry from France
Timm Stolten
Webmaster
Beiträge: 1689
Registriert: Sonntag, 28 März 2004, 10:49
Wohnort: Hamburg

Beitrag von Timm Stolten »

Hi Constantino,

as always great pictures and a good idea !
Keep it up, too little can be found on that subject in the internet.
I was so bold to put your blog in our link-list., filed under "private websites"

All the best

Timm
║▌║▌║█║║▌║█║ Warnung! Falscher oder fehlender Kaffee - Benutzer angehalten
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Constantino Gastaldi
Beiträge: 146
Registriert: Sonntag, 1 April 2007, 0:40
Wohnort: Santa Catarina- Brazil

Take a look at Dyckia Brazil Blog

Beitrag von Constantino Gastaldi »

Thanks! You do not even imagine all the difficulties left behind here. The language is the least of them. Our climate is good but everything else is absolutely dificult to achive here, substrate, fertilizers, pesticides and above all the absolute lack of knowledge concerning to Dyckias. We have to pave the way. All the knowledge here is well hidden among those self intitled scientists. Science is Light before anything and must be high on a lighthouse. Two years ago we all believed we had 132 Brazilian Dyckia species, now there are reports for more than 300! I do believe we have much more than this. Santa Catarina was taken as very poor in this Dyckia matter. Well we have lots of new wonderful Dyckias. Take a special look at Dyckia sp Perau da Cabrita. This is from my State Santa Catarina. That one with ribon like and red as pigeon blood leaves.... I found it up the hills not more then 50km away from home. I have learned a lot with you all and I have met some guys who do a tremendous effort in order to cultivate Dyckias while the temperature outside is way down below freezing point...and they deal with a miserable weak sun. I heard of one of them that cultivates Dyckias some floors into the ground.
Thanks all of you and I hope to help enjoying keeping these magic plants.
Cheers (und Prosit) from Santa Catarina in Brazil.
Benutzeravatar
JoachimInB
Beiträge: 843
Registriert: Dienstag, 7 September 2004, 19:58
Wohnort: Berlin

Beitrag von JoachimInB »

Hello Constantino,

a wonderful page with spectacular pics of amazing plants. Wow! I didn't know that Dy. fosteriana can become that beautiful. Also the forms of Dyckia distachia and so many more - a real dream!

I am just a little bit concerned to see you hybridizing. Is that true? I would have sworn you would be the first to call the police if someone tries to be better than Nature... would it not make more sense to document and protect the true wild clones as we can see them on your page? Many of them for the first time ever?

Cheers from Berlin,
Joachim
Constantino Gastaldi
Beiträge: 146
Registriert: Sonntag, 1 April 2007, 0:40
Wohnort: Santa Catarina- Brazil

Hybrids and pure strain

Beitrag von Constantino Gastaldi »

Dearest Joachin

I think otherwisely:
- Many Dyckias here,(and when I say this most Dyckias lovers get sad),are so grass like they are only obvious or conspicuous when flowering. I do not want them! I call them "capinzentas"or something like grass like ones. So, not all Dyckia hybrids or true species are beautiful. Dyckia and other plants must be beuatyfuly God made or I wil try the better them, to make a makeup. This is the role of the simple ordinary gardener as myself. I love the beauty not the beast!...and some beasts have no rescue no salvation. They simply were born to be ugly and only God knows what they are for. ( ...and I think only the Mighty lord may luv them...)
Some plants seem go wrong in nature and some really goes wrong inside our plastic pots. First case we blame God, He is the culprit, the second is upon us. One thing is hybridize and the other is bettering. Quite different thing. Many, many times when we are in a nature Dyckia place we see very different individuals of the very same species and of course some are more appealing to the eyes them others. Some are a bit better by ambiental circunstances and others by genetic nature. Selection! Man made selection is much more easier within plastic pots. I sow many or as many seeds as possible of a true species. These seeds must be well controlled in terms of fertilizatiom. In Dyckia we most isolate completely the plant or two plants in case they are not self fertilized. Amid thousands of seedlings there will be one with some improved looks as a wider leaf, or a more colorful one, a more silver one, a redder one and so on. The species is absolutely the same! Genuine and pure.

- We will never preserve the true species in our gardens no matter how dedicated and atemptive we might be. This role is a matter of specialized Public Botanic Gardens. This is not up to me and I would never have the honor to preserve pure strains Dyckias. The reason? Dyckias are easy goers and just authorized Public and Specialized Gardners are allowed to do so. Once a Dyckia is in my garden or in anyone´s garden this plant can not be put back in any native place. Imagine replacing Dyckia fosteriana with those we see in the gardens of Europe, Australia, United States, Asia. The pure strain woul be lost forever! Extint! Extion are just like diamonds: forever!It is a very serious matter and here you would go into prision for that. We can not put back plants we raise, no matter how careful we had been nor how sure we are they are pure strain even swearing upon the Bible and all Holly Books and notebooks and so on they are pure strain. It is a far worse crime to get Dyckias back to the eviroment than getting them out. Thinking we are able to preserve the pure strain is a dream. Science do not trust in itself either when the issue is Dyckia.This happened before with orchids, cacti, bromeliads and now with Dyckias.
- We preserve the native in nature with hybrids in our florist stads!!!!!!Hybrids are well easier to keep. Native take ages to aclimatize thenselves. Some Dyckias I bring from wildernes take two years to produce a new growth. An hybrid is easier to keep, also they are already adapted and may be much more beautiful.
- If you want to save the wild form in its habitat, produce better and cheaper plants. No one will climb the highest hill risking to die from insects bites and snakes and be killed by many other perils to get a plant that take ages to aclimatize in our gardens.
- I do have pure strain! I love them. I have rare and rare among rarest but they are useless in terms of rescuing any species.
- See what is going on with Dyckia fosteriana abroad Brazil. You seem to have something that might have being near a Dyckia fosteriana? Maybe a long ago single and only one nightstand with a fosteriana with no flowers. Fertilize pure strain is absolutely difficult and a challenge! You have to have ( not think to have!)pure species individuals in a very, very, very well controlled enviroment. This is serious.
We know nothing about Dyckias. We think we do but we are just open the curtain. The show is about to begin!The taxonomists commit many mistakes. I would write above Dyckia fosteriana a whole book with hundreds of pages and not only pictures. It is an amazing plant with a behavior you would never even imagine. Do you know, for instance the reason for this species never, never set side sprouts? It never pups, as the American says. The plant relies only on its seeds to reproduce itself.
I do love pure strains!!!! But I love to make my own Dream ones!
- If you buy a Brazilian Dyckia plant no matter if it is the Pope Himself selling it you most probably are bying rabit for chicken.
If it is a wild plant it is poached and big money is envolved. Crime!If it was produced from seeds produced in a greenhouse you will have more than 99% of chance of buying a donkey for a zebra. I guess it may be literally impossible for you to be sure of having pure strain.
Recognize this in Dyckia fosteriana is obvious and easy ´cause it does not produces lateral clones but I see it in many other species.
There are guys well know in Germany and many other countries who sell native plants. This is a crime . Believe me, some Dyckia populations have no more than ten individuals. Ten!!!! In Paraná in the west of Paraná there is a species of just two individuals in nature. If you pick up one you extint the species in nature.
Hybrids save the pure strains in wilderness and we mere plain mortals we are not equiped to get any spcies back to nature.

I love pure strains but if I keep on reprocuding them I will need my roof!
Botanic Gardens ought to do their job!

I went recently into two vVery well known Botanic Gardens here. There what I see was political jobs!!!! In terms of Dyckias my garden is far, far, far supeiror. ...and if I try to get a plant back to its habitat that is a major concern.....

There is no book on Dyckia and to show just one picture is showing nothing. One species should be shown in more tha ten large pictures for you to have clues on what is what in your garden. We can not rely on a ancient black and white out of focus pic to recognize a Dyckia species no matter if that pics was takenm by The Shake himself or the Emperor of all the emperors.

Go on and look again those fosterianas in Dyckia Bazil. Enlarge the pics, see details and tell me: do you think Dyckia fosteriana is a common plant? Changes are that you never saw one true Dyckia fosteriana in picture imagine one alive.


Cheers and Prosit.
Constantino
Ah, even not being true fosterians some plants people claim to be fosteriana are beutifull ones.

Friend, do not dispair, do not panic! I do have pure, pure strain here. Also pure strain seeds and not open fertilized seeds.

Seeds have a period of validation even keeping then in the fridge.

Thanks for your kind words.

November, from 17th to 22nd we here in Joinville will have our Orchid and Cacti and Bromeliads Exposition. It will be the event number 71!
Why don´t you Dyckia lovers do not come to take a close look on Dyckias? It is an International event. I will show just 148 species! All pure strain! I will also show some of my own.
Come. Here we speak Portuguese (so everybody understand Spanish)and German is a common place here and also some of us think they can speak English...You are welcome!
We have beer "und einsbein mit sauerkraut."
Cheers! Prosit!
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