On the attempts and explorations of cultivating 'King Kong Marine Ball'
The editor will answer your questions about the knowledge of cultivating the succulent plant 'King Kong Marine Ball', discussing the attempts and explorations of cultivating it, keep reading!
1. The hybrid selection rules of 'King Kong': Because the shape of 'King Kong's' body and thorns are similar to Gymnocalycium multiflourm, the difference between multiflourm and 'King Kong' is that multiflourm has many more thorns at each areole, usually 7-9 thorns, and the base of the thorns is usually brownish-black, the number of ridges is generally more than 10, and the tubercles are very sharp, as seen in the photos of the strong thorn multiflourm.
Pay attention to the color of the thorn base and the sharp tubercles, the number of ridges is usually more than 8:
There is a variety of multiflourm called 'Jinbi', which is closer to 'King Kong', with pure white, curly thorns, very strong, usually 7-9 thorns, and the number of ridges and shape of tubercles are similar to ordinary multiflourm, as shown in the following photo:
Ordinary multiflourm has pink flowers:
Jinbi has large white flowers:
At the same time, due to the ease of crossbreeding with裸鄂, I speculate that many garden 'King Kong' on the market now are obviously mixed with multiflourm and Jinbi blood. How to see it?
First, the color of the flowers, pink flowers are usually mixed, the original species has white flowers. Also, if the number of ridges exceeds 8, it is usually mixed with multiflourm. Generally, purer 'King Kong' have white flowers, but as mentioned earlier, with the appearance of Jinbi balls, there are also white flowers after hybridization, but the difference is in the shape of the petals, as seen in the following photos, I have a strong feeling that the so-called white thorn 'King Kong' in Japan is a hybrid ball selected after crossing with the strongly thorned Jinbi.
Second, the number of ridges, I have tried to describe before, the purer 'King Kong' should have 5-8 ridges, generally 6 ridges are easily symmetrical and beautiful, so most of the fine 'King Kong' are 6-ridged. 'King Kong' with 5 or 7 ridges are odd numbers, and when 'King Kong' gets bigger, it will increase the ridges, easily causing the ball shape to deteriorate after ridge increase, like the 'Gu Xian' poison five-ridged 'King Kong' is very rare. Finally, most 'King Kong' will increase the ridges to 8. It is said that in Japan, 'King Kong' with 6 ridges of the same quality is the most expensive.
Third, the number of thorns, the standard and beautiful 'King Kong' thorns should be 5-7, and it has gone through many generations of hybridization, saying pure breed is deception, just trying to say something more pure 'King Kong', actually this is a meaningless topic, also mixed with my own aesthetics. Many with more than 7 thorns are usually mixed, and it is easy to have more than 7 thorns after crossing with multiflourm, Jinbi, etc. Also, those with a brown base are usually mixed with multiflourm.
Fourth, the shape of the tubercles, the original 'King Kong' has smooth tubercles, the sharper ones indicate hybridization. I feel that the pure 'King Kong' tubercle shape should be like the one in the photo of Brother Biao. Actually, how can there be a so-called pure 'King Kong'? It's just my personal impression of a more orthodox garden 'King Kong'.
Fifth, the skin color, I have seen limited wild 'King Kong', I am more inclined to believe that 'King Kong' with a darker green skin is purer.
This hybridization rule should be relatively easy to see, of course, this history and experience will not be so simple, what I can see are some simpler things, there must be a lot of hybrid selection history, such as whether狂刺 mixed with other strong thorned裸鄂 blood, how the curly thorn was hybridized or selected, I am very confused, I hope that friends who know the key points can supplement.
I am more interested in finding some bare balls similar to 'King Kong', with special thorns and flower colors, and selectively hybridizing them with the 'King Kong' I have to see what comes out, which should be a fun thing. How to maintain the strong thorn,狂刺 inheritance and cultivation process: the inheritance and rules of strong thorn,狂刺, I can't say, the first time I started to plant 'King Kong' seeds, I have not sown any seeds I have collected so far, most of them have been given away, in the future I will also keep a little to plant, and then see the inheritance situation, also welcome friends who are also planting 'King Kong' to share experiences.
If strong thorns and狂刺 are to be maintained, I personally feel that the key is to take care of the roots, the strong狂刺 'King Kong' I got, the roots are very developed and strong, I feel that if the roots are not good, the new thorns will definitely be smaller, and if the roots are well cared for, the new thorns will be very healthy, the difficulty of maintaining should be lower than that of high mountain bare鄂 such as Biyan Yu Guanglin Yu. After a year of cultivation, many of my 'King Kong' have maintained some strong thorns well, such as white thorn 'King Kong', the first new thorn is a bit thin, now the thick thorn has come out, the root system should also be getting better. There are also some退化 cases, which are caused by root injury after good seedling and re-planting, so the thorns have退化 a bit. For example, when the thorns look very狂 when they are small, but after they鼓 up, the thorns are obviously not as good-looking, and the new thorns are also small. I am also looking for the reason. Other experiences are still being explored, I believe next year I should be able to talk more.
The skin color and changes of 'King Kong' when raised: The 'King Kong' in hand, some are green, some are dark green, what is the most beautiful, what are the light intensities needed for various types, are all being explored, and need to be summarized slowly. Here is a change in the skin color of a 'King Kong' raised in the wild, generally 'King Kong' can adapt slowly and can tolerate strong light full sun, but the skin color will be a bit yellowish and red, I have seen several 'King Kong' raised in the wild with a bit of yellowish skin. Of course, I have seen limited, and cannot generalize from a few.
Before raising:
After raising:
狂刺
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