Edited because I just now managed to contact the person who knows the story, at least. I was told for seven years that no one would be able to explain how this plant arrived in Utah. Check it out! After bringing the last few plants to a new space, I remembered how this entertaining madness began. This is Peggy, who I inherited from family in 2015. She is also the last one standing from what was about to become a completely understandable inconvenience for that side of the family - which also meant that three ancient, enormous Mammillaria were headed to a landfill. However, they might have stayed preserved under the mountain of 2016 election memorabilia (lol) instead of dying from my relentless watering during Winter and guessing that etoliation meant plant happiness. When I understood that one was rotting, I had no idea how to lift a heavy, spiny basketball out of a pot, cut off the rot, etc. So yes, my first three cactus were previously cared for by a person wealthy enough to move decades-old, gigantic native plants from the Baja region of Mexico and keep them happy in Northern Utah. We get all the seasons, especially extremes. Note that I’m also uncertain if they were purchased or plucked from that region (winter home), and I only noticed them once at said family’s local home. That said, I’m still uncertain if Peggy is Mammillaria marksiana, Mammillaria mystax, or another variety. Any guesses? She hasn’t grown much in a few years. Just new wool. ps Part of what drew me to Planta was to identify plants who have lived a long life and changed into mutated weirdos. pps Advice: I rely mostly on Etsy, llifle, Mountain Crest etc. for identification, particularly with exotics such as Copiapoa
