Three years ago I sowed a whole bunch of cacti. Different types and sizes. They were growing... and growing... and in those 3 years some of them already bloomed, a lot of them died and some still look little peas.
These are from the last category.
Epithelantha micromeris
This is probably one of the slowest growing cacti I have. The little balls you see are 1 cm across - the biggest one that is.
I am not even sure how long I will have to wait for the flowers. Those will appear at the very top. Small, pink blooms. It's the seed pods that appear later are the cherry on top. Please google the name and have a look. I might have to wait a bit for mine to show :)
It is native to USA (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) and Mexico. Since it grows in very rocky areas and often right in between rocks, it like very fast draining soil and is very sensitive to overwatering. I think this is how I managed to kill some of them.
Even though mine ones are very small, they are tough little cookies! They can handle direct sun better than most large cacti. And this is thanks to the very thick spines that protect the plant. Aslo quite cold hardy and if kept completely dry they can handle -10 degrees C.
Besides the protection, this must be the prettiest spine pattern among all the cacti I own. I don' even care if it is ever gonna bloom for me or not (though some more seeds just in case would be handy. I don't see them on sale anywhere).
I grow them all in a community pot all together with Frailea Pumila on the bottom and Lophophora Williamsii on top. All grows from seed. They are all the same age, though I do have larger plants from those two planted already in single pots. This is like the kindergarten :)
And this was two years ago. They were about a year old and there was a lot more of them :p
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Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.