Cactus ID Please

[Palm crazy]

My friend John from Aberdeen took me to a garden in puget sound and I saw these cactus growing outside next to the house. Can anyone please ID these two cactus? The owner said that low 20’s would be a cold winter for them, LOL. Sorry the photo is so small.  Thanks. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by Palm crazy

[Palm crazy]

Here is an agave in the same garden. 

[Austinpalm]

Maybe Triochocereus tersheckeii and T. spachianus.

[Palm crazy]

1 hour ago, Austinpalm said:

Maybe Triochocereus tersheckeii and T. spachianus.

Thanks that looks correct to me. 

 

Here is another cactus I can not figure out what it is… it’s the pink one in this picture from the same garden, found this photo on line. Thanks! 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

1 hour ago, Austinpalm said:

Maybe Triochocereus tersheckeii and T. spachianus.

I was going to suggest the same. 

[Austinpalm]

I would guess a rainbow barrel cactus (Echinocereus sp.) perhaps E. rigidissimus for the pink cactus. 

[Austinpalm]

I like the Aloe polyphylla, wish I could grow it here.  Just too hot in the summer.

[Palm crazy]

I decided to double check with the owner of this garden (Dan Hinkley) and guess what all the names are wrong that we guest. Only Dan would have the rarest of the rare plants in his fabulous garden. Anyone want to guess again what they are? Well I won’t keep you all in suspense. 

BTW I know nothing about these cactus so I will have to look them up. 

1. Tall specimen is Neobuxbaumia polylopha from SW Mexico.

2. The shorter of the two is the Argentinian Trichocereus pasacana.

3. Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubispinus (pink ones)…  Austinpalm you got very close to the right answer good job. 

This one has a reputation as being hard to grow but Dan says its been in the ground for over a decade. 

Thanks for looking And for all the other cactus names. I will look them up also since they look really cool. 

Roger 

Edited September 11, 2017 by Palm crazy

[Gonzer]

I'd be bragging about the Aloe polyphylla. That thing's a *&!%# to grow correctly.

[Palm crazy]

14 minutes ago, Gonzer said:

I'd be bragging about the Aloe polyphylla. That thing's a *&!%# to grow correctly.

Yeah I should be growing Aloe polyphylla… the difference between Dans garden and mine, he is warm 8b/9a; me warm 8a/8b.  Dans rainfall is 30” compared to my 55” and I am much more cloudy in winter and wet with high humidity all year. Can’t have everything I guess.  My tender cactus I am growing in pots have triple in size in two years so I should try hardy cactus.  I may not be able to grow any without a tarp overhead. LOL.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Palm crazy

[Tom in Tucson]

6 hours ago, Palm crazy said:

I decided to double check with the owner of this garden (Dan Hinkley) and guess what all the names are wrong that we guest. Only Dan would have the rarest of the rare plants in his fabulous garden. Anyone want to guess again what they are? Well I won’t keep you all in suspense. 

BTW I know nothing about these cactus so I will have to look them up. 

1. Tall specimen is Neobuxbaumia polylopha from SW Mexico.

2. The shorter of the two is the Argentinian Trichocereus pasacana.

3. Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubispinus (pink ones)…  Austinpalm you got very close to the right answer good job. 

This one has a reputation as being hard to grow but Dan says its been in the ground for over a decade. 

Thanks for looking And for all the other cactus names. I will look them up also since they look really cool. 

Roger 

Number 1 is not a Neobuxbaumia polylopha. That species has 2-3 times as many ribs, and the spines are thin, flexible and nearly harmless. I believe it is a Trichocereus, either pasacana or terscheckii.

Tom Birt - Casas Adobes, AZ

Hi 106°, Lo 74°

[Palm crazy]

Thanks Tom for you input. Your knowledge of cactus is better than mine so I would go with T. terscheckii, which is on my wish list. 

[Palm crazy]

All this cactus talking has be wanting some hardy cactus so I got two types. 

Rainbow hedgehog cactus- Echinocereus rigidissimus v rubrispinus

Echinocereus reichenbachii v albispinus

Here is a photo of the E.R.v.A. I found online, and one that is mature. I got a few of these so will test one outside and see what happen. Will plant tomorrow next to the house foundation. That should give it some drier condition since being dry is what makes it hardy. Other will go into pots inside for fall/winter. 

  Where getting are first 24hour light rain on monday, so this will be a test for this position. Also there is a tall palm tree next to this spot so that should help a lot.  When it rains really hard I will put a plastic container over it. Wish me luck…. 

Edited September 13, 2017 by Palm crazy

[Silas_Sancona]

Roger,

Great selections, will be sending you a pm for a great source for plants to look into.. if you don't know this place already.

Indeed Echinoceri sp. are one of those groups of cacti that don't seem to get as much attention as they should, even here in Arizona. Having the opportunity, I have been adding both more common and harder to find species to my overall cacti collection both for future seed, and simply because they are such easy cactus that really deserve wider inclusion in waterwise landscapes outside of places where one would expect to see them. 

The interesting thing I've come to find is flower-wise, they come in practically every color under the sun, including Brown. While some aren't especially showy in comparison to Echinopsis, others, especially crosses done between E. dasyacanthus and E. Lloydii, are spectacular. There are acouple locations in New Mexico, or near the El Paso area in Texas where E. dasyacanthus itself can be found with flowers ranging from yellow/ greenish yellow, all the way to Pink, Red, and Orange-ish.. all on the same hillside.

While some "Hedgehogs" are pretty spiny, others, like the two you picked up, are much less intimidating. Some, like the two species i referenced above, have short, bristle - like spines and are, dare I say, handsome looking out of flower.  The Genus itself ranges from species that can take serious cold/ snow cover in Colorado, to others that can melt in a freeze (E. subinermis and it's sub sp.) from Mexico. Interestingly, ive read that cold tolerant species can "deflate" in order to withstand extreme cold, puffing back up like a Balloon in the spring.

The one thing I have learned from taking to the cacti gurus here is you have to watch the water.. some will take a bit, others can drop dead practically overnight if given too much, esp. during the summer in places where night time temps don't cool below roughly the mid-upper 70s. Needless to say, all my potted specimens got very little water, especially E. dasyacanthus, Lloydii, X roetteri, bonkerae. Come winter, i'd anticipate I'll have to keep the more "tropical" species: subinermis, and perhaps stoloniferus drier. 

A couple plants I put in the yard  havent had more than once a month watering since last spring, especially when I started seeing signs a once a week sprinkling was starting to stress out my Carlet Cup ( E. triglochidiatus sub species)

Soil-wise: have been told by all I've talked to that gritty, gravely, well to really well drained soil is best, with minimal organic content. Not sure on fertilizing but I haven't touched mine. Cacti really don't seem to need much.

Anyway, i'd encourage anyone who hasn't looked much into this group, to do some homework. FYI, as far as I am aware, E. stramineus, aka the Strawberry/Straw Pile Hedgehog, produce really tasty fruit. Thinking a couple others do as well.

I'll post some pictures in a seperate thread later. 

 

[Palm crazy]

Nathan thanks for the hardy cacti nursery, will check them out since a lot of cool cacti come from Colorado. I’ve try growing native cacti here but they usually die from to much rain, LOL. So I will have to keep these really dry on my front porch. Yes a lot of cactus will deflate to survive really cold winter, that never happens here it just to mild and cool for that to happen. Also fall and winter are humidity is in the 90’s% day and night.  One thing I’ve notice is a lot of grower recommend iron for their cactus, I’ve never tried it and don’t think I need it.

Last weekend I gave a nice clump of O. santa rita to a friend. I got so many needles on the gloves I was wearing I had to toss them out, that one is really bad. I have it growing in a wall planter on my garage to keep it dry in winter. 

Thanks again for the email and look forward to your pics in another tread. 

Roger

Here are some cacti picture I found online from a garden in Portland, OR. by Loree Bohl for danger garden.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Palm crazy