Cactus season, ..Two thousand twenty.

[Silas_Sancona]

With wildflower season winding down,  cacti return to center stage as what looks to be a weeks worth of 80-85+ heat settles in..  Looking over everything, anticipating an average year from most things. While the chilly nights scattered through this winter should help push the Echinopsis / Trichocereus to flower decently, the added wet conditions look like it will keep some of the Echinocereus from flowering well/ if at all this year..  Many Hedgehog sp.  like a cool but dry rest. We'll see what happens.

Last of the Beaver Tail Prickly Pear at peak bloom, with the last of the Poppies.


Stenocactus sp. at it's peak.


Echinocereus, **formally Wilcoxia** schmollii. Supposedly endangered in it's limited habitat/ distribution in Mexico. Appears to be Female. Stamens look under-developed / Anthers lack much if any pollen.


Echinocereus viridiflorus var. russanthus X  E. canus " Cattail Falls " First time flowering.. Even with one flower this year, Brown is an unexpectedly interesting flower color. Combined with those purple-ish and black colored spines, that is a pretty attractive cactus, imo. Have to check again but appears to be either fully functional ( fertile male/ female parts ) or a functional female. 





Mammillopsis senilis, 6th day of opened flowers.

[Meangreen94z]

Nice, not many of my cacti are flowering yet this year. My Yucca Rostrata is. But I picked just about the worst yard to temporarily transplant them into. They did fine at my previous house, but I’ve taken massive damage and losses here. My large 6 foot Terscheckii has all kinds of unsightly pest damage that wasn’t there a year ago. Lesson learned.

[Silas_Sancona]

18 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

Nice, not many of my cacti are flowering yet this year. My Yucca Rostrata is. But I picked just about the worst yard to temporarily transplant them into. They did fine at my previous house, but I’ve taken massive damage and losses here. My large 6 foot Terscheckii has all kinds of unsightly pest damage that wasn’t there a year ago. Lesson learned.

Weird, Trichos are usually pretty tough, esp. terscheckii and candicans. Wonder whats attacking them.  When i lived in Florida, the biggest issue i'd had w/ most of them was "corking" ..where the stems start forming  bark- like tissue. Mostly went away once here, but.. the summers here can cause issues of their own.. Lost my prized Echinocereus dasyacanthus specimen to stem rot last year.  More than likely, even though it was repotted into pure mineral soil after i bought it,  the pot i had it in wasn't draining right and was likely soaking up runoff from other stuff i'd water nearby. 

Biggest thing i learned is you have to be careful how much you water during the summer here.. Once it's consistently over 70F at night, i'll water once every 2-3 weeks, lightly.. especially all the potted Echinocereus. Learned that some of the Trichoceri / Echinopsis aren't happy in " Phoenix " full sun either.  Almost lost my  X "Flying Saucer" shortly after the move here. Lost a couple other hybrids i'd had.  Moved most of them out of my shade house after they started showing signs of sunburn last year. In shifting shade, ( more of it in the afternoon ) they're perfect.. Even in the ground, X "Volcanic Sunset" looks great atm.. A bit stressed by late August.  May add a couple taller things in the ground this summer to provide more afternoon shade in that area.

As i'm sure you saw during your visit, if you end up out this way, your collections should do well..

[Meangreen94z]

Too much shade and moisture was part of the problem. Not so much in the location of my cactus but moreso in creating a hospitable place for local pests right next to them. There’s a decent sized Live Oak right on the other side of my fence in a green zone. I trimmed it last year but I went ahead and butchered it a month or so ago. The amount of light in my backyard is now drastically increased. The green zone used to be a golf course back in nearby NASA’s Apollo era heyday. It shut down over 20 years ago and became a haven for pests and rodents. They mowed it maybe 3 times a year. It was bought up by the water authority and is currently being dug into retention ponds for flood control. The lack of current vegetation should also help me for now.

[Gonzer]

Nathan, great post. I look forward to seeing your photos which are always accompanied with proper ID.

[Silas_Sancona]

A couple end of the week bloomers and some random pics:

Glory of Texas, Thelocactus bicolor. ..Flower color isn't quite as purple is it shows up in the pictures.






Stenocactus **formally Echinofossulocactus** coptonogonus





Not flowering but throwing this in to show how big it has grown here.. When i'd purchased it from Selby several years back, this Florida Apple Cactus, Harrisia fragrans was less than a foot tall. Fast forward, now reaching for 6ft. Pretty heavy in it's pot too,  Almost tipped over ( in my direction ) while moving it. Hasn't yet flowered here for whatever reason.


Not a Cactus, but emerging new leaves on the big Uncarina peltata always present photo-worthy color. Wish they'd stay like this.

[SailorBold]

Cool!  Just came across this thread.. although not quite cactus flower season here yet..  things are getting ready.

[SailorBold]

Echinocereus pentalophus

This cactus is rated as a s9 cactus.. to 20f. It has done pretty well here in the Albuquerque area.. turns purple in the winter. Not sure if you can see but it's starting to bud... before it greens back up. The flowers are awesome and you can see them from far away.

[SailorBold]

Aloinopsis still bloomin'

 

[SailorBold]

Claret cup starting to bud..  I have about 10 of these clumps planted around.. 

[SailorBold]

Echino? Roterii(sp) sending up buds.

[SailorBold]

Nothing yet on my suffocating crippler..   

[SailorBold]

The smaller ball cactus may be starting.. but nothing on the barrel cactus yet.. but that should be closer to summer.

[Silas_Sancona]

Those are some 5 star specimens SailorBold!   Your Alinopsis X Psycadelic look perfect.. 

Agree, E. pentalophus is one of the best Hedgehogs flower wise. My only issue w/ them so far is they've been shy flowering here. Planted two clumps out front and while they grow, still no flowers yet. Same w/ some of the other potted Echinoceri. After looking at other things, he more i read, the more it sounds like cool/cold ..and dry winters stimulate more flowers on a lot of the species, esp. those native to the High Plains, West TX/ the Chihuahuan Desert. Been cool, but wet the last couple winters. Weird since the Echinocereus i observed in the " Rocks of wonder.. Part#2" thread are loaded w/ buds. Not much difference on how much rain i've had here at the house, and out where they're at, roughly 30 miles away this year.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

19 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

Echino? Roterii(sp) sending up buds.

Tough to say.. Echinocereus for sure. The X Roetteri i have have smaller/ denser spines. In pots though so could be under-sized. Post pic(s) when it flowers.. Almost looks like an E. coccineus variety.. That said,  i always get this sp. mixed up w/ E. triglochidatus, lol.

[SailorBold]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Those are some 5 star specimens SailorBold!   Your Alinopsis X Psycadelic look perfect.. 

Agree, E. pentalophus is one of the best Hedgehogs flower wise. My only issue w/ them so far is they've been shy flowering here. Planted two clumps out front and while they grow, still no flowers yet. Same w/ some of the other potted Echinoceri. After looking at other things, he more i read, the more it sounds like cool/cold ..and dry winters stimulate more flowers on a lot of the species, esp. those native to the High Plains, West TX/ the Chihuahuan Desert. Been cool, but wet the last couple winters. Weird since the Echinocereus i observed in the " Rocks of wonder.. Part#2" thread are loaded w/ buds. Not much difference on how much rain i've had here at the house, and out where they're at, roughly 30 miles away this year.

 

Thank You Mr. Silas!  I need to get in the yard and do some cleaning up.. add more rock in places etc.  Your collection is impressive!!  Very nice!

I planted the E. pentalouphus when they had one stem... it was so small and tender rated I took a chance on it. I figured it was so closely related to claret cups that it may do well here.. it has grown quite a bit.. not the best picture of it but you get the idea.  I have it planted in a raised bed area.. and I hope it will cascade down the side of the planter.. not quite there yet but close.  It hasnt been damaged yet from our cold,, so it gets a thumbs up.  My only complaint is it blooms maybe a couple weeks out of the year.. one major flush and then sporadic blooms before and after that..  then thats it.  

Im still looking for a cactus that will bloom all summer.. or at least occasionally send blooms up until frost.  The flying saucer is awesome.. but it also only lasts a few weeks, sadly.  I just ordered a tricho. candicans.. going to add that one to the collection this year.  The trichocereus seem to do pretty well here.. placed on south walls.. in micro climates... so want to add more of those. No blooms on the terschekii yet. The best part is that you dont have to water them lol.  I am thinking about trying the echinopsis hybrids.. 

Ive had 1.86" of rain so far this year....  perhaps it could be the clone in regard to the pentalouphus...  like wisteria? I dont know much about that tho..

Edited April 6, 2020 by SailorBold

[Silas_Sancona]

15 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

Thank You Mr. Silas!  I need to get in the yard and do some cleaning up.. add more rock in places etc.  Your collection is impressive!!  Very nice!

I planted the E. pentalouphus when they had one stem... it was so small and tender rated I took a chance on it. I figured it was so closely related to claret cups that it may do well here.. it has grown quite a bit.. not the best picture of it but you get the idea.  I have it planted in a raised bed area.. and I hope it will cascade down the side of the planter.. not quite there yet but close.  It hasnt been damaged yet from our cold,, so it gets a thumbs up.  My only complaint is it blooms maybe a couple weeks out of the year.. one major flush and then sporadic blooms before and after that..  then thats it.  

Im still looking for a cactus that will bloom all summer.. or at least occasionally send blooms up until frost.  The flying saucer is awesome.. but it also only lasts a few weeks, sadly.  I just ordered a tricho. candicans.. going to add that one to the collection this year.  The trichocereus seem to do pretty well here.. placed on south walls.. in micro climates... so want to add more of those. No blooms on the terschekii yet. The best part is that you dont have to water them lol.  I am thinking about trying the echinopsis hybrids.. 

Ive had 1.86" of rain so far this year....  perhaps it could be the clone in regard to the pentalouphus...  like wisteria? I dont know much about that tho..

Was just going to say to look into some of the re blooming Echinopsis / other tricho hybrids.. Echinopsis X "Sorceress flowers at least 3 times from May-October here.. Might have to grow it long enough to have back up pups, ( offsets pretty quick ) just in case they're too cold sensitive up there in the ground..  Mammillaria grahamii is our big summer flowing native. Small but produces big flowers. Looks great when planted in groups / once more mature w/ more stems. Some of the Echinocereus ( E. brandegeei comes to mind ) are supposed to be summer bloomers also.. Not sure on hardiness though since many of those come from Baja / somewhat milder parts of Mexico. Queen of the Night, Peniocereus greggii is another native summer bloomer also. Doesn't look like much most of the year.. until it flowers. Supposedly hardy to the mid- teens.

As far as pentalophus,  cold/ but not dry this winter conditions could be a factor, as could the fact that both clumps were hidden after the poppies over grew them this year.  Yours is doing what many of the softer bodied Hedgehogs do in winter.. shrivel up/ turn purplish.  Re-inflate like a balloon in spring. Mine both stayed plump and green. On a side note, if you can find it, there's a solid white flowering, "Alba" form of the species.. Have seen a specimen of that variety once, spectacular.. Been hunting for one ever since.

[SailorBold]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Tough to say.. Echinocereus for sure. The X Roetteri i have have smaller/ denser spines. In pots though so could be under-sized. Post pic(s) when it flowers.. Almost looks like an E. coccineus variety.. That said,  i always get this sp. mixed up w/ E. triglochidatus, lol.

The flowers are pink but look like claret cup flowers.. which is cool.and the main reason I purchased it. .  I think I saw that you have a yellow flowered claret cup?  Those are very rare!

 

43 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Was just going to say to look into some of the re blooming Echinopsis / other tricho hybrids.. Echinopsis X "Sorceress flowers at least 3 times from May-October here.. Might have to grow it long enough to have back up pups, ( offsets pretty quick ) just in case they're too cold sensitive up there in the ground..  Mammillaria grahamii is our big summer flowing native. Small but produces big flowers. Looks great when planted in groups / once more mature w/ more stems. Some of the Echinocereus ( E. brandegeei comes to mind ) are supposed to be summer bloomers also.. Not sure on hardiness though since many of those come from Baja / somewhat milder parts of Mexico. Queen of the Night, Peniocereus greggii is another native summer bloomer also. Doesn't look like much most of the year.. until it flowers. Supposedly hardy to the mid- teens.

As far as pentalophus,  cold/ but not dry this winter conditions could be a factor, as could the fact that both clumps were hidden after the poppies over grew them this year.  Yours is doing what many of the softer bodied Hedgehogs do in winter.. shrivel up/ turn purplish.  Re-inflate like a balloon in spring. Mine both stayed plump and green. On a side note, if you can find it, there's a solid white flowering, "Alba" form of the species.. Have seen a specimen of that variety once, spectacular.. Been hunting for one ever since.

Ill look into that for sure. .Do the echinopsis hybrids take the full sun?? I think they may be alright to the cold since they stay closer to the ground...I guess Ill just have to give it a test afterall.

  I think mammillaria is native here too,, but not sure..  I picked up a few similar varieties out in the mesa when I went out on a hike west of our volcanoes.. but the flowers look different.. they are small and purple.  I want to add a Peniocereus greggii..now that you reminded me.. I just may have to order one of those as well.. lol  Not sure about the brandegeei.. I always thought those were very tender to freezing.  

Ill keep my eye out for the white flowered pentalophus.. that must be quite a sight to see... judging from how mine blooms..

[Silas_Sancona]

26 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

The flowers are pink but look like claret cup flowers.. which is cool.and the main reason I purchased it. .  I think I saw that you have a yellow flowered claret cup?  Those are very rare!

 

Ill look into that for sure. .Do the echinopsis hybrids take the full sun?? I think they may be alright to the cold since they stay closer to the ground...I guess Ill just have to give it a test afterall.

  I think mammillaria is native here too,, but not sure..  I picked up a few similar varieties out in the mesa when I went out on a hike west of our volcanoes.. but the flowers look different.. they are small and purple.  I want to add a Peniocereus greggii..now that you reminded me.. I just may have to order one of those as well.. lol  Not sure about the brandegeei.. I always thought those were very tender to freezing.  

Ill keep my eye out for the white flowered pentalophus.. that must be quite a sight to see... judging from how mine blooms..

Have seen Pink flowered Carlet cups.. regretting not buying one when i had the chance.. That said, they did produce fruit that year and am growing growing what seed i'd collected. There's supposedly a white flowered variety also.

The 2 yellow flowered Echinocereus i have atm  are E. subinermis v. ochoterenae, and E. stoloniferus v. tayopensis. Both are supposed to be frost tender though.  Easy in pots though. X Roetteri and X lloydii are supposed to have flowers that look more like dasyacanthus or ctenoides rather than the carlet cup/ coccineus part of the cross but, i can see how that might vary between specimens.

I'd probably put any Echinopsis in filtered sun, esp. in the afternoon if possible. Mine will start " bleaching, getting a bit of a tan?" ..if you want to call it that in mid summer, even in the shade house. Under the Mesquite, they stay looking perfect all year.

There's at least a couple Mammillaria sp. native to AZ/ NM/ West TX. that look like Graham's which is native to the southern part of NM also.  Been eyeballing some of the rarer Mams lately.

[SailorBold]

First flying saucer opening up..

These flowers have got to be one of the most impressive of any. Crazy beautiful. 

This is planted nearly pasted up against a south wall..  the three buds closest to the wall are developing the quickest.

[Sandy Loam]

On 4/6/2020 at 6:26 PM, SailorBold said:

Aloinopsis still bloomin'

 

Wow... Showstoppers.  I wish I could grow those here.

[aztropic]

A few more spring cactus flowers, growing in my garden.

Surprisingly bright colors in the desert.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[Silas_Sancona]

2nd -day flowers on Opuntia X "Pina Colada" While pretty much spineless, plenty of fiberglass- like Glochids on this specific Prickly Pear cultivar. Regardless, in the top 5 of my personal favorites list. Stays low, doesn't need much maintenance, and reliably flowers, better each year.  Seed appears to be fertile as well.  May be an interesting candidate for cross attempts later on. Would be fun to work on intensifying the colors, or, perhaps creating something in which the flowers open White on day #1, then open fiery Red Orange on day #2.. Not totally impossible w/ the right plants, and/or some patience..







Shy -flowering, single petaled var. of Opuntia basilaris.

[SailorBold]

Outstanding!!

[SailorBold]

2 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Wow... Showstoppers.  I wish I could grow those here.

Give it a try.. perhaps under an eve?  They are smallish plants.. maybe tucked away somewhere dry?  I wasnt sure how they would do here because they require more rainfall than we receive.. and they have proven to be zero maintenance where I planted them.

Edited April 12, 2020 by SailorBold

[SailorBold]

2 hours ago, aztropic said:

A few more spring cactus flowers, growing in my garden.

Surprisingly bright colors in the desert.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks great Aztropic... what are these 2 cactus??

[aztropic]

First is Thelocactus heterochromus.This one blooms a single flower at a time spring thru fall.Highly recommended if you can find one. Second is just a pink version of the common normally orange claret cup.

[aztropic]

Here is an interesting colored flower of a hybrid I grew from seed from Ferocactus fordii. (a miniature barrel cactus) Plant is 3 times the size of my fordii's but maintained a similar flower color.First pic is the hybrid,second is a standard fordii.I dont know which other barrel it crossed with,(I have a dozen different species all next to each other)but it turned out to be a spectacular plant.

[aztropic]

Different shades of texas horse crippler flowers...

White to pink to dark pink.All of them have an incredible scent!

aztropic

[Silas_Sancona]

59 minutes ago, aztropic said:

Here is an interesting colored flower of a hybrid I grew from seed from Ferocactus fordii. (a miniature barrel cactus) Plant is 3 times the size of my fordii's but maintained a similar flower color.First pic is the hybrid,second is a standard fordii.I dont know which other barrel it crossed with,(I have a dozen different species all next to each other)but it turned out to be a spectacular plant.

Whatever your F. fordii crossed with, looks great.. both the flowers and spine coloration are distinct.  Don't recall seeing any pink flowered Carlets i've come across quite that dark pink.. And, at least as it appears in the picture, flowers look fully functional ( fertile male/female parts ) as well. Very nice Scott

[Sandy Loam]

9 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Give it a try.. perhaps under an eve?  They are smallish plants.. maybe tucked away somewhere dry?  I wasnt sure how they would do here because they require more rainfall than we receive.. and they have proven to be zero maintenance where I planted them.

 

Are they Aloinopsis spathulata or a different Aloinopsis? 

If I try one of these, I would likely have to do it in a pot or else it would possibly get root rot here with all of our nonstop summer torrential rains. 

If course, I would also have to find a very sunny spot too or else it won't bloom. How long do its blooms last for you each year? .... Spring only, correct?  Thx. 

[SailorBold]

21 hours ago, aztropic said:

First is Thelocactus heterochromus.This one blooms a single flower at a time spring thru fall.Highly recommended if you can find one. Second is just a pink version of the common normally orange claret cup.

 

 

Nice..  Ill keep my eye out..  I was hoping to go to the cactus society of NM plant sale this spring.. but has been cancelled until next year.  They supposedly have a very good selection too.

The claret cup is a much deeper pink than the one I have.. mine is lighter pink overall.  Looks great !

[SailorBold]

13 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

 

Are they Aloinopsis spathulata or a different Aloinopsis? 

If I try one of these, I would likely have to do it in a pot or else it would possibly get root rot here with all of our nonstop summer torrential rains. 

If course, I would also have to find a very sunny spot too or else it won't bloom. How long do its blooms last for you each year? .... Spring only, correct?  Thx. 

I suppose.. as far as I know its a hybrid.. so its named Aloinopsis 'Psychadelic' not sure what plants were used tho.  They would look cool in a strawberry pot I think.. would be a zero maintenance plant. I dont think mine has ever... even naturally.. lost a leaf.

It blooms Feb 15th- End of April.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by SailorBold

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

I suppose.. as far as I know its a hybrid.. so its named Aloinopsis 'Psychadelic' not sure what plants were used tho.  They would look cool in a strawberry pot I think.. would be a zero maintenance plant. I dont think mine has ever... even naturally.. lost a leaf.

It blooms Feb 15th- End of April.  

Yes, ..Can't remember the other half  atm but had read somewhere that A. spathulata  is supposedly one half of the cross.. Not the easiest plant to find right now either, lol.. Lost mine after i'd put it in too much sun after i'd received it.  In FL. would place in bright shade, out of the rain.. NO water when dormant and plant in a mineral-based mix.. No ..or less than say 5% anything organic.. in the overall soil mix..

[SailorBold]

 Echinocereus X Roetteri?

 

[SailorBold]

[SailorBold]

[Silas_Sancona]

19 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

 Echinocereus X Roetteri?

 

Pink - flowered coccineus, Like @aztropic's specimen.. 

X Roetteri flowers will be shaped like the Echinocereus in the Rocks of wonder.. Pt. #2 thread, or E. Dasyacanthus, Texas Rainbow.. Bigger and more Tulip/ Wine Glass -shaped. Floral Tube sits up higher/ has a flare, unlike E. coccineus and Trig. in which the floral tube is often more trumpet shaped, smaller, and without a flare..  at least on the plants i have observed / those i have..
 
A couple pictures to better explain:

E. dasyacanthus, Obvious flare at the base of the flower, above the floral tube..


E. coccineus and trig. type flowers: No flare at the base of the flower.. Shorter/ more squat, trumpet shaped floral tube.


A supposed X Rotteri ( or X Lloydi ) i picked up back in 2018: Kind of in the middle between both types above.. Slight flare, but not as exaggerated as in E. Dasyacanthus.  My other Rotteri are still too small to flower yet but pictures from where i obtained them resemble the basic description of the cross above.. Spines on the plants are different also, but that might change once bumped into bigger containers.  As i'd mentioned, i'm sure there is room for variation between plants depending on how much traits of either parent the offspring inherit.  Wish the little ones would flower already so i could make more comparisons, lol..


Regardless, real nice!, like the color. Look fully functional/ fertile too. Would try and cross w/ any other Hedgehogs you have blooming in the yard atm.  Not sure if they'll self pollinate.. Some do, others won't, or can be quite a challenge..

[SailorBold]

I swear that's what it was bought as... another issue I'm sure. If you grow the seed I'll go dust the flowers... lol 

[SailorBold]

My White Sands is blooming..