Cactus season, ..Two thousand twenty.

[Silas_Sancona]

Two different flower forms of Echinopsis subdunada, which has apparently been placed into the Echinopsis ancistrophora group as a distinct variety of that species which contains other forms that produce Yellow, Yellow Orange, Magenta, Pinkish, or Red flowers and often has small spines.  

Have had these two, and another clone, of this species for almost 10 years, planted in the same pots the whole time.. While they don't flower quite as heavily here compared to back in San Jose ( CA. ) where i could get 6 or 7 flowers to open at a time, they are reliable repeat bloomers and will sprinkle their bright white flowers.. and a nice but mild Jasmine -like scent where they are placed throughout the spring and summer.  Here, they have to have bright shade most of the day, especially through the summer. Back in San Jose, they did fine in more sun, with a break from hot sun in the afternoon during the summer. Hardiness falls somewhere between 18-20F, perhaps a degree or two lower if kept dry in winter.. Regardless, a very easy grower and very attractive in a pot. Offsets freely, and the pups can put on size quickly. Can flower within a year of being separated/potted up.

Narrow-er petaled form:




Wide-petaled form:  Of the 3 clones i have, the body of this one is the largest/ tallest, size-wise.


Non cacti extra:  First Plumeria flower of the season, Plumeria obtusa, " Singapore White " Hasn't flowered in a couple years.

[Silas_Sancona]

As the long, hot " Dog Days " of pre- Monsoon late Spring / Early Summer settle in, can always count on the last of the late spring flowering and re-blooming cacti to add some color while most other stuff takes a break from the heat, or finishes up flowering for the year.

Trichocereus X Huntington Acquisition #1 gearing up for round two. Will post a couple pics once they're fully open in the morning. Really like how interesting the "scales" on the floral tube are, even before the flowers open ( pic. #2 ) Echinopsis X Sorceress is also gearing up for it's second flush. Counted a total of 13 buds forming on both stems atm.





Echinocereus stoloniferus var. tayopensis. While the "Stoloniferus " part of the name would imply that this species can offset via stolons, this particular specimen has yet to do so. May be that it is too young to begin offsetting, or just needs a bigger pot. Great little " Hedgehog " cacti from Gravely spots in Open Forests, Dry Grasslands, and Oak Woodland transitional areas of eastern Sonora / Western Chihuahua. Hardy to -7c for brief periods. Notice the size difference between the flower on it, and the flower on Echinocereus subinermis var. ochoterenae in the background ( pic. #2 )





Last flower on the second Echinocereus subinermis var. ochoterenae. May be hard to see in the picture, but appears developing fruit on the first specimen ( behind thsi one ) should hold / were pollinated. Pretty sure i pollinated these w/ pollen off the AZ Rainbow ( Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubrispinus ) behind it. Developing fruit on both specimens of those also look good..



Crossed seed of the following sp. of the " to-acquire list " last week: 

Echinocereus carmensis. This sp. supposedly produces flowers that have a strong scent of  ..Chocolate. Want to eventually try crossing with another species that produces Reddish or Brown colored flowers.

Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri ..a especially nicely spined form of the species.

Echinocereus  mapimiensis. Tepals ( What would be Petals on a traditional flower.. Cacti generally produce Tepals instead of Petals ) on this sp. are striped Dark Brown, Orangish Brown, and White. Not especially large, but supposedly produced in abundance on mature specimens.

Echinocereus nivosus, Hairy-looking, " Old Man" spined Hedgehog. Some consider it a separate species. Other people, one of 2 or 3 forms of another Echinocereus sp. ( E. delaetii  )

Echinocereus palmeri, another of the spectacular " Chihuahuan Hedgehogs "

Echinocereus papillosus var. angusticeps. Don't think i have seen these offered anywhere i have looked.. Another really nice, smaller clustering Hedgehog. can produce flowers 12-14cm ( approx. 5" ) across in April and May.

And lastly, Echinocereus sciurus. Curious to make a comparison between seed i'd picked up from a local source, and this company.  Only a few of the seed from the local source have germinated so far and seemed kind of small. Have heard many great things regarding the quality of seed from the company i'm ordering from on this round, so we'll see if there are any notable differences on germination rates.  Regardless, a pretty hard to find Baja native Echinocereus so if seed, from both sources, ends up germinating well, all the better..  

Edited May 29, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[Hillizard]

Here are my last cactus flower posts for the year: my potted Echinopsis sp. in more or less full bloom, and my African tree (Dais cotinifolia ) before the latest heatwave fried the flowers that bloom in globular clusters.

[Silas_Sancona]

15 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Trichocereus X Huntington Acquisition #1 gearing up for round two. Will post a couple pics once they're fully open in the morning. Really like how interesting the "scales" on the floral tube are, even before the flowers open ( pic. #2 ) Echinopsis X Sorceress is also gearing up for it's second flush. Counted a total of 13 buds forming on both stems atm.

As promised, fully open flowers earlier this morning. already starting to fade now that they're exposed to more sun.  Currently 106F in Downtown Chandler, 104F at our local, Chandler Regional Airport. 104-109f across the rest of the local area.. Several neighborhood Wx stations at 110F scattered across the East Valley atm also.. "Official", at the Airport Forecast here, and in Phoenix is 112F today.

[Silas_Sancona]

No flowers to share atm, just a quick tip for anyone who might wonder what to look for after  attempting to do their own cross pollinating w/ their own Cacti..

While the execution is pretty straight forward, ( transfer pollen from flower A, to the stigma of flower B. Using a fine detail Artist's Paint Brush is the usual tool for collecting/ applying pollen ) sometimes you will get fruit that develop, appearing as though they'd been pollinated and will in turn produce fertile seed but are indeed full of infertile seed.  Typically, you'll know if a flower has been pollinated either by your hand, or Natures as soon as the flower itself shrivels.. Fruiting body on successfully pollinated flowers will continue to swell as the flower fades. Un-successfull, and the entire flower/ would-be fruit will detach from the body of the cacti.

Harvested two fruit off the Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus this morning, perhaps a tad earlier than i should have.  Many times w/ these cacti, i'll wait until either the fruit starts to change color ( usually green to some shade of Reddish or Brownish Purple ) or when what spines which often cover the fruit start to easily detach when barely touched. That said,, have harvested fruit which were just shy of being ripe and had no issues with the seed /germinating them later on.. This same idea can be applied to pretty much any other type of cacti though there are some (  several species of Mammillaria are great examples ) where fruit are quite a challenge to harvest from the plant w/out risking damaging the plant itself.

As you can see, fruit both look like they'll be full of fertile seed.. Interestingly, fruit off this specimen are far larger than a couple other fruit that are ripening on my other specimen of this species ( Pic. #2 ). We'll see if any seed in them are good.  As mentioned, when fully ripe /past peak ripe-ness, bristly spines that cover the body of the fruit will easily detach.





Cut open, you can see while both contain seed, the fruit on the right contains seed that didn't develop completely and won't germinate if planted.  Fertile seed, off pretty much any cacti fruit- will be black, and somewhat shiny / shiny once extracted /dried.


Once extracted, cleaned, and dried, seed of many cacti can be sown right away if one chooses, not requiring any sort of pre-treatment, or having to set the seed aside for say a year before they'll germinate. That said, cactus seed will often stay viable for quite a long time if stored properly.  That said, as mentioned before, some seed may not pop right away and come up a few weeks, months ..or years.. later. Don't be quick to toss any pots in which seed hasn't germinated just yet but still looks good.

Not yet ripe fruit developing on Echinocereus sheeri var. sheeri. Spines surrounding the fruit on this sp. can detach easily before the fruit is fully ripe, so i'll wait to see some sort of color change, splitting of the fruit before harvesting.



On a side note, sowed a couple test batches of seed i collected off Echinocereus englemanii plants out at the Rock Tank area east of Florence. Been cooking in their little plastic baggie greenhouse for about a week and some are already germinating atm.   Also got all the seed i'd ordered recently down over the weekend.. Like how it was packaged.. We'll see what comes up the fastest.


Enjoy,
Nathan

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[SailorBold]

Hey... so.. when should I pick the fruit off of our hybrid?  Still when its green?  Do they turn a ripe color or does it matter? 

So many questions haha.. also.. did you make any hybrids yourself???

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Hey... so.. when should I pick the fruit off of our hybrid?  Still when its green?  Do they turn a ripe color or does it matter? 

So many questions haha.. also.. did you make any hybrids yourself???

Should be close... I'd give the fruit another 2 weeks, then cut one open to see how the seed looks.. Both Echinocereus coccineus and triglochidiatus typically take about 2-3 months for the fruit to ripen. May or may not change color though.

Did pollinate the ones pictured w/ other Echinoceri blooming at the same time  but won't know for sure if anything tried was successful until seed produced plants are growing, or, at most, when any start flowering in a few years.. 

[Hillizard]

Bauhinia macranthera (Chihuahuan Orchid Tree) in bloom today for the first time in my yard. Blooms aren't large but are colorful. Our current heatwave isn't helping the flowers last very long.

Also, only one of my Ipomoea arborescens var. arborescens (tree morning glory) survived outdoors during this past winter... barely. Will have to give it more protection next year.

[Silas_Sancona]

32 minutes ago, Hillizard said:

Also, only one of my Ipomoea arborescens var. arborescens (tree morning glory) survived outdoors during this past winter... barely. Will have to give it more protection next year.

It is interesting that this plant is / has been somewhat of a challenge both for you and me as well.. Yet, at the same time, here's two pictures of the massive specimen located in Tohono Chul Park's collection down in Casas Adobes, not that far north of Downtown Tucson where there are two more ( in the UofA's Campus Arboretum collection ). Some other specimens around town down there also..  Living Desert ..and/ or either Huntington, or the L.A. Arboretum also supposedly have specimens..   Have yet to see any here around Phoenix ironically.

Thinking they become less touchy once they reach a certain size.. and can't be in any soil that retains too much moisture for long periods..  Thinking the soil it was in was what killed mine. Don't think i over watered it but ended up rotting out regardless.. Wouldn't doubt placing it in too much of our summer sun didn't help either. Grew fine where i'd picked it up though.. Weird, lol anyway.. Same specimen at Tohono Chul.

April 2017


July 2017

[Hillizard]

Nathan: Thanks for posting images of those tree-sized Ipomoeas. If the flowers have purple versus yellow-green throats, perhaps they're the subspecies that occurs at a higher elevation and can handle lower temps:  Ipomoea arborescens var. pachylutea? https://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/alamos_trees_ipoarb.php

 

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, Hillizard said:

Nathan: Thanks for posting images of those tree-sized Ipomoeas. If the flowers have purple versus yellow-green throats, perhaps they're the subspecies that occurs at a higher elevation and can handle lower temps:  Ipomoea arborescens var. pachylutea? https://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/alamos_trees_ipoarb.php

 

Tough to say for sure. Haven't seen the flowers on the specimen at Tohono Chul.

Last picture showing  the two forms together on the Desert Museum's page is from somewhere in Tucson though and, aside from the difference in bark color / purple- ish colored throats in the flowers, don't think the difference in elevation between the two forms would make too big of a difference in overall cold tolerance..   Winters are still relatively mild where TDF transitions to Oak Woodland down in that part of Sonora. Warm enough that Cowhorn/ Cigar Orchid, Cyrtpoodium punctatum, a couple Laelias, and a Mormodes species can be found growing on Oaks, rocky cliff ledges in the transition zone there..  Definitely going to find more of these to try later.  Goal is both types.. 

There's at least 3 other Tree Morning glories that look like I. arborescens from just south of the Alamos region/ further south/east in Mexico, and another tree - like, Red-flowered sp. ( Ipomoea conzattii ) from interior southern Mexico also.

[SailorBold]

I dont know how they know the day.. but these cactus.. all added at different times.. some in my front yard and backyard in different locations decide to bloom on the same day.  Not sure on all the ID's but perhaps they are all the same species..

[SailorBold]

[SailorBold]

[SailorBold]

[Silas_Sancona]

Very Nice Jimmy.. Doesn't look like the Escobaria v. var. deserti seed i'd picked up are going to amount to much here.. Had some sprout, but thinking it s just too hot for them here. No worries, will try again later.. or just look for older plants.

Still thinking yours all Escobaria, but not sure if all your specimens are E. vivipara, or a couple species though.. The tiny "hairs" on some of the whitish colored Tepals ( very clearly seen in pictures # 1 and 5 ) are a pretty reliable clue.. That said, while most Coryphantha sp. have yellow flowers, some of the pink flowered sp. can have similar hairs on some of the flowers also.. Believe those ( inc. vivipara ) were all plucked from Coryphantha and placed into Escobaria. 

Confusing enough?.. At one time, both genus were apparently lumped w/ Mammilaria..

[palmsOrl]

Here is what I believe to be a Florida native prickly pear cactus (first photo).  This is a baby from the large specimen in my parent's yard in Port Charlotte.  I recieved two and just potted this one separately today.

In the second photo is a baby from a NOID cactus my grandma bought me in 1987 or 1988.  I tried repotting it about 7-8 years ago as it was overflowing its pot and it fell apart into numerous separate pieces so I have a number of them in pots.  Does anyone know which species it might be?

[Silas_Sancona]

14 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

 

In the second photo is a baby from a NOID cactus my grandma bought me in 1987 or 1988.  I tried repotting it about 7-8 years ago as it was overflowing its pot and it fell apart into numerous separate pieces so I have a number of them in pots.  Does anyone know which species it might be?

 

Likely one of the Echinopsis, or hybrid there of.. As far as which, hard to say w/out flowers..

[palmsOrl]

I just potted up this "life saver" cactus, Huernia insigniflora.  It was basically just 5 pieces sitting in two tiny pots with barely any substrate, so it should be a lot happier in its new situation.  The plant did bloom for me last year and the inner portion of the flower does indeed look like a cherry Lifesaver candy.

The second photo features the cactus (maybe more of a succulent) Rhipsalis baccifera.  I was told this species was native to Florida, but very rare in the wild and was likely exterpated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, since the plant has not been found in the wild in Florida since.  Rhipsalis baccifera is not rare in cultivation and I am not sure of the provenance of my specimen.  It was given to me by the botanist at Rollins College and he just mentioned that it is Florida native.  I guess it is possible their mother plant came from Florida stock.  All of the pieces I was given in May 2019 died shortly after planting except for this one.

 

[kinzyjr]

Some wonderful night blooms

[greysrigging]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

Some wonderful night blooms

Unreal !.... around the other side of the world, different hemisphere and opposite season, mine are flowering too. First ever June flowering for mine ( result of a cold snap by our standards, a little out of season rain, and now above average heat ) Only 15 blooms this time, normally between 30 and 40

[palmsOrl]

Here is my Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii).  I just repotted it tonight into a better substrate as it had been struggling for a long time and would wither when the soil was wet, so I would have to keep it out of rain and not water for prolonged periods to keep it hanging on.  It should do much better now.

[palmsOrl]

This is a very weedy and ungainly epiphytic cactus of some sort (first photo).  I have this hanging basket and a large pot full of it.  Oh, and a smaller pot with some too.  I do not recall having seen it bloom.

In the second photo is another type of cactus growing well in a hanging pot.  I have no idea which species this one is either.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

26 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

This is a very weedy and ungainly epiphytic cactus of some sort (first photo).  I have this hanging basket and a large pot full of it.  Oh, and a smaller pot with some too.  I do not recall having seen it bloom.

In the second photo is another type of cactus growing well in a hanging pot.  I have no idea which species this one is either.

 

Second is a Stapelia.. Possibly S. gigantea ..or grandiflora.. but stems on both species, and a couple others look similar ( Had a collection of 8 species )

First is some sort of Epiphyllum, but would have to see flowers to narrow down which one.. Can rule out E. oxypetalum based on how the stems look though. Too triangular..

[palmsOrl]

Thank you Silas.  I agree, Stapelia gigantea looks like the first pictured species alright.  It is doing great in a fairly shaded location.

The second one is definitely an Epiphyllum of some sort.  I just have so much of it!  Maybe I will find a tree to stick some of it in.

[palmsOrl]

Here is yet another unidentified cactus that ended up in my collection along the way somehow.

[palmsOrl]

Here is my Harrisia simpsonii, also known as Simpson's applecactus.  This FL native species has been a steady grower for me since I acquired it in May 2019.

[palmsOrl]

This unidentified cactus (really a succulent) is growing outside of my porch and I recently potted up a cutting because I like the look of it.

[Chatta]

Here's most of my collection, theres more in other spots but this is the bulk of it

[palmsOrl]

17 minutes ago, Chatta said:

Here's most of my collection, theres more in other spots but this is the bulk of it

Wow Chatta, now that is a cacti collection!  I would enjoy adding a few more to mine at some point.

Any special ones you would like to share more details about?

[Chatta]

These are mostly Trichocereus cacti from all over the Andes. San Pedros are the common name, Achuma/Huachuma/Wuachuma Quechua words for them.
I have a few myrtil cactus like the boobie cactus, couple Harrissias, Acanthocereus, Cereus sp, Selinecereus species, couple nice lophs, ariocarpus, and some pilosocereus.

My favorite are these super blue Trichocereus Peruvianus one is from Berkley Botanical Garden, and the other is from Poots Nursery

[Chatta]

this one of my favorite selinecereus only flowered once for me so far.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, palmsOrl said:

This unidentified cactus (really a succulent) is growing outside of my porch and I recently potted up a cutting because I like the look of it.

Euphorbia tirucalli, a very green " Firesticks ".. Don't accidentally get the sap in your eye / on your skin.. Dries fast, Clear,  sticks like glue / hard to wash off.. even residue.. and is quite nasty.  Great Plant otherwise..

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Chatta said:

Here's most of my collection, theres more in other spots but this is the bulk of it

Yea.. Thats a lot of San Pedro Cactus.. See a good amount of " Corking " on some of your smaller Cacti as well.. Had the same issues w/ a few things while in Bradenton..

[Chatta]

1 minute ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yea.. Thats a lot of San Pedro Cactus.. See a good amount of " Corking " on some of your smaller Cacti as well.. Had the same issues w/ a few things while in Bradenton..

they grow out of it, its from neglect and lack of watering believe it or not hahaha

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, Chatta said:

they grow out of it, its from neglect and lack of watering believe it or not hahaha

Depends.. I Know Echinopsis and Trichoceri/ hybrids will Cork in hot/humid climates. All of mine did until i moved, than it went away.. That end of my collection only gets watered once every 2 weeks here. Don't see it on similar looking Echinoceri out in the desert either.. Only on trunking types like Cylindropuntia and Opuntia..

[Silas_Sancona]

Anther round of re-bloomers, This time some end of June / Pre- 4th of July fireworks..

Echinopsis X cv. " Sorceress "  8 flowers, 2 more on the way, and looking like it is already trying to set more buds ..for later..  Look forward to the day this is flowering alongside a resurrected, growing collection of summer flowering Orchids..






Bright, Neon Magenta filaments are an added bonus.



Trichocereus X cv. " First Light "





Gymnocalycium ..Still not certain on the species.. Just finishing up flowering. Like the exaggerated "scales" on the floral tube.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[Umbrae]

[Silas_Sancona]

30 minutes ago, Umbrae said:

Which Loph. species?

[Umbrae]

18 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Which Loph. species?

no idea on that one amigo