Unthirsty Hedgehogs

[Silas_Sancona]

As mentioned in a another thread, been adding  various less common cacti and succulent to my overall collection this year.  Among the cacti, I was on a mission to obtain various Echinocereus sp. simply because these seem to be one of those groups of cacti that seem to be overlooked in comparison to smaller cacti like Echinopsis.

While common sights along trails near or among rocky spots in the hills here in Arizona, and other spots around the Southwest, Texas, and Mexico, i really can't say I have seen them utilized much in residential or commercial landscapes around town.  Kind of a shame, imo, since many are spectacular when in flower, especially as clumping types mature, and grow more stems. 

As id said, some can indeed be spiny and intimidating. Others are practically spineless, or, possess short, dense spines which make handling them a safer bet. None the less, they are far easier to maintain than many Opuntia or Chola cactus.  The great thing about them is that most are carefree and don't require much water.  I will say that, going on experience and mental  notes taken from trips to Desert Dotanical, ASDM, Tohono Chul, and those places where I have seen then in local landscapes, they look best when grown with some relief from our unrelenting furnace heat during the summer, at least here in town. Mine, especially the smaller guys ( and gals) spent the summer in the shade house. 

While some like Carlet Cups and our native Straw pile/ Strawberry Hedgehog are the most commonly encountered, the Genus possesses numerous others well worth looking into, even if bound to pots on your deck. 

While Echinopsis always steal the show at flowering time, many Hedgehogs can give even the most spectacular Echinopsis varieties a run for their money when in season. Others might not be as showy but are interesting. 

Some pictures:

Echinocereus bonkerae

Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. inermis

Echinocereus sheeri

Echinocereus sheeri v. gentryi, and E. "Big Purple" behind it.

Echinocereus.. not sure if it is engelmanii, or stramineus. Both look similar, at least to my semi trained eyes.

Echinocereus dasyacanthus. Wild collected, rescue specimen.

Group #1: left to right: E. subinermis v ochoterenae, E. stoloniferus v tayopensis( Green Tag), E. ctenoides, E. russanthus " Cattail Falls"

Group #2, left to right: E. dasyacanthus " San Miguel", E. dasyacanthus "Glass Mountains"

Group #3 left to right: E. roetteri "Otero 53", E. lloydii " Glass Mountains"

[Silas_Sancona]

 Echinocereus brandegeei.

Echinocereus morricalii.

Echincereus rigidissimus v rubispinus. While marks on body are left over flower bud scars. 

Edited September 14, 2017 by Silas_Sancona

[Silas_Sancona]

Some of this year's flowers:

E. stoloniferus v tayopensis 

E. subinermis v ochoterenae 

E. rigidissimus v rubispinus 

[Silas_Sancona]

^^^  ( last picture above) E. sheeri v gentryi

E. ctenoides 

E. Stramineus or engelmanii 

One of the E. triglochidiatus sub species ( there are several)

E. dasyacanthus "yellow flowered form"

Hoping those sp. which didn't flower this year, will next spring.

Enjoy..

[Palm crazy]

Nice collection there! Really admire the flowers. They really do come in all colours. 

Nathan have you or anyone tried growing Cleistocactus winteri subsp. colademononis – Monkey’s Tail?  On my wish list. 

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, Palm crazy said:

Nice collection there! Really admire the flowers. They really do come in all colours. 

Nathan have you or anyone tried growing Cleistocactus winteri subsp. colademononis – Monkey’s Tail?  On my wish list. 

Thanks Roger..

Will have to look for that species next year. Started some Cleistocactus samipatanus seed back in May that barely made it through the summer. Have seen some really nice crosses made using Hildewintera sp. id like to get my hands on as well.