Vermont Cold-Hardy, 2014

[fanaticactus]

Hi, Andy...Good to hear from you. Point-by-point re: your post. The E. viridiflorus is actually the one healthy pup I saved from a diseased and dying parent plant I bought up here. So it might reseed from its own spent flowers? Thanks for straightening me out on the Opuntia IDs. I believe you're right on the red and non-red center flowers; I just can't find any photos right now that would clearly show the difference. [It's very late night.] But I'll check them when they bloom this Spring. It's the O. polyacanthas you sent which are the stars of the garden for the past two Summers; their flowers are huge and a beautiful yellowish peach color. Thanks also for the cautions on the E. coccineus. Maybe I'll look for something a bit more reliable. I also have an E. triglochidiatus 'White Sands', but it's in a pot, not in the garden. I've had it for less than a year and it made it through this winter so we'll see if it does anything remarkable in the months ahead. And unfortunately the E. baileyi seedlings haven't bloomed yet. But they do look very healthy, so I'm hoping this summer will see results. No sign of buds yet though.

[fanaticactus]

Susi, thank you for the link to your photos. I really love your setup--both the garden (very attractively presented) and the shelter (a neat, substantial and functional structure). You sound as surprised/pleased as I am that our cacti exposed to extreme cold survived and are actually flowering very well now. Good luck keeping a step ahead of the weather and closing the front of the shelter in the future to avoid the "splashback" onto the cacti. That should alleviate any concerns about damage by being wet and cold.

[fanaticactus]

I have six small E. reichenbachii baileyi in the garden, thanks to Andy_CT, who sent them to me as seedlings just two years ago, according to my records. So they haven't even been in the ground two full years yet and two of them look like they have flower buds beginning. If so, and if they go the whole way, these will be the first flowers on cold hardy cacti for me way up here besides those on Opuntias (and those are coming along, too). I'm tempted to look at them every day but don't expect to see a difference for quite a while; they have a long way to go. #1...

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#2...

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And the E. viridiflorus is slowly taking form; the third bud is on the back side just out of sight.

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[hoteidoc]

I'm guesssing we're being told we've properly mourned our losses -- time to get on with "new" miracles! Andy, isn't it great to see "pass along's" doing well!

[Ralf]

On your plant #1 is definitively a bud on #2 it looks like new growth.
Usually the buds appear near the apex but not on the apex. But you'll never know what happens.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Be excited for their flowers.

[fanaticactus]

The E. viridiflorus only opened enough to see the color and I never took a photo. At least the O. polyacantha 'North Dakota' is off to a good start this year. There are many more buds on this perennial dependable bloomer.

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[Ralf]

Nice color, I really like it!

[fanaticactus]

One of my favorites too, Ralf. This particular variety is a peach color the first day the flowers open. The second day they turn yellow with the reddish center as you see here.

[oldcat61]

Do you think there's a way we NorthEasters could convince the rest of the cactus world that O. humifusa is rare & exotic? Beautiful, cold hardy, healthy! I've got about 25 pounds of the darn weed to pull out. Sue

[hoteidoc]

eBay it & charge $249.95 a pad, Sue. I'm sure you'd get @ least 1 taker

[fanaticactus]

Frankly, Sue, my humifusa is not doing all that well, so I understand. You can see many of the branches of pads were very dead looking after the winter, and my oldest clump is the worst--very slow in perking up for Spring. No flowers yet. But this polyacantha variety has been terrific each season. I have to pull out most of my humifusas as well, since they're basically unsightly and have weeds growing all over, around and through them. I'd like to start with something a little more compact and of a different form--like columnar or barrel-shaped. I keep reading up on what's recommended for cold-hardy areas, then compare my want list to what's available. See my next post for something new and different for me, thanks to Andy_CT.

[fanaticactus]

eBay it & charge $249.95 a pad, Sue. I'm sure you'd get @ least 1 taker

Love it!

[fanaticactus]

This made my day! My first bloom on an Echinocer. reichenbachii v baileyi seedling from Andy_CT; I planted it in the garden late in the season 2012. I've been waiting anxiously since I first saw the bud. This is one of six baby baileyi he sent that Spring. This shows that growers can have success with something other than Opuntias and Cylindropuntias way up here just 8 miles from the Canadian border. I hope the other five will take a hint from this one and will feel it's time to show their flowers too! This cactus is only about 2.75" (7cm) tall. The first two photos were taken this morning and the last two were from late this afternoon. I realize to you who have been growing for years and have well established gardens, this is not a big deal. But having a little reward like this for my work means a lot to me. Thanks, Andy!

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[Andy_CT]

Looks great! That flower might be the Granite, OK variety I grew due to the smaller size of it, some of the others are huge. I know I'll never get tired of seeing these in bloom.

[hoteidoc]

Congrats, Dave; Thanks to Andy Just put in 4 reichenbach. & 7 reichenb. v. baileyi seedlings this afternoon! Guessing I have to stick around Skyline Drive for another 2 yrs, & pray next 2 Winters are not repeats of this past one. 1st humifusa opened today & have dozens of buds; other O's started 4 or 5 days ago & were in high gear today. Hope to get pics posted, but will be a few days.