New member from overseas

[Tofterigen]

Hi everybody

I am from the westernmost part of Germany and I used to visit this site for it's numerous helpful devices for identifying cacti. Finally I decided to register.
I have some 60 plants in my apartment, ca. 20 cacti, 40 other succulents. Unfortunately I have no possibility to put them outside but a small balcony at the eastside. Fortunately, my neighbours in the appartment-building do not mind that i lay claim on two window-sills in the common staircase which is faced to the southwest and not heated during the winter. There I put the harder cacti, some agaves etc. But in general my capacities are quite limited!
Nevertheless it is a satisfying Hobby, the more as I'm interested in nature in general and in photography.

I hope I can learn a lot of things from you and perhaps I am able to help one ore two of you with their questions.

Best whishes,

Tofterigen

[gemhunter178]

Welcome! Luckily, many cacti are tiny!

[hegar]

Hello and welcome from a former German national, now residing in the Chihuahuan Desert of the westernmost point of Texas.
What kind of cacti are you growing at this time? Judging from experience, when I lived in Germany, my mother always had Epiphyllum sp. cacti and they did well near a bright window. I am certain, that you will be able to obtain quite a lot of good tips and advice from the forum members here, especially those that do live in Germany.
Also, nochmals, willkommen im Kaktus- und Sukkulentenforum von CactiGuide.

Harald

[hegar]

Well, do those two cacti (Myrtillocactus geometrizans and Echinopsis sp.) presented in your avatar belong to your cactus collection?

[Tofterigen]

Hi Hegar (the horrible?)

The two cacti indeed belong to my collection. The Picture is taken in the staircase. The common place of the myrtillo is inside the Apartment. The plant out of Focus is an "Echinocactus grusonii var. pachyspinus". Inside there is a classic "Golden Barrel" which does pretty well this year.

Picture taken on the balcony:

11Juni17.jpg (168.21 KiB) Viewed 1436 times

It is still young (ca. 5 years) but in 15 or 20 years`I'll wake up and find out: Wow, a solitary plant!

The flower in your Avatar is very impressive! Is it taken outdoors at an original location? We are in a big lack of those places in Germany!
What Kind of cactus is it?

Best whishes,

Tofterigen

[Tofterigen]

Hi Gemhunter
That's the reason why I like columnar cacti: more plant per surface area like the skyscrapers in NY!

Best whishes,

Tofterigen

[hegar]

Hello Tofterigen,
well, my "nickname" on this forum may imply and is a slight change from the character of "Hägar the Horrible". It is actually a combination of my two first names Harald and Edgar. To answer the other question about my avatar: The cactus shown in bloom is an Echinocereus x roetteri, i.e. a hybrid produced by the genetic exchange between our native Texas Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus dasyacanthus) and the Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus coccineus ssp. rosei).
The image was taken during my first field trip to a little town in New Mexico called Orogrande. Along the slopes of the Jarilla Mountain range, there are several kinds of Echinocereus species, which may hybridize. There are not many places, where you can encounter this natural hybridization, which results in cacti that seem to have similar spine characteristics, but many different colors. My avatar image shows the - in my opinion - prettiest hybrid I did photograph during my many yearly trips to that area.
If you are interested in seeing a lot of these plants, go to the "Cacti Places" section on this forum and look up the entries under the title "Hybrid Cacti or Orogrande, New Mexico". You can also see some of these pictures by entering the URL www.xerophilia.ru and checking out the issue 18 from October 2016.

Harald