My Cacti 2016

[hegar]

Not much going on at this time of the year. It has been rather hot and dry and some of the cacti are showing stress symptoms, ranging from discoloration to shriveling epidermis to shrinkage in size.
My one and only Echinocereus enneacanthus did bloom. However, the day the plant decided to do so I had a club meeting.
When I returned, there was very little light, but the blossoms were still somewhat open. So I tried to take a photo using the trusted flashlight. That did not turn out too well (see image). The next morning there was enough ambient light, but most of the blossoms had closed or were nearly closed. I did take two more pictures.
With a little luck I will be able to see a few more blossoms later in the year.

Harald

[Maury]

Harald,

I have truly enjoyed seeing your cactus blooms over the years. You have inspired me to create a cactus bed of my own here in Austin, Texas. I have taken quite a few pictures and I am trying to see how best to publish them on my blog. I have many questions and cactus problems you could probably help me solve. More to come.

Maury

[hegar]

Hello Maury,
I am pleased and honored, that my postings and digital images of flowering cacti have inspired you. Of course, I shall be available for any help and advice that you may need. However, you need to be aware, that I am not even the best cactus grower or expert of even my little local cactus and rock club. I am still making a lot of mistakes trying to keep my plants alive and lose some of them every year.
This time around I have to report, that I have several losses to report, including my biggest Ariocarpus fissuratus plant. That cactus had been with me since at least the year 2006. Early this spring I noticed, that it was losing its grey-green color and thought, that perhaps the sun was too strong. So I put a little bit of coarse sand from an arroyo on it to protect it from the sun's rays. Well, it seems, that the plant did actually die of a rot, that most likely was acquired during the winter months.
Other cacti that bit the dust were an Astrophytum capricorne, one Echinocactus horizonthalonius, and my only Echinomastus intertextus. I may have forgotten some more, that are no longer with me.
Well, some plants - after a long, hot, stressful summer - seem to have handled the weather well and, now, with the temperatures remaining below 100 degrees F and after some rainfall, are starting to flower once more.
Here are some of the cacti that were blooming today in the following order: Astrophytum asterias, Escobaria tuberculosa, Mammillaria grahamii and a Thelocactus heterochromus with a huge flower bud. Tomorrow it should bloom, along with Echinopsis eyriesii. I shall then post those images.

Harald

[hegar]

Well, today was the big event and the Thelocactus heterochromus opened its huge flower bud. Because all day long there were clouds in the sky and we even had a little drizzle, the blossoms did not open all the way. I did go ahead and used a ruler, in order to figure out the size of the flower. It measured 6 cm (about 2 1/2 inches) in diameter. The last time this plant flowered it rained, before I was able to take a picture. That image of the flower was not pleasing, because of the small rain droplets it looked like the blossom was suffering from chickenpox.
This time around though the pictures are better. So, without further ado, here they are:

Harald

[hegar]

Today two additional cacti opened their blossoms. One of them flowered the first time. It is a smaller plant with smaller and slightly darker blossoms, but it does resemble the Thelocactus heterochromus that bloomed yesterday. The spine color would also indicate its close relationship with the former.
The second plant that bloomed, but for the second time this year is a Thelocactus rinconensis var. freudenbergii.
Its flowers are smaller and display a lighter pink color. Nevertheless, it too is a beauty.
Tonight I should have ten or more blossoms open on my Echinopsis eyriesii clump. This cactus too blooms several times each year and has huge, white flowers. It should have its blossoms open though by the time I leave for work. I only hope, that it is not raining then.

Harald

[hegar]

Well, here I am again.
Today four different genera of cacti were in bloom. I had only expected one of them to be flowering.
One of the surprises was the Escobaria vivipara. This is a native cactus and I do not think, that it has a pretty flower. By the time I came back from worik at almost 7 p.m. the flowers had already partially closed.
Another cactus with even less conspicuous and in addition small blossoms is the native Opuntia leptocaulis. However, when magnified, even those flowers are kind of nice.
The third cactus was expected to have open flowers and I needed to photograph it before going to work. This is the night-blooming Echinopsis eyriesii. Its flowers are large and the plant blooms repeatedly every year. A year ago, I did have over 30 flowers on my cactus clump. That was rather impressive.
The last cactus in bloom today was the Echinocereus cinarescens. It did not flower when it usually does and I thought, that it would not do me the favor and bloom. A lot of the flower buds even looked, like they had been roasted by the sun!
I do love the large, vivid rose-colored blossoms on those stems. It too is one of my favorite plants.

Harald

[hegar]

When I arrived home from work, I noticed yet another cactus in bloom. I do like this plant (Echinocactus horizonthalonius), because of its grey-green stout body and its vividly colored medium-size blossoms. This native cactus also flowers several times, usually in about two weeks following a rainstorm.

Harald

[hegar]

A few days ago I returned from a one-month vacation to Germany. I do not know, if any of my cacti flowered during my absence. However, a short time before leaving two of them did.
The first one is some kind of Thelocactus, possibly T. bicolor or heterochromus, which flowered on September 7th.
I am posting two images of the flowering plant.
The other image was taken on September 8th. The clump of Echinopsis eyriesii was once again producing some of its large, magnificent blossoms. Here is one of the images I took that day.
The only cactus that might still try to bloom this late in the year might perhaps be one off the Ariocarpus spp. Unfortunately, it will not be an A. fissuratus. My large and old specimen developed a rot and is no longer with me.

Harald

[Maury]

What you call E. perbellus I have been calling E. armatus.

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