My Cacti 2012

[hegar]

This is my second Gymnocalycium baldianum. The first one - if I remember correctly - was done in by the supercold weather we had at the beginning of 2011. I did not like that plant as much as I do this one, because its flowers were not as well-formed and had some strange red color that looked like cheap red plastic. This one does have a very vibrant saturated red color and I bought it, when I spotted it at Lowe's. The color is so intense, that you fail most of the time, if you try to show the yellow stamens and anthers. The red petal color just overpowers them.
I hope, that this plant will stay alive for many years to come.
As for the Echinocactus horizonthalonius plants, I may get a few more, unless I spot something more exciting.
This coming weekend we are going to have our annual FloraFest at the University of Texas at El Paso. Cacti will also be on sale. Perhaps I will stumble on a few nice specimens there. The only problem is, they are usually not large enough to start blooming within a year. So I need to have patience and the skill to keep these babies alive long enough.

Harald

[hoteidoc]

stumble on a few nice

Keep us posted, Harald, how this gets defined! , because I scored BIG yesterday 24 hrs after the Lowe's C&S delivery arrived! - and I thought there'd only be "a couple" that I didn't have/wanted/"needed"!
Peter

[CoronaCactus]

Great thread, Harald!
Loving all the great blooms, especially the Echinoceri!

[hegar]

Hello Peter,
I admired the cacti you purchased at Lowe's recently. You will be very impressed with the Echinocereus rigidissimus ssp rubispinus. That plant does have a pretty flower in addition to its beautiful spines.
Thank you, Darryl, for your positive comment about my thread of flowering cacti. I do hope to present many more this growing season.
Today I want to show one more flower of what could be Opuntia phaeacantha

I also did get two better shots of the bright red blossoms of Gymnocalycium baldianum showing the stamens.


and last, but not least a few photos of a prickly pear with large beautiful yellow flowers. The first images were taken today at 10:45 a.m. and the last - showing a different coloration - at 5:52 p.m. The plant's scientific name is Opuntia orbiculata.

[hoteidoc]

Like the baldianum, Hegar! Got one last Fall that has gobs of buds thinking about growing. Warm-up over next 10 days should really push them along!
Peter

[martijn1202]

You have some lovely cacti

[hegar]

Thank you very much, Peter and Martijn,
I am happy thus far with the flower production of my plants. Hopefully, next year some of the newer acquisitions will bloom and perhaps I will be able to show a few new ones even this year, if I can get to my camera whenever their bud(s) is/are open.
Today my only "Echinocereus rigidissimus ssp. rubispinus" did open its flower bud. It is not the most magnificent of the Echinocerei, but the plant looks very tidy and nice all year round.
Here is a series of images. I hope, that Peter from Arizona takes a look at them and confirms the identity of the cactus.

[Arjen]

very beautiful!

[Ralf]

Wonderful, Harald!
I really love those kind of Echinocereus flowers. The contrast of the white throat and the pink petals is awesome.

[hegar]

I am afraid I missed the flowering of my only Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri plant. By the time I returned from work the blossom had almost completely closed. However, there is still some hope, because the plant does have a second bud. Perhaps that one will cooperate and open up while I am home.

Harald

[hoteidoc]

Hegar - Seems this Texas Spring much kinder to your plants -- & to our benefit , than previous seasons!

[RichR]

Hegar,

Gorgeous echinocereus specimens. I love your pic of the garden full of them. You have some classic E. dasyacanthus, and the purple on that E. fendleri is unreal. All your cacti are amazing. El Paso is a good place to grow cacti, obviously.

[Tony]

I look forward to seeing all of your echinocereus plants every year harald. Beautiful!

[Minime8484]

Beautiful!!

[hegar]

Thank you, Rich, Tony, Peter and Minime8484. Thus far I am happy with the flowering and growth of my outdoor cactus plantings.
Three more cacti did produce flowers within the last three days. Two of the blooming cacti were Astrophytum asterias. The slightly larger and greener looking plant produced 2 blossoms, while the smaller, but older, more grey-green looking one had one flower. Here are some images.






Also, a plant I have not had very long, Echinocereus perbellus flowered for the first time