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Incredibly gorgeous plants! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the ground..... = )

Incredibly gorgeous plants! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the ground..... = )

I agree! Jaw dropping!!

minime & sundanz - I accept your compliments very humbly. Yes, I agree, they have been more "jaw-dropping" this year than any previous year. But I pass on all the credit to Mother Nature. She really knows how to make us pause, step back, take a deep breath and admire her best work!

minime & sundanz - I accept your compliments very humbly. Yes, I agree, they have been more "jaw-dropping" this year than any previous year. But I pass on all the credit to Mother Nature. She really knows how to make us pause, step back, take a deep breath and admire her best work!'

God's work is wondrous indeed!! It never ceases to amaze me!

Saturday night I went out to the GH to find my Echinopsis melanopotamica had opened the two flowers it had been preparing for several weeks. I had had it for almost two years and it never showed any interest in doing anything at all. Again, I credit the heat of the GH; I had not yet gotten around to repotting it. The cactus itself is about 3.25" across (not including spines) and about 4" tall. The flower stalks are about 4.5" long. Most of the central spines are over an inch long, giving even a Melocactus ernestii some tough competition. The flowers opened sometime before midnight and they were still open in the bright sun, heat and humidity at 1:15 PM on Sunday. I'm not sure how long they actually stayed open. This should have been reward enough for me over the weekend. But, lo and behold, I went to the GH to turn on the fan and I was greeted with all of these cacti that had also opened up. I've put them all in a group shot without ID, since they're fairly common and you've seen 'em all here before, so I think everyone knows what they are. (If anyone needs the name of a specific one, though, just let me know.)I couldn't resist putting up just a handful of closeups.

Dazzling!!!! You really must be doing something right!!

stunning flowers!

Nice, keeping my fingers crossed my bicolour will do the same come summer!

Great Goup shot, Dave! The heat has certainly helped this Summer

Just within the last three days: Now a group shot; I think you've seen them all before--they just keep going. And closeups I couldn't resist. Note on the Escobaria hesteri, there are two flowers on both main plant and the pup. I've recently received new cacti from both Darryl and Miles. I'll post them as soon as I get a chance.

lovely flowers

I want to introduce the newest family members to our community. The first order I received was from Darryl at Corona. Grouped by genus, they are Echinopsis mirabilis and spachiana Here are the Echinocereus bunch, left to right: subinermis ssp aculeatus (with a closeup showing a bud), knippelianus, delaetii x fasciculatus An E. rigidissimus v rubispinus by itselfFinally four singles: Cintia knizei, Astrophytum asterias (and a closeup showing buds), Matucana madisoniorum (rear), Mamm. deherdtiana My second order was from Miles, and I thought I'd have a first try at a couple of Ariocarpus: agavoides and a trigonus x fissuratus hybridAnd I am a novice at Turbinicarpus schmeidickeanus ssp schmied., alonsi, pseudopectinatus And separately, T. macrochele ssp polaskii (showing bud, which opened today) and T. viereckii ssp neglectus L1159 (showing flowers); this one was a transfer to Turbis from Gymnocactus--no wonder taxonomy is so confusing; looks nothing like other Turbis. Three Echinocereus: adustus ssp schwarzii, palmeri, salm-dyckianus ssp obscuriensis Mamm. hernandezii and saboae ssp haudeana And a Mamm. guelzowiana with 12 buds (!) that weren't even visible when it arrived; several buds opened today.Lastly, a Stenocactus lloydii; I love the total look of this cactus!

great plants, I like the look of the fruits on that second echinopsis

Look Matucana with a baby. is that an ordinary one or is it var. horridispinus?

@Arjen - I became aware that the mirabilis has a relatively short life expentancy On the other hand, it is self-fertile, so those pods should be filled with small black seeds. One had burst open upon arrival, so I rescued most of the seeds and am trying to germinate them now. No action yet.

@Maja - As far as I know it is a regular madisoniorum--that's how Darryl was selling it. If it turns out to be a horridispinus, so be it. I've found that the plain ol' madisoniorum can have a huge variety of spine formations. Here's an old one of mine (same plant; black spines grew out after the flowers): And, yes, I'm happy with the baby, too. Just another section from which those beautiful can emerge!