Vermont Collection, 2019

[fanaticactus]

After posting my first five that flowered this year in the 'General' section, I thought it better to continue here so I can keep adding photos as the buds open. This post covers the relatively short time from April 11 through last night, the 23rd, and is in order of blooming. A couple of notes: As you can see from the condition of the stems, the E. scheeri went through some rough times but has recovered enough to produce flowers. I find that the Echinocereus genus is quite tolerant of many conditions and resiliant. This is the first time what I've labeled as Mammillaria discolor has bloomed. If the flower (or anything else about it) does not fit with the general description of M. discolor, please don't hesitate to suggest other possibilities. The same goes for others you see. P.S., I forgot to label the bright red flower--Parodia sanguiniflora

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[hegar]

You do have some nice-flowering cacti in your collection. I have tried to grow an Echinocereus scheeri ssp. gentry once, but the plant did not make it.
I also believe I have an Epiphyllum sp. cactus, but it has never flowered, although it does look healthy. Perhaps it is still too young?

Harald

[fanaticactus]

The Epi pictured here is, I believe, around eight years old and this is the first time it bloomed. And it spent the winter in the greenhouse for the first time. It got much colder than usual but obviously did not harm. Persistence pays off! Problem is, when they just grow the stems, they get ungainly...almost unmanageable. And I always hate to trim them back, but I don't have room for all those that sprawl all over. I also lost an E. scheeri gentri, but I guess this one is sturdier and more forgiving.

[fanaticactus]

Time for the next posting of flowers from April 24 through May 8. A couple of notes: the T. macdowellii had been showing the beginning of a bud a while ago, but it apparently wasn't strong enough to push through the thick growth of spines at the crown. It still looks like this today.

My biggest success story is the E. lauii. Even without blooms, I loved the shorter white spines that serve as a background for the darker, longer, more erect spines--nice contrast. It was in its winter dormancy in the greenhouse, but one day I looked closely and discovered beneath those dense white spines each space between the ribs was loaded with mealybugs. I took it into the house, unpotted it, ditched the pot, and plunged the cactus into a warm soapy (shaved bits of Fels-Naptha) bath for over an hour. After rinsing it off with a moderate water spray in the sink and used a soft bristled toothbrush to clean between each rib--lightly enough so as not to harm the flesh. I treated it with a Neem-Oil spray--really soaking it--and left it on newspaper in a plant stand to dry. I sprayed it a couple of more times during the following weeks just to be sure. It stayed bare-root on newspaper for maybe a couple of months until I repotted it so it could start its growth for this season. To my astonishment, it rewarded me with two huge flowers that you'll see below!

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Sorry. Please ignore the repeated last photo. I tried to delete it twice, but I can't seem to be able to. Also, being somewhat OCD, I'd like to know which Epi hybrids I have, but many are so similar it seems to be a futile effort to research them. The pink one may be 'Cathy'; the bright red, orange, violet one might be either 'Abu Hassan' or 'Aristotle'.

[mmcavall]

Nice plants. What is the red flowered one in the post of April 24?

[dinfelu]

beautiful blooms

thanks for sharing

regards

[fanaticactus]

Nice plants. What is the red flowered one in the post of April 24?

Thanks for looking, mmcavall. The red flower is on a Parodia sanguiniflora.

[gemhunter178]

Very nice! I actually just brought the last of my plants out of winter rest, but it's nice all of your plants already blooming!

[mmcavall]

Nice plants. What is the red flowered one in the post of April 24?

Thanks for looking, mmcavall. The red flower is on a Parodia sanguiniflora.

Thank you, very beautiful plant.

[fanaticactus]

Again going in order of when they opened their first buds... a few notes: I couldn't find a more common synonym for Lobivia distefanoiana. I 'cheated' a bit on this one because it came from Miles with buds, as did the Echinop. backebergii (Lobivia oxyalabastra). The Rebutia 'Moonglow' looks as if it could have R. heliosa as a parent, judging by the spination; I'll have to include a better photo of the cactus itself in my next post. The other Rebutia didn't open more than what I show. I hope it does with another day of sun to better determine its ID. And anytime I add /(?)/ after a name, feel free to suggest other possibilities because, unless they come tagged, it's just my 'educated' guess. Again I have to apologize for the repeated picture at the end; I have no idea why it appeared twice and why I can't edit out the second one.

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[bbarv]

Nice collection, thank you for sharing

[TimN]

Very nice! The flowers are popping in Vermont!

[fanaticactus]

Very nice! The flowers are popping in Vermont!

Thanks to my greenhouse. They should be outdoors day and night by now, but I can't do it with night temps in the upper 30s and low 40s plus rain every other day. This has been a horrible Spring...not only for my cacti, but for everyone's garden as well. Another problem with keeping everything for so long in the greenhouse is that mealybugs spread fairly rapidly in a closed environment.

[dinfelu]

I did not know pygmaeocereus bylesianus
I really like the type of flower that shows

all your blooms look spectacular

regards

[fanaticactus]

I did not know pygmaeocereus bylesianus
I really like the type of flower that shows

all your blooms look spectacular

regards

Thanks, denfelu. They are a great pasttime for me and a source of interest to others way up here in Vermont. Pygmaeocereus has also been known as Haageocereus and Arthrocereus, if either of those is more familiar to you. It's a very small genus so not surprising it's relatively unknown.