My flowering Cacti 2020

This is a place for members to post on-going topics about their plants and experiences.
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Only because I decided to water my cacti this afternoon, after they had to endure yesterday's 107 degrees F and also above 100 degrees F today, did I notice, that one of my Thelocactus bicolor var. bolaensis was in bloom. It was already almost 5:30 p.m. and the sun was low in the sky. Because of that fact, it was easy to photograph the plant with a darkened background. While my T. bicolor var. schottii plant flowered six times last year - the first time near the end of April and the last time on October 2nd - the variety bolaensis only bloomed twice; once in late April and the second time on June 9th. Perhaps because the plant has grown a bit since then, it may flower once more this season. However, I am happy with just one bloom showing up. :)

Harald
Thelo_bicolor var bolaensis5.JPG
Thelo_bicolor var bolaensis5.JPG (85.01 KiB) Viewed 4243 times
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

today both of my Astrophytum asterias hybrids were in flower. Due to having to go to work I arrived too late to be able to get some nice pictures. :( However, I still snapped two images. For the first time ever, one of the plants had three blossoms, the other two as you can see.

Harald
A_asterias hybrid5.JPG
A_asterias hybrid5.JPG (151.33 KiB) Viewed 4193 times
A_asterias hybrid6.JPG
A_asterias hybrid6.JPG (108.09 KiB) Viewed 4193 times
User avatar
mikethecactusguy
Posts: 2173
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:51 am
Location: Indio Ca
Contact:

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by mikethecactusguy »

Cactus Flowers are just amazing. So Bright, mostly large and they just don't look real.
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

today, the only cactus flower I spotted was one blossom on my Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. reichenbachii. I only acquired one of these plants about half a dozen years ago and do like it for its repeat flowering - four times now since the end of April - and ease of cultivation. The flower the cactus produces is also not shabby. :)

Harald
E_reichenbachii17.JPG
E_reichenbachii17.JPG (141.83 KiB) Viewed 4143 times
E_reichenbachii18.JPG
E_reichenbachii18.JPG (87.02 KiB) Viewed 4143 times
keith
Posts: 1860
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:50 am
Location: S. CA USA

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by keith »

Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. reichenbachii thats a nice flower
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

You are correct, Keith. The blossoms of most Echinocereus reichenbachii are beautiful. I especially like the color composition on the E. reichenbachii ssp. pailianus, which I ordered from Miles-2-Go. It flowered toward the end of April of this year and I placed a photo in this thread. I am considering to purchase at least another one. I also do have an E. reichenbachii ssp. fitchii, which used to dependably flower each year. Then, all of a sudden, the plant started to go into crest formation mode, with numerous side-heads being formed and it did not flower this year. It did produce, however, a lot of vegetative growth. Perhaps it will bloom again next year.

For today one of the two Thelocactus rinconensis var. freudenbergii did produce one blossom and a second one is to follow soon. The other plant, which is slightly more shaded and being encroached by an Echinocereus cinarescens plant, should also be blooming soon.

Harald
Thelo_rinconensis var freudenbergii2.JPG
Thelo_rinconensis var freudenbergii2.JPG (125.43 KiB) Viewed 4109 times
Thelo_rinonensis var freudenbergii3.JPG
Thelo_rinonensis var freudenbergii3.JPG (96.95 KiB) Viewed 4109 times
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

not having posted any images for a couple of days does not mean, that nothing was flowering at my place. I did have my Echinocereus reichenbachii bloom (4 blossoms) on Friday, but arrived too late to take a decent image. Also, the Thelocactus bicolor var. schottii did flower once more, as did the Echinopsis eyriesii yesterday.
Today another multi-headed Echinopsis bloomed. Unlike the E. eyriesii, this plant produces one or two blossoms only at a time and then a few weeks later another one or two. With my E. eyriesii clump I have had over 30 blossoms open the same day!
Well, either way, this red-flowering Echinopsis does produce a pretty flower. So, here are two digital images.

Harald
Red Echinopsis5.JPG
Red Echinopsis5.JPG (159.11 KiB) Viewed 4054 times
Red Echinopsis7.JPG
Red Echinopsis7.JPG (106.74 KiB) Viewed 4054 times
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,
yesterday early evening two of my cacti were in flower (Thelocactus bicolor var. bolaensis and Astrophytum capricorne). While I did take pictures of both of them, I shall not post them here, because both of them have already been presented in this thread some time ago.
Today, I noticed, that there were two blossoms open on one of my three Coryphantha macromeris plants. That plant also did flower at the end of June last year, but then produced a larger number of blossoms in August. Perhaps I shall be lucky and receive a repeat performance. So here are today's blossoms:
C_macromeris2.JPG
C_macromeris2.JPG (158.03 KiB) Viewed 4010 times
C_macromeris5.JPG
C_macromeris5.JPG (110.22 KiB) Viewed 4010 times
The other cactus that flowered for the second time was an Obregonia denegrii. I have had a plant of this kind before, but it did not survive the winter in the cold and moist soil. So, this time around, I did plant it in a pot with very coarse growing medium (small pumice, crushed granite chicken grit, and some arroyo sandy gravel). I shall see, how it will do this winter by the time next spring arrives.

Harald
O_denegrii6.JPG
O_denegrii6.JPG (91.11 KiB) Viewed 4010 times
O_denegrii10.JPG
O_denegrii10.JPG (80.46 KiB) Viewed 4010 times
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

once again, a cactus if flowering in my front yard. This one I cannot call a favorite, but it does grow well and has reached a big size in the few years I had it planted. It is also a dependable bloomer. Although only one flower is open right now, there are several more buds, which should flower at a later time. The plant's name is Ferocactus hamatacanthus. Here are three digital images I took early this afternoon. I did take two around 6:45 p.m., yesterday. However, the blossom was in the process of closing then and the light conditions were not the best.

Harald
F_hamatacanthus3.JPG
F_hamatacanthus3.JPG (172.63 KiB) Viewed 3964 times
F_hamatacanthus4.JPG
F_hamatacanthus4.JPG (136.35 KiB) Viewed 3964 times
F_hamatacanthus5.JPG
F_hamatacanthus5.JPG (108.03 KiB) Viewed 3964 times
User avatar
7george
Posts: 2628
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:49 pm
Location: Calgary, Canada
Contact:

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by 7george »

Nice photos, Harald! looks like all mexicans and Texas cacti feel happy in your yard these days...
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello 7george,
we have had rather hot days and no rain for quite a while now. So some of my cacti do not look "happy" at all nowadays. Every time I see cacti, which look a bit bleached or shriveled I fear for their life and start wondering, did I not water them enough or did I apply too much water? I just had one small Turbinicarpus cactus (T. alonsoi) just pull back and disappear below the surface of the growing medium in a pot. The plant had been in it for almost two growing seasons and never done anything like this. Most likely it is not alive anymore. I did have the cactus in the ground for at least five years prior to transplanting it into a bowl. It even tried to flower two or three years ago, but it was too late in the season. Now all I can do is to wait and hope for the best.
Most of the plants do look fine, however. Most of the plants in the past I lost due to them being in the ground during the winter and going into root rot, due to the cold and moist soil. That is why I moved most of my Ariocarpus and Turbinicarpus plants of seedling size into pots with a very quick draining medium.

Harald
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

I have had two cacti flower lately. The first one pictured is most likely a Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp. klinkerianus. I noticed the flower bud Sunday morning. By early afternoon it had not opened enough to warrant taking a picture. Then some of the clouds moved out and within a short time the blossoms were about fully open.
The second cactus in bloom is my only Mammillaria grahamii. It only did have one flower open - at least partially - when I arrived home from work a short time before 7 p.m.. Because the light situation was already on the dim side, the photos are not of high quality. This plant did flower sparingly last year in June. However, in August and September it produced the major flushes or blossoms. So, hopefully it will do a repeat performance this year.

Harald
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus2.JPG
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus2.JPG (103.48 KiB) Viewed 3886 times
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus5.JPG
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus5.JPG (117.4 KiB) Viewed 3886 times
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus7.JPG
T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus7.JPG (118.94 KiB) Viewed 3886 times
M_grahamii1.JPG
M_grahamii1.JPG (124.3 KiB) Viewed 3886 times
M_grahamii2.JPG
M_grahamii2.JPG (92.86 KiB) Viewed 3886 times
User avatar
mikethecactusguy
Posts: 2173
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:51 am
Location: Indio Ca
Contact:

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by mikethecactusguy »

So are most of your cactus growing in the ground?
Thanks
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Yes, Mike, the large majority of my cacti are in the ground. I do have the not so hardy ones in pots, e.g. a Peniocereus maculatus and an Epiphyllum sp. plant. Those are the only ones I take indoors during the winter months. In addition, I placed most of my Turbinicarpus cacti in pots. There is one leftover plant still in the ground though. At this time I also do have two Turbinicarpus horripilus plants in small pots. I intend to plant those in the ground come next spring at the latest, after I have removed a good number of cacti from underneath a dead "chitalpa" tree (hybrid between desert willow, Chilopsis linearis and a Catalpa). That tree needs to be removed, which requires the removal of the cacti growing near it.
Except for two larger Ariocarpus members and a smaller one of A. retusus, all my Ariocarpus plants are in pots also. At least the two underneath the dead tree will have to be dug up by next spring.
Most of my collection is pretty hardy and consists mainly of members of the Echinocereus genus.

Harald
User avatar
mikethecactusguy
Posts: 2173
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:51 am
Location: Indio Ca
Contact:

Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by mikethecactusguy »

I think most cactus will take to ground rooting if given the right conditions.
Thanks
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
Post Reply