Hello from Utah...high mountain desert.

[Steve-0]

Hello all, first post, found the forum by accident searching for 'best cactus care/soil'...and here I am.

I have a lifelong fancy of cacti...starting with my childhood recollection of my first encounter with one.

My father is retired military and so at 5-6 years of age we were stationed at Mineral Wells, TX...just west of the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

It was there that I first discovered what our prickly friends were all about. We had a small fuzzy ball in a terra cotta pot on our back porch and curious me wanted to play with the green fuzzy ball. Grab...YEOW!....wahhhh!!. Mom to the rescue.

I don't recall the species and have very faint video recollection in the old noggin all these years later. But yeah, that's how it started.

Currently, my family and I are living in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah, USA and are privileged to have many species of native cacti in our state.

My collection is modest; about 15 plants, some of which are local and some (6 ) newly purchased from Altman Plants.

Looking forward to learning and sharing about all things prickly and beautiful.

Me, Steve, enjoying some warm spring sun in Moab, Utah...nearby a Claret Cup is blooming.

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[Aiko]

You sure have some interesting species nearby, such as Pediocactus and Sclerocactus. And the scenery of Utah (or at least near Salt Lake City) is quite pretty. I sometimes watch the online registration of the Tour of Utah (cycling) in August, mostly for the nice scenery.

[Steve-0]

Aiko - thanks for the response. The pic is a selfie while I was hiking and specifically looking for blooming cacti in Southern Utah, about 3 hours from Salt Lake City. We do have several species of cactus in our valley but the more interesting species live more southerly.

Needless to say my hike was very rewarding.

And my daughter just texted me that one of mine at home bloomed today!

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[ElieEstephane]

Welcome to the forum!

[Steve-0]

Thank you, Elie!

[gemhunter178]

Welcome!

[hegar]

Hello Steve,
I too welcome you to the CactiGuide cactus and succulent forum. I would like to ask you a question or two:
What kind of claret cup is that on the images posted? To me it does look like an Echinocereus triglochidatus. However, it may be something else.
Where I live, we do have a common cactus, which is also named claret cup. Its scientific name is Echinocereus coccineus ssp. rosei.
At the White Sands National Monument, there you can find an exceptionally large claret cup with the name o Echinocereus triglochidatus ssp. gonacanthus. By the way, does the flower on the Utah claret cup also stay open day and night for several days?

Harald

[Steve-0]

Hello Harald, first off thanks for the welcome! It was quite serendipitous to find this site having no previous notions to look up cactus care and best soil for them. I just thought " potting soil or local dirt"...gack! And I found last evening one of my Claret Cup specimens took one for the team due to my ignorance about water retention in regular soils and peat. The plant looked sad and upon removing it from under a large Opuntia fragilis I found rot galore...sad for me. They're small stems and may not be salvageable. They're drying out right now for a bit.

So the answer to your Q is...you're right = Echinocereus triglochidiatus. and maybe Englemann after the genus and species.

At least that is what my research shows.

Here's a couple pics of my pride and joy specimen. It has bloomed 2-3 times in 6-7 years and currently is needing repotting with proper cactus soil and perhaps dividing the cluster. I think the blooms stay open or partially closed at night.

This one in the pics is noticeably "spiky-ier" looking than in the last 2 years. Not sure what that indicates.

Steve

[Aiko]

And the scenery of Utah (or at least near Salt Lake City) is quite pretty. I sometimes watch the online registration of the Tour of Utah (cycling) in August, mostly for the nice scenery.

Well, that will not happen this year as the Tour of Utah has already been cancelled due to Covid-19...