Harold, I would try to sell your monstrose Echinocereus reichenbachii. I'm sure somebody would really love it and pay for it.
On your Astrophytum's it looks like they are buried very deeply. Is that a mulch of gravel around them? Or something else? I really like it. Really looks like you took the photo's in the wild.
My flowering Cacti 2021
-
jerrytheplater
- Posts: 1253
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:38 pm
- Location: Bloomingdale, NJ (USDA Zone 6b)
- Contact:
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Jerry Smith
Bloomingdale, NJ
45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
Bloomingdale, NJ
45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
first off, thank you very much, Jerry for your suggestion about what I could do with the monstrose Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. fitchii.
You are most likely correct, and there may even be someone in my cactus club, who would pay to own it. I do grow most of my cacti for the beautiful flowers they do produce, and I am not sure, if that plant will ever again bring forth the nice blossoms it did in the past. I am more than willing to give it away to one of our club members.
Now about the Astrophytum asterias hybrids. I only do have four Astrophytum cacti in my collection, two A. capricorne and two A. asterias hybrids.
These two hybrids are planted very close to each other near a sloping border made of off-white bricks. They were placed in the ground about 10 years ago. Perhaps blowing sand did start to cover them up a bit or it could also be, that the plants themselves pulled deeper into the ground. The soil in which they are planted is typical mesa dirt, i.e. desert soil, rich in sand granules and very little organic matter. I did place a few pebbles around the plants, mostly weathered golden granite to keep the soil cooler and moister than it would have been without the rock ground cover. However, there were not many added and they seemed to have disappeared to a large degree.
The cacti are flowering this time of the year, which does give me much pleasure.
Most of the "action" was concentrated on my cactus bed 3, the one, which does have the most shade. I am going to show a corner of that bed, which did have four cactus plants in flower, an Opuntia sp., an Echinopsis chamaecereus, a late flowering Echinocereus dasyacanthus, and an Echinocereus knippelianus. Here are some photos of these plants.
Also, three of the Turbinicarpus plants, two T. pseudopectinatus and one T. schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus were in bloom. I am only posting one image of the latter plant.
At around 3:30 p.m. I did find the first blossom of my Echinocereus poselgeri open. I do like this cactus, because it does have a nice flower color and also because of the thin stems it produces.
Cactus bed 1 also showed some flower color. One of the Thelocactus bicolor was in bloom, as was the Thelocactus mcdowellii. The third plant blooming was the Echinocereus pentalophus. I do have two plants within a few inches apart. They do produce similar blossoms, except one of them has more rounded and shorter petals. That plant also does have slightly thicker stems and does stay green year round, while the other plant's stem color changes to a purplish coloration due to stress, e.g. strong sun light, freezing temperatures, etc..
Cactus bed 2 also did have to blooming cacti. Both of them are being squeezed by the presence of prickly pear cacti. I will need to either remove those or at least thin them out considerably.
The first plant in bloom is a relative of the prickly pear. It is a low-growing plant with the name Grusonia schottii. The other flowering cactus is yet another Thelocactus, this one is named Thelocactus rinconensis var. freudenbergii
That is all for this week. I hope, that several more of my plants will be blooming next weekend.
Harald
first off, thank you very much, Jerry for your suggestion about what I could do with the monstrose Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. fitchii.
You are most likely correct, and there may even be someone in my cactus club, who would pay to own it. I do grow most of my cacti for the beautiful flowers they do produce, and I am not sure, if that plant will ever again bring forth the nice blossoms it did in the past. I am more than willing to give it away to one of our club members.
Now about the Astrophytum asterias hybrids. I only do have four Astrophytum cacti in my collection, two A. capricorne and two A. asterias hybrids.
These two hybrids are planted very close to each other near a sloping border made of off-white bricks. They were placed in the ground about 10 years ago. Perhaps blowing sand did start to cover them up a bit or it could also be, that the plants themselves pulled deeper into the ground. The soil in which they are planted is typical mesa dirt, i.e. desert soil, rich in sand granules and very little organic matter. I did place a few pebbles around the plants, mostly weathered golden granite to keep the soil cooler and moister than it would have been without the rock ground cover. However, there were not many added and they seemed to have disappeared to a large degree.
The cacti are flowering this time of the year, which does give me much pleasure.
Most of the "action" was concentrated on my cactus bed 3, the one, which does have the most shade. I am going to show a corner of that bed, which did have four cactus plants in flower, an Opuntia sp., an Echinopsis chamaecereus, a late flowering Echinocereus dasyacanthus, and an Echinocereus knippelianus. Here are some photos of these plants.
- Bed 3 view.JPG (149.12 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Opuntia and Echinop_chamaecereus1.JPG (151.17 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_dasyacanthus and Echinop_chamaecereus2.JPG (141.69 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- T_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus4.JPG (90.04 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_poselgeri1.JPG (138.52 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_poselgeri2.JPG (84.26 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_poselgeri4.JPG (78.11 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Thelo_bicolor3.JPG (129.43 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Thelo_mcdowellii1.JPG (144.56 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Thelo_mcdowellii7.JPG (115.29 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_pentalophus3.JPG (141.58 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- E_pentalophus6.JPG (120.6 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
The first plant in bloom is a relative of the prickly pear. It is a low-growing plant with the name Grusonia schottii. The other flowering cactus is yet another Thelocactus, this one is named Thelocactus rinconensis var. freudenbergii
- G_schottii1.JPG (148.18 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- G_schottii3.JPG (108.99 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Thelo_rinconensis var freudenbergii1.JPG (126.24 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
- Thelo_rinconensis var freudenbergii3.JPG (113.44 KiB) Viewed 12117 times
Harald
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
hi Harald
I am amazed by the color and size of your flowers .....
I really enjoy seeing your achievements
Congratulations
I am amazed by the color and size of your flowers .....
I really enjoy seeing your achievements
Congratulations
GabrielRe: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Gabriel,
thank you very much for your positive comment to m postings. However, there is nothing really special about my plants. This year does not even seem to be an above average year, when I look a the number of flowers produced by my plants. The size and color are also only average in my opinion. I am glad, though, that I do have a camera, which does allow me to take macro and what the camera manufacturer calls "super macro" images. That way, even small blossoms will appear as almost frame filling.
Perhaps the cold spell we had around Valentine's Day did have a negative impact. However, I am thankful, that most of my plants have made it through the bad weather.
Harald
thank you very much for your positive comment to m postings. However, there is nothing really special about my plants. This year does not even seem to be an above average year, when I look a the number of flowers produced by my plants. The size and color are also only average in my opinion. I am glad, though, that I do have a camera, which does allow me to take macro and what the camera manufacturer calls "super macro" images. That way, even small blossoms will appear as almost frame filling.
Perhaps the cold spell we had around Valentine's Day did have a negative impact. However, I am thankful, that most of my plants have made it through the bad weather.
Harald
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
today, as I returned home from work, two cacti were in flower. The first blossom of one of my Echinocactus horizonthalonius plants was unfortunately almost totally closed.
The Echinopsis poselgeri, however, did still have four flowers open
Harald
today, as I returned home from work, two cacti were in flower. The first blossom of one of my Echinocactus horizonthalonius plants was unfortunately almost totally closed.
- E_cac_horizonthalonius1.JPG (145.04 KiB) Viewed 12074 times
Harald
- E_poselgeri6.JPG (149.47 KiB) Viewed 12074 times
-
eulaspiegel
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:51 pm
- Location: Northern Sweden
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Beautiful! I also love the E. poselgeri with the long thin stems.
How old (approximately) is an E. horizonthalonius of that size?
How old (approximately) is an E. horizonthalonius of that size?
Growing mostly under LED lights, in northern latitudes. Especially interested in stem succulents and caudiciforms. Dreaming of my first greenhouse.
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Judging by the spine color, it does look closest to Echinocereus pectinatus. " That's a nice one
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
thank you very much for your comments, eulaspiegel and Keith. I do appreciate your interest in my postings.
I cannot tell or even guess how old the Echinocactus horizonthalonius plant is. All the plants of that genus/species I did dig up during the plant rescue operations my club carries out, whenever the topsoil is removed in a location where cacti do grow wild, in order to make room for construction or extraction of rock for various purposes.
From what I have experienced thus far, the plant does not grow very rapidly. My guess is, that the larger specimens of E. horizonthalonius are at least between 20 to 30 years of age. But that is just a wild guess.
Today, I did not expect to see anything in flower, but did check out my cactus beds nevertheless. When I looked at the plants of cactus bed 2, which is mostly covered by prickly pear cacti, I noticed some large, pink flowers peeking through. It was one of the two Echinocereus stramineus plants, that had opened 2 blossoms. In order to get a halfway decent shot, I needed to twist off several cladodes from the Opuntia next to it.
Because it was almost 7 p.m. by that time, the colors are not true, having more of a bluish hue. I did look at some images of the plant flowering in 2019, and the color is much more vivid at around midday.
E. stramineus is yet another one of my favorite cacti. Not only are the flowers large and showy, but the fruit is in my opinion the best tasting one produced by any cactus, except perhaps those from the Echinocereus enneacanthus. Both of these cacti are also known as "strawberry pitahaya", because the produce a fruit with a strong strawberry aroma. The fruit does taste like a sweet strawberry!
Here are two images of the still open flowers taken this evening.
Harald
thank you very much for your comments, eulaspiegel and Keith. I do appreciate your interest in my postings.
I cannot tell or even guess how old the Echinocactus horizonthalonius plant is. All the plants of that genus/species I did dig up during the plant rescue operations my club carries out, whenever the topsoil is removed in a location where cacti do grow wild, in order to make room for construction or extraction of rock for various purposes.
From what I have experienced thus far, the plant does not grow very rapidly. My guess is, that the larger specimens of E. horizonthalonius are at least between 20 to 30 years of age. But that is just a wild guess.
Today, I did not expect to see anything in flower, but did check out my cactus beds nevertheless. When I looked at the plants of cactus bed 2, which is mostly covered by prickly pear cacti, I noticed some large, pink flowers peeking through. It was one of the two Echinocereus stramineus plants, that had opened 2 blossoms. In order to get a halfway decent shot, I needed to twist off several cladodes from the Opuntia next to it.
Because it was almost 7 p.m. by that time, the colors are not true, having more of a bluish hue. I did look at some images of the plant flowering in 2019, and the color is much more vivid at around midday.
E. stramineus is yet another one of my favorite cacti. Not only are the flowers large and showy, but the fruit is in my opinion the best tasting one produced by any cactus, except perhaps those from the Echinocereus enneacanthus. Both of these cacti are also known as "strawberry pitahaya", because the produce a fruit with a strong strawberry aroma. The fruit does taste like a sweet strawberry!
Here are two images of the still open flowers taken this evening.
Harald
- E_stramineus1.JPG (139.51 KiB) Viewed 12018 times
- E_stramineus3.JPG (128.78 KiB) Viewed 12018 times
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
today two cacti were in flower.
The first one shown is blooming for the first time. Judging by the spine arrangement, I thought, that it would be an Echinocereus reichenbachii. However, the flower does not match with my other E. reichenbachii plants. So, for lack of a better name I just will call it Echinocereus sp.
The other cactus was photographed only a half hour to one hour ago in darkness. It is a Peniocereus greggii (Queen of the Night). Only one of the stems produced any flowers. There were three of them.
The first image I took using the outdoor light, which does have a yellowish tint. While it does illuminate the cactus evenly, the colors are too drab.
The second image was taken with the help of a halogen bulb flashlight. That light color is almost white and similar to sunlight. The problem with that method though is, that I was not able to evenly illuminate all three blossoms. I still prefer that image over that produced by incandescent light.
Harald
today two cacti were in flower.
The first one shown is blooming for the first time. Judging by the spine arrangement, I thought, that it would be an Echinocereus reichenbachii. However, the flower does not match with my other E. reichenbachii plants. So, for lack of a better name I just will call it Echinocereus sp.
- Echinocereus sp1.JPG (118.96 KiB) Viewed 11967 times
- Echinocereus sp2.JPG (112.59 KiB) Viewed 11967 times
The first image I took using the outdoor light, which does have a yellowish tint. While it does illuminate the cactus evenly, the colors are too drab.
The second image was taken with the help of a halogen bulb flashlight. That light color is almost white and similar to sunlight. The problem with that method though is, that I was not able to evenly illuminate all three blossoms. I still prefer that image over that produced by incandescent light.
- P_greggii3.JPG (98.02 KiB) Viewed 11967 times
- P_greggii7.JPG (67.17 KiB) Viewed 11967 times
Harald
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
I did photograph a few flowering cacti today.
The first one does get full exposure for the first time, because it is flowering for the first time. I did have this plant almost 10 years and it now does have a diameter of 16 centimeters (6.3 inches). It is a Ferocactus sp. probably glaucescens. If anyone reading this blog notices, that I made a mistake with the identification, please notify me.
The next plant is what seems to be an Opuntia rufida. Although I did get rid of most members of this genus, I still do have more of them than I would like. I usually do allow a small plant to grow and then - within a short time - relaize, that it has grown way too much for my liking. 
Another prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) was also blooming. It only did have one blossom, but as far as I recall, the plant already did flower earlier in the year.
I ma going to close this flowering cactus edition with a pretty cactus that is not growing as aggressively as a prickly pear cactus. Unlike the former, it also flowers several times . For this specific plant, it is the third flush of blooms. The name of the cactus is Thelocactus bicolor ssp. bolaensis or flavidispinus.
Harald
I did photograph a few flowering cacti today.
The first one does get full exposure for the first time, because it is flowering for the first time. I did have this plant almost 10 years and it now does have a diameter of 16 centimeters (6.3 inches). It is a Ferocactus sp. probably glaucescens. If anyone reading this blog notices, that I made a mistake with the identification, please notify me.
- Ferocactus sp prob glaucescens1.JPG (153.32 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- Ferocactus sp prob glaucescens2.JPG (117.54 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- Ferocactus sp prob glaucescens3.JPG (86.22 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- Opuntia sp poss rufida.JPG (82.25 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- pink Opuntia sp1.JPG (155.25 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- pink Opuntia sp2.JPG (134.1 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
Harald
- Thelo_bicolor ssp bolaensis or flavidispinus8.JPG (136.81 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
- Thelo_bicolor ssp bolaensis or flavidispinus9.JPG (129.57 KiB) Viewed 11944 times
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
hi Harald
the bicolor thelocactus has a beautiful flower, I write it down on my wish list
regards
the bicolor thelocactus has a beautiful flower, I write it down on my wish list
regards
GabrielRe: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
today the first blossom opened up on my large Echinocereus pentalophus, which I call my "purple penthalophus", because the plant's stems turn a purplish color whenever the plant is stressed be it by heat or cold temperatures. In about a week or less, it should be putting up a show, with many flowers. Some more images of that event will follow.
Harald
today the first blossom opened up on my large Echinocereus pentalophus, which I call my "purple penthalophus", because the plant's stems turn a purplish color whenever the plant is stressed be it by heat or cold temperatures. In about a week or less, it should be putting up a show, with many flowers. Some more images of that event will follow.
Harald
- E_pentalophus8.JPG (175.36 KiB) Viewed 11845 times
- E_pentalophus9.JPG (140.03 KiB) Viewed 11845 times
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hello Cactus Friends,
yesterday one more cactus was in flower. It is the Echinocereus reichenbachii and the plant is showing its second flower flush.
Except for a blossom on one of my prickly pear cacti, today nothing did bloom.
Harald
yesterday one more cactus was in flower. It is the Echinocereus reichenbachii and the plant is showing its second flower flush.
Except for a blossom on one of my prickly pear cacti, today nothing did bloom.
Harald
- E_reichenbachii6.JPG (147.84 KiB) Viewed 11769 times
- E_reichenbachii7.JPG (133.81 KiB) Viewed 11769 times
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Hegar; Thank you for sharing, beautiful flowers! I especially likes the Opuntia sp.’s flowers , big yellow flowers with the red centre. I have been thinking about ordering an E. poselgeri but I am not sure if it will bloom indoors, on a windowsill.
Re: My flowering Cacti 2021
Yes, Mrs. Green, some Opuntia spp. do have large and showy flowers. Those plants overall are also quite easy to cultivate. However, therein lies the problem. The prickly pear will outgrow most other cacti. It does not help its reputation, that in addition to spines, that group of cacti also does have glochids. 
I do not see any reason, why the Echinocereus poselgery would not grow and flower on a windowsill. The problem with that cactus is its growth habit, i.e. forming long. thin stems, which tend to grow into every direction possible. So it would make sense, to reign those stems in and forcing them to grow more upright. I was thinking of using a tomato cage or some other structure to do just that.
Harald
I do not see any reason, why the Echinocereus poselgery would not grow and flower on a windowsill. The problem with that cactus is its growth habit, i.e. forming long. thin stems, which tend to grow into every direction possible. So it would make sense, to reign those stems in and forcing them to grow more upright. I was thinking of using a tomato cage or some other structure to do just that.
Harald