Growth Over Time - (3) Myrtillocactus geometrizans

[WayneByerly]

The columnar cacti, by far and away, are my general long term favorites. The globular cacti have their merits, but the columnar cacti all remind me of Saguaro cacti which must be 100 years old before they start to put out any "arms". That is according to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.

This cacti, Myrtillocactus geometrizans is my favorite, even among the columnar cacti.

2013
I remember looking at this when I first got it thinking "I wonder what this will look like in four or five years". You won't have to wait that long. I didn't record any measurements of this when I first got it, but I seem to recall that it was approximately 5" tall.

037.1 2013-07-29 Myrtillocactus geometrizans.jpg (65.02 KiB) Viewed 4091 times

2015
I didn't take a picture of this one in 2015 for some reason. You can see that there are now two of them. I don't remember when I got the smaller one, but at the time I thought that the single cactus in a bowl, all by itself, looked very lonely.

037.2 2015-12-27.jpg (130.14 KiB) Viewed 4091 times

2016
The only picture of this one, from 2016, was just the head. The spines on this guy, as it got taller, turned into wicked, wicked points.

037.3 2016-12-11 DSCF7506.JPG (130.85 KiB) Viewed 4091 times

2017
This year, my Myrtillocactus geometrizans is almost exactly twenty four inches tall. I was afraid that this totally unexpected growth was something wrong with it. "OMG, my cactus has cancer!". Ha! As it turns out, it's just growing an arm.

037.4 2017-11-15 163526.jpg (87.05 KiB) Viewed 4091 times

[Harrison]

That is impressive how some of those can grow so fast! Earlier this year my friend gave me one of those that he described as a "goner", as in dead and done for, and at first glance it looked like he was right. I took it home and cut it in a few pieces to try and start some roots, so far none of them have and I suppose they won't have much of a chance until next year sometime. But I did notice that the stump that already had roots is starting to sprout a couple of pups! I took a photo of it and on closer inspection I can see a second one starting too. It's been getting in the 40s at night where I live but it seems as if for now it's still growing. I hope it grows as fast as yours!

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[stefan m.]

This is a trichocereus. If it was myrtillocactus spines would be black, and young stems blue. In addition, ribs are curved.

[WayneByerly]

This is a trichocereus. If it was myrtillocactus spines would be black, and young stems blue. In addition, ribs are curved.

Hi stephan: are you talking about Harrisons posting, or mine? And either way, Tricocereus what? And if you're talking about my posting, the newest spines are black.

[stefan m.]

Wayne definitely not yours.

[Harrison]

I'm kicking myself now for not taking a photo before I cut it up, it sure looked an awful lot like the ones in the first photos, with the exception of an arm that branched out from the body. I have several San Pedro (Trichocereus Pachanoi) and none of them have that kind of branching. But I'm not arguing about that, it very well could be some type of Tricho...there are certainly enough kinds. Guess I need to spend some more time on the cacti id forum...

[Hanazono]

Wayne

This species grows fast and is becoming a large plant.
I believe you have to think about the future situation.

I got a large branch in 2008 and planted in my vege-patch.
The photo is current one.
You can not keep it indoor.

Frank

[WayneByerly]

... you have to think about the future situation... You can not keep it indoor.

Ha, ha, ha, ...
That is... ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...
That is just unbelievable... yours looks like it's in the ground outside. Mine's been a couple of its first years of life indoors, and now it's in a pot that I believe is probably the only reason it's not bigger than it is now. I think the close confines are artificially keeping its size down. But as you can see from the photo labeled 037.4 2017-11-15 163526.jpg that it is starting to grow arms. Considering what your M. geometrizans looks like, maybe I should be glad it's in the greenhouse. And maybe I should be even gladder than that that the pot that it's in is keeping its size down. Let me see 2008 to 2017... Yours is 8 or 9 years old, or something like that. Mine is only five. So maybe I've got a couple of years left. The size of yours... Oh man... It's just unbelievable! Thanks for posting that picture. That's amazing!

[stefan m.]

Harrison didnt meant to be rude or anything, just pointing out the obvious. What hinted me was trichoereus plants that ive seen on youtube-they are frequently cut to be propagated, and yours looks just like a stump that sprouted several branches. The build of their plants is a dead ringer for your photo.

[Harrison]

No worries, anyone who enjoys cactus this much can't be too sensitive! I invite anyone who sees incorrect information posted by me to call it out, I also enjoy learning about this stuff...

[WayneByerly]

I invite anyone who sees incorrect information posted by me to call it out, I also enjoy learning about this stuff...

We have all been wrong here and there, myself probably more than the average. But fortunately we all learn something new everyday... Or what's the point to existence!