Identification of cacti from seed

If you have a cactus plant and need help identifying it, this is the place to post it.
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chodamoyer
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Identification of cacti from seed

Post by chodamoyer »

Hi,

I grew these cacti from seed. They are about 2+ years old. The package the seeds came in stated the seeds were of equal mix of the following:

Saguaro
Hedgehog
Fishhook Barrel
Dollar Prickly Pear
Desert Prickly Pear
Christmas Cholla
Cane Cholla
Santa Rita Prickly Pear
Cardo'n

There are four pots in total. The first picture is all of the pots and the others are close ups of each pot.

Please give me your best guess as to which of the above cacti I have. You can use the last picture to refer to the pot you are talking about as I have given each pot a number (1-4).

Thank you very much for your help.

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gemhunter178
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Post by gemhunter178 »

None of them are the "prickly pear" varieties, that's for sure, but I think #1,2,and 3 are the "fishhook barrel" and #2 might be a saguaro (Carnegia gigantea) because of how slow it's growing.
A cactus and succulent collector who especially likes Ariocarpus. …Though I have a bit of everything! Want some pictures? See my flickr! I also do art and such.
daiv
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Post by daiv »

1 & 3. These are Ferocactus, but not really big enough to say species - most likely it is F. wislizeni

2. Are you sure that is alive?

4. Pretty sure this is Echinocactus grusonii
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
iann
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Post by iann »

I thought the same as Daiv but it is very hard to give positive names at this size.
--ian
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chodamoyer
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Post by chodamoyer »

Just want to give more information on number 2.

I don't believe the small guy is dead. He was at a differnt window which was not as sunny as the other cacti for most of his life. He wasn't doing well and looked worse than he currently does now, then I moved him with the others and he has definitely increased in size. So I think he may have been dormant for a short while, or he maybe partly dead or dying. Either way I'm not giving up on him.
daiv
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Post by daiv »

Yes, no harm in trying on that one. However, I think you'll have to get it a little bigger and healthier before we could really put a name to that one. Small seedling cacti really look a lot of like and this makes ID very difficult if not impossible at this stage.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
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chodamoyer
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Post by chodamoyer »

Thanks for your thoughts daiv. Do you or anyone have any advice for care for these plants at this time?

I am by no means an expert and I might have gotten lucky so far with common sense strategy.

One thing I did was water heavy at the start. I tried several windows with only one (southern facing window) with success. I acutally got about 40 seedlings to germinate but most of them died. What you see in the pictures is what remains from 1 pk of seeds.
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chodamoyer
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by chodamoyer »

Ok Here are some pictures of my cactus after over 1 full year of growth.

I have included all the old pictures which were taken on or about November 7, 2011 (11-7-2011)

and I have included pictures I took today on January 5th, 2013 (1-5-2013)

Look at all that growth!

Especially note cactus number 2, which was once theorized to be dead, and now is a healthy 2 headed monster!

Fun stuff.

After all this growth can you give updated cacti identification?

Thank, Mike
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iann
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by iann »

Quite possible they're all Ferocactus. Certainly #1 is. #2 has hints of Echinocereus about it, but probably still a Ferocactus.
--ian
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

think #2 might be an Echinocactus grusonii, but I might be wrong, the rest are Ferocactus for sure.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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hoteidoc
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by hoteidoc »

#1 & 3 - Fero's, #2 Prob Echincer., #4 Thinking E. grusonii, too.
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Robb
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by Robb »

Number 2 doesn't look like a happy camper-looks kinda dead :( :( :( :(
Buying a cactus a day will keep the madness away.
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by Steve Johnson »

Robb wrote:Number 2 doesn't look like a happy camper-looks kinda dead :( :( :( :(
Certainly did 14 months ago, but a pretty amazing turn-around there. Way to go, chodamoyer! =D>
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gemhunter178
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by gemhunter178 »

Whatever they are (I now think Feros and maybe a Encinocactus grusonii)- Nice seedlings and amazing growth! :D
A cactus and succulent collector who especially likes Ariocarpus. …Though I have a bit of everything! Want some pictures? See my flickr! I also do art and such.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Re: Identification of cacti from seed

Post by Peterthecactusguy »

yes #2 is def a E. grusonii, and not a Saguaro. I saw the first picture and thought it was a saguaro too, but the picture of #2 on 1/5/13 seems to suggest that it's an E. grusonii.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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