My flowering Cacti 2020

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hegar
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My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Well, after a long pause, the first cactus in my collection did flower. I am cheating here a little bit, because this plant has been in my possession for a little less than two weeks. I did purchase it from Miles2go and only placed it in a pot this last Friday. We have had a crazy weather pattern for a few weeks now, with long-lasting rainfall several times each week. Now I hope, that this unusual wet period is over.
While I did purchase a dozen plants, I also did lose a few due to what I believe was the wet winter. The two little Ariocarpus bravoanus ssp. hintonii were all bleached out looking and had rotted, as was one of the Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus plants and one of the Turbinicarpus plants I had bought a year a go. I hope, that the other A. kotschoubeyanus seedling will pull through though and I will not have a total loss of that species.
Also, a small Ferocactus latispinus plant had gone into a rot. It would be nice, if these were the only casualties. I shall find out more as the year progresses.
The first plant to bloom is a Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele. The blossom is not impressive. Most likely, because the plant remained wrapped up for so long, the flower did not fully unfurl. Well, it beats not having a flower at all. :)

Harald
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Angelina
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by Angelina »

Aww, that flower is really sweet. I think it is very impressive :wink: My first few cacti were chosen because I knew they would flower soon. I had never seen that before, so it was very exciting.

I'm sorry your other cacti rotted. I look forward to seeing the others and their updates, especially since I have a soft spot for little cacti. :D
Plant keeper living in Tucson, Arizona.
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TimN
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by TimN »

Nice! One of my favorites1
Disclaimer: I'm in sunny Arizona, so any advice I give may not apply in your circumstances.

Tim
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

@ Angelina and TimN: Thank you for your nice responses. Based on what Miles said about the plant's appearance, including its flower, I went ahead and purchased two plants of this Turbinicarpus species. I do expect the flowers of these plants to be more perfect next time around. :)
Despite the overly wet winter, I feel, that there will be some impressive flowering of some of my cacti in the very near future.
My Turbinicarpus horripilus stem does have five flower buds. Last year if produced either just one or two blossoms.
Some of the Echinocereus spp. cacti also do have a good number of flower buds on them. So, hopefully, I will be able to post a few nice digital images of flowering cacti soon. :D

Harald
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

today, when checking out my cacti that have nice flower buds on them I noticed, that one of "our natives", an Escobaria tuberculosa had produced one of its small light pink flowers. I do have three of these plants and they are some of the most dependable producers of blossoms, flowering several times every season. So, here are three digital images. The flower does not look as nice as it might and I am certain, that in the near future I do come across a few with more showy flowers.
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The second cactus in bloom was not a surprise, because I had noted the reddish flower buds over a week ago. Still it started to flower a little sooner than expected. The plant was purchased last year from Miles2Go and it delighted me with its bright pink blossoms. Also, it is one of the few Turbinicarpus species, which forms clumps. It seems to be a plant of medium vigor and is noticeably larger in diameter than the plant of the same genus and species I purchased this spring. It did survive in a 4 inch square pot placed against the house wall on the south side of my house. We did have low temperatures dropping into the mid 20's at night. However, during the day we are generally higher than 40 degrees F..
The name of the plant is Turbinicarpus horripilus. It is one of the Turbinicarpus genus, which I shall try to grow in the ground. Most of the plants I keep now in a planter dish, because they remain small and I can control the growing conditions a bit better.

Harald
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Here is one last picture of my Turbinicarpus horripilus plant with all five blossoms opened fully.

Harald
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keith
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by keith »

Turbinicarpus horripilus grows big for a Turbinicarpus. I used to have a pretty big one years ago but gave it away as I didn't have much room back them only a patio. Probably will do very well in the ground.
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Keith,
thank you very much for your comment. I was hoping, that the Turbinicarpus horripilus would grow in size by forming multiple stems. I do not know though, if I should risk it and place the cactus in one of my flower beds in full sun. The first specimen I did place in that condition did not survive the winter. However, that could have been caused by more than just our strong sun light. I also had it planted in regular desert mesa garden dirt and perhaps it did get "cold and wet feet" for too long a time.

Well, this week things were kind of slow. There are a number of cacti which do show flower buds, but none of them opened yet. I expect to see some action by this coming weekend. I did photograph one plant in bloom. It is a native cactus, which flowers throughout the season. The plant in full sun all day long, which has formed a clump was flowering. Its scientific name is Escobaria tuberculosa and the common name "corn cob cactus".

Harald
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Today I arrived home a little earlier than usual and found my one and only Thelocactus McDowellii in flower. I do like that plant because of its white spines, which are enhanced by the nice pink blossoms. I did have two of them last year, but the smaller one with the lighter pink flowers died. I may purchase another one in the near future. The one pictured flowered twice last year, one time producing one blossom and the second time two flowers.

Harald
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

When I arrived back at home at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday evening, the first blossom of one of my Echinocereus x roetteri was open. This cactus, which is easy to grow and does occur in the near vicinity of where I live, is a naturally occurring hybrid between the claret cup in most cases (Echinocereus coccineus ssp. rosei) and the Texas Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus dasyacanthus). It is found in the Orogrande, NM area in the Jarilla Mountains. The cactus does have one feature, which makes it especially attractive: Its flowers not only last for up to one week each, but they also do stay open all day and night! For those of you, who are interested to find out more about this unusual plant, I did place extensive postings about this cactus in CactiGuide under the Headline (Topic) "Cacti Places" of this forum.
So, here are two photos of the first blossom, the first taken at 6:30 p.m. and the second - with flashlight illumination - at around 10:30 p.m.
I shall post more and better images of this plant and another with pink blossoms at a later time.

Harald
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Newton
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by Newton »

Gorgeous collection
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Newton,
thank you very much for the compliment. Compared to what some of the other blog visitors do have, my collection is rather limited. However, I am happy with what I do have. :)

Now to the topic at hand: For those readers who are interested in the Orogrande Hybrid Claret Cup Cacti, I have posted a huge number of digital images starting in the year 2006. I did not get to go there in 2008 and this year I shall also remain at home, mostly due to the COVID-19 situation.
You can peruse the previously taken images under the "Cacti Places" tab of this forum. The titles should read "Hybrid Cacti of Orogrande, New Mexico" or something similar. Also, the on-line cactus and succulent publication Xerophilia published an illustrated article I authored in both English and German, which you can access by going to www.xerophilia.ro. It is found in the issue "xerophilia-2016.10-18.

Today, the same hybrid plant was in flower once more. I expect the flowering to last approximately two weeks, depending how long it takes for the smaller flower buds to open up. Most likely, I am going to show one more photograph of that cactus clump; when the maximum number of blossoms are open.

Harald
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TimN
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by TimN »

Things are popping at Rancho Hegar! Well done!
Disclaimer: I'm in sunny Arizona, so any advice I give may not apply in your circumstances.

Tim
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

first, I do thank you, Tim, for the positive note. Some of my plants are going to be flowering beautifully, while some may not even think of doing so. That is even true with plants that had bloomed in past years. Well, as long as they stay alive, that is all I can hope for and I should be happy. :)

Todays flowering cactus is an Echinocereus viridiflorus ssp. chloranthus. Of all my Echinocereus species, this one is the one I like the least. However, I should not be so harsh, because it does flower every year and I have yet to kill it in in over a dozen years the lone plant has resided in the far corner of my front yard. So it is a tough little cactus. What is nice about it are its colorful spines. The flowers are kind of on the small side. They are produced even on the lower part of the stem, and the color is mostly a pale greenish-yellow. They also do not open any further than what the images show, looking almost like a tulip blossom. This plant is one of the possible parents of the Echinocereus x roetteri hybrids I mentioned before on this thread.
I did most likely plant one stem of a rescued plant in 2006 or 2007 and now there are six stems.

Harald
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keith
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2020

Post by keith »

Nice cactus they do so well in the ground in their natural habitat. I have a book with many Texas cactus described in it probably all would do well in your climate. I don't know if one can still dig up cactus though like this author did
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