Greetings from SW Utah

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RyManUtah
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across your forum a few times doing my own research for some S. American cacti. As a lurker, I finally decided to introduce myself and join.

I am from St. George, UT, which is a little city at the bottom corner of the state. Low altitude by Utah standards, high altitude / cold by Mojave desert standards. The USDA lists as the transition zone between 8a/8b, summers are extremely hot. I typically see both -7C and 45C every year (between 20F and 115F). It can get much colder some years.

I’ve grown palms on and off for many years. Upon purchasing a house with a size-able yard last year, I decided to start my cactus collection. I’ve always been fascinated with them, especially hiking in the spring.

Here are some of my recent acquisitions:

Ferocactus cylindraceus
Image

Trichocerues tersheckii - I have another in ground that looks terrible from sunburn. This one is gonna grow larger before planting.
Image

Trichocereus pachanoi
Image

Cereus repandus
Image

Opuntia ‘SantaRita’
Image

Pediocactus sileri - my favorite little guy. This federally listed native is endemic to four counties between UT / AZ. I was lucky enough to get ONE seed to germinate. Hopefully to make more one day.

That’s all I have for no. Most of my things are packed up for winter. Thanks!

-Ryan
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RyManUtah
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

May have to fiddle with imaging some. Whatever I tried, appears to be wrong. =D> :lol:
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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RyManUtah
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

B4B5E6A0-F523-498D-B9C3-23813E0A5B3E.jpeg
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RyManUtah
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

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Apologies. I had to majorly downside this image for some reason.
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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Steve-0
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Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 2:55 pm
Location: Salt Lake Valley, Utah...high mountain desert climate

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by Steve-0 »

Hey Neighbor, Welcome aboard Ryan. I'm up in Draper - between Provo and Salt Lake. Not exactly sure what caused your pics to fail. Here's a guess. They have to be resized way down to 1024 pixels by XXX pixels before uploading or attaching to your post.

That was my main failure when images didn't work.

Sounds like you have a nice start to your cactus. I was down that way a couple 3 weeks ago and went to one of the Star Nurseries to get a Ferocactus cylindraceus or acanthodes as they call them. Same species from what I understand.

I don't see Cholla on your list yet....gotta get you some of those, too. I had heard about how vicious they are....so I touched one. It "touched" me back....in fact it wanted to hug me, too. lol! Learned the lesson.

Steve

PS - hey the pics popped in! NICE!
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Steve-0
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Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by Steve-0 »

Not sure if you purchased from Star or not but they had some killer deals on the Opuntia ficus indica last month - about 4-5 feet tall for $19.99. Too big for me but a great deal. IMO.

I'm thinking of taking the day off tomorrow and heading down there to camp and hike in the warm sunny weather.
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RyManUtah
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

Steve-0 wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:00 pm Hey Neighbor, Welcome aboard Ryan. I'm up in Draper - between Provo and Salt Lake. Not exactly sure what caused your pics to fail. Here's a guess. They have to be resized way down to 1024 pixels by XXX pixels before uploading or attaching to your post.

That was my main failure when images didn't work.

Sounds like you have a nice start to your cactus. I was down that way a couple 3 weeks ago and went to one of the Star Nurseries to get a Ferocactus cylindraceus or acanthodes as they call them. Same species from what I understand.

I don't see Cholla on your list yet....gotta get you some of those, too. I had heard about how vicious they are....so I touched one. It "touched" me back....in fact it wanted to hug me, too. lol! Learned the lesson.

Steve

PS - hey the pics popped in! NICE!
Hey thanks for the warm welcome! Haha I could tell you some horror stories about the native cholla. No worries, there’s a plan for some. I haven’t decided on a species, though. I still plenty of space and a front lawn of fescue to remove. I haven’t watered it since October and it is still kicking. Nobody needs green grass in January ](*,)
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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RyManUtah
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

Steve-0 wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:04 pm Not sure if you purchased from Star or not but they had some killer deals on the Opuntia ficus indica last month - about 4-5 feet tall for $19.99. Too big for me but a great deal. IMO.

I'm thinking of taking the day off tomorrow and heading down there to camp and hike in the warm sunny weather.
That is cool. I didn’t know ferocactus could live up there.

Lately, they’ve been letting me take him broken pads etc from star nursery, albeit in usually there buying something else. I added a Opuntia ficus indica pad to time germination bull pen just a few days ago from there.
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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RyManUtah
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Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:18 am
Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

RyManUtah wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:41 pm
Steve-0 wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:04 pm Not sure if you purchased from Star or not but they had some killer deals on the Opuntia ficus indica last month - about 4-5 feet tall for $19.99. Too big for me but a great deal. IMO.

I'm thinking of taking the day off tomorrow and heading down there to camp and hike in the warm sunny weather.
That is cool. I didn’t know ferocactus could live up there.

Lately, they’ve been letting me take him broken pads etc from star nursery, albeit in usually there buying something else. I added a Opuntia ficus indica pad to time germination bull pen just a few days ago from there.
It is sunny. I think it’s cold haha
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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Steve-0
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Location: Salt Lake Valley, Utah...high mountain desert climate

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by Steve-0 »

Saturday is looking good!

No on the ferocactus living/surviving up here... the northern limit of the Ferocactus cylin. is right about Shivwits from what I understand. Then anything north has too many cold nights. So mine is a potted cactus - outside spring, summer, fall...inside for the winter. Same for my Golden Barrels and all the South Americans and other tender plants. My cold hardy Opuntias, Pediocacti, Escobaria and Sclerocacti are in the ground in their pots in a raised bed for the winter. I only cover them when lots of rain is predicted. Which has been 2-3 times.

At Star- the one on Sunset Blvd has decent Saguaro...did you see those?
Last edited by Steve-0 on Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RyManUtah
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Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

Saturday does look nice. Some of my trees need a drink and that’s the day I’m giving them water, because it’s not supposed to freeze.
Ah that makes sense! I like the native Opuntias up your way. Remarkable what can grow in a shaded, rocky canyon. The Echinocereus of the “west desert” have always fascinated me as well. Some really unique plants out passed dugway as well, especially if you’re into yucca. Harsh, dry and cold. I’ve seen a lot of random wild cacti on the islands in the salt lake, that I’ve never been able to identify. Pretty cool stuff.
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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Steve-0
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Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by Steve-0 »

Very cool, the Opuntia polyacantha is about every footstep in The Last Chance Desert where I hike the most. Opuntia fragilis comes after that and then the Claret Cup Echinocereus grows right up to Saratoga Springs on the west side of Utah Lake. Some Pediocactus simpsonii are out the Pony Express route. May is THE month for cactus blooms!

My wife is giving me the thumbs up for a trip down south - Friday-Saturday. I just installed a new dryer in the basement on my lunch break. You can imagine a wife and two college girls without a clothes dryer....yeow! The motherboard went out on the 16 yr old one.

If I pull the trigger I may hit all three Star Nurseries on my way through town!
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RyManUtah
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Location: St. George, UT, USA

Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by RyManUtah »

Steve-0 wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:57 pm Very cool, the Opuntia polyacantha is about every footstep in The Last Chance Desert where I hike the most. Opuntia fragilis comes after that and then the Claret Cup Echinocereus grows right up to Saratoga Springs on the west side of Utah Lake. Some Pediocactus simpsonii are out the Pony Express route. May is THE month for cactus blooms!

My wife is giving me the thumbs up for a trip down south - Friday-Saturday. I just installed a new dryer in the basement on my lunch break. You can imagine a wife and two college girls without a clothes dryer....yeow! The motherboard went out on the 16 yr old one.

If I pull the trigger I may hit all three Star Nurseries on my way through town!
Very cool! Do it haha. Washington is my favorite, aside from cacti; sunset had the best selection, usually. Dixie dr is hit or miss.. same with mesquite if you make it there.
St. George, UT - Zone 8 - 2600’
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Steve-0
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Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by Steve-0 »

Don't think I'll get down to Mesquite or over to Vegas either. 7 stores in Vegas. But ya...heading down tomorrow staying the night and all day Saturday. Woohoo! A bit of hiking and working on my tan.
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gemhunter178
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Re: Greetings from SW Utah

Post by gemhunter178 »

Welcome!
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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