My flowering Cacti 2021

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hegar
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Location: El Paso, Texas

My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

I was quite surprised to find the first cacti in bloom this weekend! They turned out to be two species of Turbinicarpus. I do not know, which species, so I am going to call them Turbinicarpus1 and Turbinicarpus2.
This year did not start the way I would have preferred, when we did have a rather severe cold spell (at least for us here in El Paso, Texas) during the night of February 14th. I was not able to cover all my plants and the low of 11 or 12 degrees Fahrenheit, equivalent to around minus 11 degrees Celsius, did have an impact on my outdoor plantings.
Some of my large prickly pear cacti just toppled over and their cladodes turned pale and soft. Others dropped a lot of stem segments, but the base looked to be OK. I decided to permanently remove those species, which did not stand up to the low temperature.
Some cacti only froze back and I am keeping them in the ground. The smaller one of my Pachycereus marginatus plants was better protected and did not suffer any frost damage, while the larger (taller) specimen froze back quite a bit.
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Also, my two columnar Echinopsis spp. - E. spachiana and E. huascha - suffered die-back due to the low temperatures.
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However, not all is doom and gloom. I did spot various cacti with flower buds developing. One of those is the repeat bloomer Escobaria tuberculosa, which does grow all around El Paso in the wild. The other one is yet another native genus/species, Echinocereus coccineus. The former does have the common name "corn-cob-cactus", while the latter is knows as "claret cup".
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Now to the flowering plants. I tried to find matching images from last year, but could not locate any. All I do know, they are both Turbinicarpus spp.
The first was already starting to close it petals, due to it being afternoon and the plant starting to be in the shade. The second one did get watered by me. I tried to obtain a better image today, but we do have cloudy skies with a cold front approaching.
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Well, that does conclude it for today. I should be able to photograph additional plants during this coming week. They are also most likely going to be Turbinicarpus members.

Harald
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dinfelu
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by dinfelu »

hi harald

that cold wave was also felt in the north of the country

some turbinicarpus have also flowered me in January

a pity the lost cacti

greetings
🌵 Gabriel
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,

slowly life is starting to return and some of my cacti are in the process of getting ready to flower or - in the case of one of my two Turbinicarpus horripilus - are starting to bloom. A few minutes ago I snapped a photo of this beautiful member of the Turbinicarpus genus. I am quite certain, that there are a number of additional blossoms gong to be produced by these plants.

Harald
T_horripilus2.JPG
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Hello Cactus Friends,
ever so slowly, my cacti are coming back to life. I should be able to take a few photos of yet another Turbinicarpus species by this weekend.
Today I was surprised by two blossoms being open on one of my native cacti. It is a hybrid named "Echinocereus x roetteri", where one parent is the claret cup (Echinocereus coccineus) and the other the Texas Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus dasyacanthus). Because this hybrid does phenotypically resemble the claret cup cactus, its flowers are more numerous and also remain longer on the plant before drying up. In addition, these blossoms do stay open day and night! The cactus is also quite hardy and did survive a recent cold spell, where the night temperature dropped to about 11 degrees Fahrenheit, which is equivalent to between -11 and -12 degrees Celsius. I did not cover the plants up and they suffered no damage.

So, here are the first images of a salmon-colored hybrid, taken at almost 7 p.m.

Harald
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Hanazono
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by Hanazono »

It seems spring has been in El Paso.
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Hello Frank,
thank you very much for your comment. You are correct, spring is finally here and with it there will be flowering cacti. :D
I am so glad, that most of my plants did survive the Valentine's Day freeze, no matter whether they will bloom or not.

For today there were several plants in flower.

The first one has been blooming now for a few days. It is a hybrid being produced by the claret cup and Texas Rainbow Cactus parents. Its name is Echinocereus x roetteri.
So here it is like it did look just a few hours ago.
E_x roetteri4.JPG
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The next plant is my least favorite native cactus, the Echinocereus viridiflorus ssp chloranthus. It is a very tough plant and does flower every year. The blossoms are kind of small for members of the Echinocereus genus and also not colorful. Thus is one of my oldest plants squeezed into a corner of one of my cactus beds.
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Yet another native cactus, also not very stunning as far as flowers are concerned is the equally tough Escobaria tuberculosa with the common name corn cob cactus. It does flower repeatedly during the growing season.
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Now to the more exotic and rare cacti. They all belong to the genus Turbinicarpus. The first one of these has also been a plant, which has survived many years with me, the first ones in the ground. It does produce a solitary small stem, with the flowers exceeding its diameter. The plant shown is still only about the size of a penny and over 12 years old. It is named Turbinicarpus valdezianus. I only had one of them, but purchased a few more and hope, that perhaps two of those are still alive. Also, I am waiting for one, which does have a pink flower.
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Next in line is a Turbinicarpus cactus, which is flowering for the first time. I have had this plant a few years, but had to look it up on the Miles-2-Go site, in order to figure out, what its name is. Most likely it is a Turbinicarpus ysabelae.
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I am finishing this presentation today with a stunning Turbinicarpus, T. pseudopectinatus ssp. jarmilae. This year it seems to have put on a very deep pink flower color. I just love it! :)
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Tomorrow it looks like an unknown Mammillaria sp. is going to display some flowers. I only do have two or three Mammillarias in my collection, including the native Mammillaria grahamii.
So, that is all for the day. I do wish everyone a happy Easter holiday.

Harald
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jerrytheplater
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by jerrytheplater »

Harald, very stunning plants. Love them. Have you posted any overall pictures of your garden beds? If you have, would you mind posting a link to them here so I can see them? Thanks. If you have not, would you please?
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.
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hegar
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by hegar »

Hello Jerry and other Cactus Friends,
I hope, that you all had a nice and happy Easter holiday. I just stayed at home and tended to my cacti.
Here are a few photos of my unkempt cactus beds. Actually, they are more like islands, with cacti insterspersed haphazardly throught them.
My wife only likes orderly plantings, but I do not take the time to prepare my cactus beds in that fashion.
I do have three cactus beds in the front yard. Here they are:
Bed 1 does have the shape of a quarter circle, measuring 5 ft x 6.5 ft
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Bed two is more or less shaped like a kidney. with a length of 8.5 ft and a width of 3.5 ft
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While bed 3 does have a rhombic shape and measures 12 ft x 9.5 ft
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Most of my more valuable or small plants are in planters, which are usually used for hanging plants.
I also do have three of those, ranging in diameter from 14 inches to 12 inches.
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There is yet another planter bowl and a bucket, which do hold large Ariocarpus fissuratus plants, which I was able to receive from a plant rescue organizathion, when they did run out of space. Those seven plants in total had been confiscated, after they were ripped out of the ground in the wild by some unscrupulous cactus thieves, trying to earn a lot of money.
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Now, a few flowering plant images from today.
The first one does show the claret cup hybrid Echinocereus x roetteri. It does have a number of open flowers and is going to add a few more during the next week.
E_x roetteri5.JPG
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Also, the Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus ssp. jarmilae is still in flower. The blossom is now wide open and the color not as intense.
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There is one new plant, which did open its first blossom. It is a small Mammillaria sp. with fish hook type spines. I do not know what species it is. However, it is a "cute plant".
Mamm2.JPG
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So, that is definitely everything I am going to post today. There are still many more blooming cacti, which I am going to photograph and post here. At least I hope, that there will be some nice images I can obtain.


Harald
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dinfelu
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by dinfelu »

hi Harald

Echinocereus x roetteri has flowers of a very beautiful color, the Ariocarpus fissuratus are incredible this year I have sown from seed so in several years I will show how their growth is going

regards
🌵 Gabriel
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jerrytheplater
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by jerrytheplater »

Harold, Thanks much. I will have to look tonight at home. Not cool here at work
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.
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eulaspiegel
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by eulaspiegel »

Great photos, always nice to see cactus flowers!
Growing mostly under LED lights, in northern latitudes. Especially interested in stem succulents and caudiciforms. Dreaming of my first greenhouse.
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jerrytheplater
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Re: My flowering Cacti 2021

Post by jerrytheplater »

Really nice Harold. As I was scanning your post at work, none of the photos showed up.

What, if any, preparation did you do to the soil in your beds?

Do you ever fertilize? Any weeds?

Do you have an inventory of what plants you have?
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.
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