Cactus Blog

Photo: Lepismium cruciforme in a potted design by R.C. Cohen of Newport Beach. Credit: Debra Lee Baldwin

Barfalicious sent us a link to this photo on the LATimes blogs, and it’s from an article by Debra Lee Baldwin, our favorite succulent container gardening author!

A photo from Charlotte of her crested Euphorbia lactea that has lost leaves.

I see it still has 2 additional leaves. Yay! And updating the post below, she has drilled a hole in the bottom of the pot so that the plant is no longer sitting in soggy soil. Also a Yay!

…when JUN / LDK came and took pictures at the nursery, and posted them on flickr. I see there are also lots of pictures of food taken in Japan and Thailand mixed in with pictures from along the California Coast.

Those food pictures are making me hungry, especially the Black Tea and Apple Roll Cake in Tokyo.

From Mary in Walnut Creek, we have a Cymbidium that bloomed last year, but not yet this year. Let’s all hope for the best.

Sumie sent along a photo of a terrarium we put together for her, on her desk. Thanks!

I have attached 4 pictures, the same ones I have on my blog.
The two rounder ones are doing fine but the other two seem to not like the cold so much. They shriveled and turned yellow. That’s bad right?

Jacob

Jacob,

Your Echinopsis chamaecereus look fine for this time of year (#1 & #2). The Cereus hildmannianus monstrose (Fairy Castles) (#3) is showing frost/freeze damage, being a “miniature mutant” it is less tollerant of cold, wet weather than the true species is. Try and keep it dry for the rest of the winter and hopefully it will grow out of the damage in the spring. But watch for rot, as it may more damaged than it looks in the photo. The Hylocereus (#4) is a tropical jungle cactus and will not usually survive heavy frosts or freezes. It really is a houseplant that needs to be treated more like an orchid than a cactus. Try moving to a warm spot and keeping it dry for a month and see it it comes out of it, all though I have to say from the photo, I think it might be too damaged and is on it’s way to being black slime.

Take care and good luck,

Hap

Hi again…. Is this a colorata? They only grow about this big as adults, these were pups from the mother plant…. Jay

Jay,

That looks like it is a lovely pile of Agave parryi v. truncata! Agave colorata is similar but a bit more toothy and mean…

Hap

What was the name of this cactus?

Was this crested or montrose? What was the name?

Thanks!
Paula

And there are more lovely photos from Cactus Jungle by Paula on flickr.

Paula,

It is a Crested form of Myrtillocactus geometrizans

the true form looks sort of like spiny blue cucumbers.

Take care,
Hap

Here is the plant given to me by Harriet.

Can you tell us what it is and how to care for it?

Love,
Dad

Yes, my Dad sends me succulent questions. He’s in Florida, and has killed every plant we’ve given him, including most recently a Tillandsia bulbosa. We’ll see how long this one lasts.

Dad,
You have a Kalanchoe thyrsfolia variegata. Water every 2 weeks, by drenching the soil and letting it drain away – never have it sit in water.

It is a good indoor plant and doesn’t require too much sun, but it does need some – a bright area, or some direct morning sun is best.
Peter

From seed vendor Jaromír Dohnalík in the Czech Republic comes a blooming cactus photo for the holidays.

A cactus formerly known as Lobivia, and now more correctly called Echinopsis. I haven’t bothered to look up the species – any suggestions?

It’s a cactus bowl, from JT.

I see a Euphorbia obesa in there too, so I hope JT is being careful to water the cactus parts of the bowl, and less water near the Euph.

I hope that scorpion is not real…

Here’s another one too.

Lots of lower water plants in there.

This photo is labelled “1972″. I don’t know why.

I don’t know where it came from or what it is doing here at all. If it is yours and would like to claim copyright, email me at mycopyrighthasbeenstolen@somebodywhocares.com

That was a little harsh of me.

From Aunt Rachel in Arizona is a giant Saguaro and some Jumping Cholla.

Carnegiea gigantea and Opuntia bigelovi

Agave titonata

Photo by Joy Jennings.

I love this very aggressive succulent, but they hang around the nursery and almost never sell. I wonder why? They’re beautiful, as this stunning photo from Joy Jennings demonstrates quite amazingly.

I suppose if you’re asking us to ID a plant, it doesn’t take a lot of words.

Kalamchoe sp?
Samuel

Kalanchoe orgyalis!

Dani sends along this photo of a backyard bamboo grove, where she’s working for the day. Is that a Euphorbia ammak I see over on the left?

From Matt in Portland, OR, we have these unnamed cactus in bloom very late in the year.

A closeup after the break, plus we discover the name of this lovely cactus that looks like a cross between a mammillaria and a parodia.
(more…)

Matt in Portland sent along this extremely-bright-pink-flowered Echinopsis photo in July, and I forgot to blog it! Oh the horror. It’s a good thing I found it, because it’s a gray day here in Berkeley and we need a little bit of bright pink this late in the summer.

Anyone know the species?

With a story to tell too.

Sirs,

Matt from Portland here. Your recent entry regarding the Myrtillocactus
Geometrizans has me writing you…again. It so happens that the MG was my
first and favorite cactus. Actually the start of my cactus interest. Had
one given to me from a friend who visited Arizona. They brought one back on
the plane to Portland carry on. At the time, 6 or so inches and crested.
Not a huge plant but still a unique looking carry-on item; don’t know if you
can pull that off anymore, this was back quite a few years. Never seeing
one before I was amazed. I kept it in a greenhouse. I had no other cactus
at the time just Jade plants. Anyway this plant turned into maybe 8-10
plants over a number of years. All crested and amazing. Sadly one year,
heavy rain got in the greenhouse and soaked them all. I couldn’t dry them
fast enough; it was a few days before I found them. Brown rot on all but
two. After the mass devastation, one in the greenhouse and one in the
kitchen window were left alive. Those two now are slowly repopulating the
collection. Attached is a happy survivor…

Anyway thanks for the memories. Never had flowers or berries on mine, but
maybe one day soon. How old or how long before one gets berries/flowers?

Sad to hear your larger plants are gone. I have a hard time finding large
healthy, “outrageous” MG plants.

Best,
Matt

Matt,
Your crested myrtillo looks very healthy and happy. In general, crested varieties don’t bloom or fruit – you need an unmutated individual. Such are the choices we face in life: crest vs. fruit.
Peter

Matt in Portland sends along some late-blooming echinopsis photos- those plants just can’t be stopped.