Echinopsis oxygona var. brevispina (Easter Lily Cactus)

Smashed Cactus: This is the plant you gave me several years ago. It is now about 9 inches tall and 6 inches around and blooming like crazy this year. Thanks, Gary for the wonderful cactus!

Very nice plant and pretty flowers.

Lots of my little cactus are blooming, and some of the larger ones, but those of this color are not blooming yet. I am looking forward to seeming them. Your photos are lovely. xuling

Nice plant Nancy. During the winter I discovered some rot in the large planter where all my Easter Lilly plants are. So I took all the plants out, completely cleaned out the planter and replaced the soil. The plants have all been replanted and look to be doing fine but they have not worked up the energy to bloom yet. Seeing your lovely photo reminds me how much I miss my Easter Lilly cactus flowers.

Nancy, I have one of smashed cactus's plants too. It bloomed for me last year and I hope it will again this summer. Its a fabulous plant.

You're welcome Nancy. It's really looking good. I still haven't had a bloom on the Dutchman's Gold but it is still pretty small. Helen, mine are just setting buds. I hope yours blooms again.

Is the Dutchman's Gold growing? It takes a few years for them to bloom. Here's mine in the ground and full of buds. It's already had about 5 flowers with lots more to come.

Yes! It's growing. I put it in the ground this year. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.

Will you have to dig it out in the fall?

Yes. I'll have to dig all these up in the fall. The first picture is of the "Dutchmans Gold". I have named it Nancy. The next picture is with all her friends.

My Delosperma are starting to bloom.

Thats a great looking cactus garden Gary. You are very devoted to dig and repot your plants each year.

Thanks, Helen. Here is the whole garden. I planted several of my Gymnocalyciums in This big pot. I'm hoping that I'll get more blooms with them being out in the sun.

Gary: that may be why the E. 'Dutchman's Gold' is slow to flower. It is busy getting its roots re-established each summer and no time for it to bloom. Here in Phoenix the Gymnos do not like more than morning sun. It looks like they are getting a lot of sun there from the color of them. Here's my plant in full flower today and E. 'Flying Saucer' which is 8 inches across.

Nancy, your cactus flowers are amazing. Those last two in particular, wow. An unnamed Echinopsis I put in the ground last year apparently flowered last week while I wasn't looking. First time. It was all wilted by the time I discovered it, but at least now I know the color (deep red, yay).

Gary, it's great to see your plants bedded out for the year. What an amazing change it must be for them. Do you put them in the sun right away or give them some kind of gradual adjustment?

Here's a Gymno in bloom. This is about as open as the flowers get. We are experiencing a freak heat wave (91°F/33°C). Here are a couple of panels from the local weather station this morning showing what's up. It's allergy time again.

Speaking of springtime sun, here are two pictures which tell a story. First was taken 2 weeks ago, second after 2 days of dry, hot (90°F day/70°F night) conditions. At which point I pulled the plug on the afternoon sun. With this plant red is a good stress color, brown not so much.

Is water just too precious to use on potted plants in your arid area Baja? I think I would want to pull out the hose and water everything down but then watering is one of my favorite things to do. ^_^
I don't know what you mean when you said you pulled the plug.

Just meant to say I moved the plant out of afternoon sun. The problem is not the desiccation so much as the sunburn. The plants can handle going dry but they're not real happy about the combination of serious heat (relative to our normal) and serious sun.

We get these wind reversals from time to time and my response has been to water the plants a day or two earlier than normal. It seems to work pretty well. Hosing them down might be therapeutic but I like my watering bottle, which lets me control exactly how much the plants get. Though I see the importance of it, watering is something I try to do as little as possible. Thus the obvious appeal of succulent plants. :)

Baja, I put most of my Echinopsis out (under the North side or the porch) after the temperature stays above 20 deg. F. About a month or so later, I move them to the other side of the porch and bring other plants out where they were. My succulents are the last to come out after the threat of freezing temperatures is. past. Because of lack of room, some of the cactus get some direct sun immediately.
here is a picture of my Semps waking up nicely. and this is the first year my "Baby Toes" have survived the winter. I should have realized that toes like it in shoes, Duh! LOL. And the Delosperma doing very well.
Nancy, the Gymno's were that color when I put them out. They are starting to set buds.

Yes, I see. Well, that is what you want, for sure. The sun is different here in Phoenix!