Spring Cactus blooms

Some of my Echinopsis and Echinocereus blooming in my front garden:

Nancy, What lovely blooms. I'll be in Phoenix April 28th-May 8th. Any suggestions for great C+S greenhouses?

The best greenhouses for C&S are in Tucson. Will you be going there? It is about 2 hours SE of Phoenix. I could give you lots of places there.
The only good C&S place I go to in the Phoenix area is Arizona Cactus Sales in Chandler (a suburb of Phoenix). You can check out their web site. My C&S Club is on Facebook at Central Arizona Cactus & Succulent Society. I will post your question there and see what people say.

Nancy your flowers are to-die-for! Cactus flowers are the best. Are these plants in the ground?

Helen: Thank you. Yes, they are in the ground because most are actually a type of Echinopsis called Trichocereus which get to be very big plants and the smaller flowered orange claret cups (Echinocereus coccinius) become a big clump! I have smaller Echinopsis cactus in pots that are budded also and will show those soon. 2015 has been a great year for them because it got cold, but not too cold and it rained some, but not too much!

This message was edited Apr 13, 2015 2:33 PM

Hi Nancy,

Your cactus blooms are gorgeous. Mine are just showing buds so I won't have the grand display for awhile yet.

I don't suppose you know the names. I have several Echinopsis and Trichocereus - I am suspecting that the pink one in photo #2 is a little South American Echinopsis that forms huge piles with 100's of flowers.

I am intrigued by #1 with those vibrant yellow flowers. #3 Claret's cup. #4 is a beautiful color - one of the Trichocereus?

Daisy

Nancy I like that it got cold but not too cold and that it rained but not too much! Perfect!

Nice, Nancy. Most of my plants are still inside.

Nancy, I will be going to Tucson during our vacation. Where do you suggest I stop? We are going to spend a whole day there. Can't wait to go. cll

cactusloverlady: Definitely stop at any of the following: Bach's Greenhouses, B&B Cactus Farm, Arid Lands, Tanque Verde Greenhouses. I also love Miles' To Go but you have to call first.
Here is a site with their locations, hours, etc.: http://www.tucsoncactus.org/html/nurseries_books.html

DaisyPlantLady: The first yellow one is Echinopsis 'Dutchman's Gold' and the last pink one is Echinopsis 'Flying Saucer'. I don't know what the white/pink one is. I have Echinopsis oxygona (Easter Lily Cactus) from South America (photo below) and it is not the same as the 2nd one in my earlier photo.

Nancy, Thank-you for the info. I did email Miles' To Go about visiting while I was in Tucson. He says he's not open to the public. That was disappointing. I want to go to Arid Lands for sure. In your opinion what's the best one? cll

Nice! Nancy. I hope to get a bloom from my 'Dutchman's Gold' this year. Your blooms are very pretty. I've had my Echinopsis out for about three weeks now and they are just starting to set buds.

Thanks Nancy. I'll have to keep a look out for Dutchman's Gold and Flying Saucer.

Daisy

cactusloverlady: I would suggest going to Bach's. He has one greenhouse with his personal plants that are amazing. (See photos) Ask if Mr. Bach is there for a personal tour. He takes you on a golf cart all around the nursery and it is such fun. He is a very nice guy. Of course, they also have lots of terrific plants for sale.

Bach's plants are fabulous. I always hoped to grow plants like those but… sigh… it takes a set up like his in the right climate. It must have been a great tour Nancy. If I get back to Tucson I might try and go.

Nancy, Thank-you very much for the info. I will put that on my list for sure. It looks great from your pictures. cll

Found this little guy in my horse crippler the other day! I lost 2 specimens to the rain this year. We are already 9 inches above normal for the year with more on the way.

Russell

Yikes! What is that? The worlds tiniest snake?

That is adorable! Must be a nice safe spot to hide out.

Nancy, those flowers are beautiful and what an amazing collection of cacti at Bach's.

Some cacti in bloom this spring... two Mammillarias and a Parodia. Didn't get pictures of a few other plants. But I did manage to get seeds from the local Mammillarias (M. dioica), yay. They are really really tiny.

Baja: Love the ruffles on the yellow Parodia. Do you know what one it is?

Parodia schumanniana. On the bigger side for a Parodia and it seems to bloom on and off several times a year. (Most floriferous cactus here by far.)

Wow, I need to get one of those! Love lots of flowers and especially with the ruffles.

Later I looked on CactiGuide and it says this:
The climate all over the year is warm and humid, with temperatures between 8 and 35ºC. The large rocks act as a heat accumulator, so that frost never happens. Besides this, there is wind almost every day. Sometimes, this mountain is covered with fog through several days and the plants get plenty of humidity. Older cacti are sometimes covered with moss and lichens, so you practically could keep this Parodia like orchids."
It sounds really good for you near the ocean with fog and not too much heat, but I don't think it would be very happy here in Phoenix!


This message was edited May 6, 2015 6:10 PM

Some of my Mammillaria's are blooming.

A few more.

Some of my Mammillaria's are blooming.

Awesome Mammillaria flowers.

Nancy, I did not know any of that. Of course it makes a good deal of sense. Lots of wind, lots of fog, lots of humidity. Even given all that, the plant seems to be relatively thirsty. I keep it in a clay pot so I can water freely. Between the sun and the wind, the clay pots dry out relatively fast even when the humidity is 80% (our average).

Ferocactus flower here.

Is that a clumping Ferocactus? I've never seen one.

Yes. F. robustus is the name. These two plants were single heads when I planted them here 5 years ago. Now they are starting to bump up and injure each other. I'm sort of scratching my head on where to put them in the ground as they have the potential to get massive with time.

What beautiful cactus flowers, the colors are so vibrant. The greenhouse tour was fantastic, I loved all the pictures. Absolutely wonderful thread!! :)

F. robustis: a new one to me. I LOVE Ferocactus. After doing a little research, I understand why I've never heard of it. Beautiful plants! Would they be happy outside in your fog filled ocean view (or are they already outside and just looking for bigger digs)?

They do enjoy an ocean view (not making this up!) outdoors with a SW exposure. They live in my cactus box (maybe 3'x6'x2') and seem to appreciate the relatively extended root run. I was hoping both plants would flower (imagining fruit and seed) but that will have to wait for another year. They will go in the ground not too far from here. The main concern at this point is spacing.

F. robustus is definitely an oddball, not your typical barrel cactus. It seems to be particularly tough, from what I can tell (even relative to other Ferocacti). Or maybe it just likes the breeze. :)

Nancy, as always you have such a beautiful collection. Wish your trade list included those above.

Some more blooms.

We have had amazing (for June) rain here in Phoenix and the cactus are loving it! Echinopsis subdenudata, Echinopsis planted out in the front garden, Echinopsis hybrid (maybe be 'Apricot Glow'),Mammillaria guelzowiana.

My Echinopsis subdenudata are getting ready to bloom. I have several Mammillaria's blooming. Love your Mammillaria guelzowiana. It's going on my 'got to have' list.

What great flower shows Nancy and Gary! Cactus flowers are the bomb.
I have had a few scattered flowers but haven't organized my pictures yet.
Keep your pictures coming. I get a boost seeing them. :-)

Well, then, Helen Child, a few more for you! Opuntia, Echinopsis 'Foxy Lady,' Echinocereus reichenbachii (miniature variety), Parodia herzogii, Mammillaria longimamma

This message was edited Jun 9, 2015 8:26 AM

Wow! Feeling a little weak kneed……
They are spectacular. How much fun you must be having with the favorable weather conditions.

This message was edited Jun 27, 2015 5:15 PM

You are SO right, Helen! I have lived here for 34 years and we have never had such a wonderful year for growing! The cactus are in heaven and, especially the Echinopsis, are flowering constantly. They love the cooler, cloudy days and not too hot nights. I'll be so sad when it all goes back to normal!