Echinocactus texensis

[Weiser]

This is one the only Echinocactus I have found to be hardy for me so far. Echinocactus texensis is found in west TX, and south eastern NM.
Echinocactus texensis, grows as a stout, ribbed, barrel cactus,2-8 inches tall and can get 12 inches in diameter(8 inches in diameter is more common.) It is protected by heavy claw shaped spines. Flowers are are pale-pink to off-white, with red centers, and feathery edges. I have read that they can be orange but have never seen that variation.
Hardy to 0 Fahrenheit.

[Hoy]

I grow one or two Echinocacti in pots, one of them is very similar to yours but I think it has yellow flowers?

Once I had several cacti species but I have lost some during the winters although I grow them in pots and move them to a frost free site during the winter. Last winter however, I lost 5-6 species in my "frost free" room during the very harsh winter here.  This winter has been ever worse, the mean temperature of November was 5C/9F colder than normal and December has started out very cold too.

[Weiser]

Hoy
If you have a picture of the Echinocacti in bloom I will try to identify it. No guarantees on my part but I do have a forum I post on, "CactiGuide.com" that does a very good of identification.

[McDonough]

I like the feathery edges of the beautiful flowers, a most desirable cactus.

[Hoy]

Hoy
If you have a picture of the Echinocacti in bloom I will try to identify it. No guarantees on my part but I do have a forum I post on, "CactiGuide.com" that does a very good of identification.

Sorry, only old slides as I haven't pictured houseplants recently! Have to wait till next summer.

[Kelaidis]

Horse cripplers are among my favorite cacti: unfortunately, idiotic ranchers across Texas and New Mexico uproot and destroy them mercilessly because of that stupid common name (poor bastards don't want their horses crippled)...I doubt that many horses are dumb enough to step on these. My ex wife once owned a wonderful ranch near Sweetwater Texas with a mesa boasting hundreds of these. The land was rented and the renters went through and destroyed every Echinocactus they could find. Gwen was so sick at their stupidity she sold the land. A friend knows a rancher who wants to get rid of them and he has been transplanting them to Pueblo where he has an amazing collection: at this extreme end of their range their flower color can be nearly red, orange and often multicolored. In Colorado they require extremely good drainage and a very warm, special microclimate to persist: we have had this lovely pink one on our Dryland Mesa for many years. A few local cactus growers are growing them, but not nearly enough! I have seen specimens a foot across! And they bloom for a very long time...John! You have struck a nerve..

Notice in the overall shot of Dryland Mesa, the horse crippler is in the lower lefthand margin to give you perspective: our winter was so consistent last year with lots of snow that bulbs and dryland plants really reveled when it finally warmed up. Three fabulous springs in a row...but now La Nina bodes drier winters...back to the drawingboard!

[Hoy]

Horse cripplers are among my favorite cacti: unfortunately, idiotic ranchers across Texas and New Mexico uproot and destroy them mercilessly because of that stupid common name (poor bastards don't want their horses crippled)...I doubt that many horses are dumb enough to step on these. My ex wife once owned a wonderful ranch near Sweetwater Texas with a mesa boasting hundreds of these. The land was rented and the renters went through and destroyed every Echinocactus they could find. Gwen was so sick at their stupidity she sold the land. A friend knows a rancher who wants to get rid of them and he has been transplanting them to Pueblo where he has an amazing collection: at this extreme end of their range their flower color can be nearly red, orange and often multicolored. In Colorado they require extremely good drainage and a very warm, special microclimate to persist: we have had this lovely pink one on our Dryland Mesa for many years. A few local cactus growers are growing them, but not nearly enough! I have seen specimens a foot across! And they bloom for a very long time...John! You have struck a nerve..

Notice in the overall shot of Dryland Mesa, the horse crippler is in the lower lefthand margin to give you perspective: our winter was so consistent last year with lots of snow that bulbs and dryland plants really reveled when it finally warmed up. Three fabulous springs in a row...but now La Nina bodes drier winters...back to the drawingboard!

You find stupid people everywhere! I got sick too!
You have La Nina, we have the NAO!

[cohan]

Nice plants, I'd love to see the orange and reds too!
Re: ranchers, its a pet peeve of mine that there are some native wildflowers here which are on official weed lists!! simply because they are poisonous to livestock! even if one needed to limit them within a pasture, there is no need to try to eliminate them on land not used for grazing....