other cactus

RickR wrote:

Some very handsome plants.  The straight spines on Grusonia clavata remind me of short porcupine quills (without the barbs). 

The second "group" pic with Grusonia clavata is really surreal: the cactus looks giant against the lewisia, and lavender flower (Erigeron?) look giant against the cactus!

Agree! Would love to have that motif in my own garden :o

I also liked the Cylindropuntia!

Opuntia chlorotica is an upright shrubby Opuntia from the Mohave and Sonoran deserts. I have been able to grow it in my Garden with no apparent damage for four years now. It is planted about two foot away from my south foundation. This extra warm micro-climate allows it thrive.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OPCH
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Opuntia+ch...
http://www.mojavenp.org/opuntia_chlorotica_mojave_national_preserve.htm
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415191

Martin wrote:

DesertZone wrote:

Martin wrote:

Trond, cylindropuntias are the tall cacti for our climate. In the unheated greenhouse I have had them to 180 cm.

That might be a good cactus for over there.  I know Cylindropuntia imbricata can handle wet feet here in the winter.  I bet if it was high on a mound it would do ok, and if it had some heat for growth in the summer. :)

The challenge for the plants are not the winters, its the cool summers. They simply like it warmer during their growth periode than what we can expect here...

Yes, quite so but I'm willing to try ;D

Anybody knowing the name of these Cacti found on the small island of El Gran Roque (Los Roques archipelago) last summer?

The first one is a Melocactus I believe:

The second is an Opuntia:

The third is completely unknown:

Hoy wrote:

The first one is a Melocactus I believe:

I'd go quess melocactus macracanthos for the first. :)

I don't know that I could venture a guess on the others. :rolleyes:

Thought you may like this Opuntia. :)
This is Opuntia macrocentra and is hardy for me but I have it placed near my south foundation. It will get frost damage if exposed to long stretches of sub 10F temperatures
I love the long spines, black with white tips, and the purple colored pads in the winter.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OPMA8
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415203
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/opuntiamacro...

Weiser wrote:

Thought you may like this Opuntia. :)
This is Opuntia macrocentra and is hardy for me but I have it placed near my south foundation. It will get frost damage if exposed to long stretches of sub 10F temperatures
I love the long spines, black with white tips, and the purple colored pads in the winter.

You are quite right, John!

Are bicoloured specimens/species common or rare BTW?

Trond
Some of the differant clones of the Opuntia phaeacantha complex can display the same type of yellow and red bi-colored flowers.

In my experience you are more apt to find it occurring in non Opuntia species. Such as these Photos of the Echinocereus complex.

But there are many other cacti genera that show bi-colored flowers. I don't grow them due to lack of hardiness.

Weiser wrote:

Trond
Some of the differant clones of the Opuntia phaeacantha complex can display the same type of yellow and red bi-colored flowers.

In my experience you are more apt to find it occurring in non Opuntia species. Such as these Photos of the Echinocereus complex.

But there are many other cacti genera that show bi-colored flowers. I don't grow them due to lack of hardiness.

John, I've seen pictures of some but never seen pictures of any bicoloured here.

This one (yours) takes the prize:

The shrunken Echinocereus spp. seedlings are spending a second winter in the fridge before braving my winters outside.

RickR wrote:

The shrunken Echinocereus spp. seedlings are spending a second winter in the fridge before braving my winters outside.

Baby cacti seedlings are just soooOOOO cute. Rick, how do you handle them in the fridge?  Don't they need more light? I'm interested in particular details about how you overwinter them in the fridge... and might such a technique be applicable to other plants?

McDonough wrote:

Baby cacti seedlings are just soooOOOO cute. Rick, how do you handle them in the fridge?  Don't they need more light? I'm interested in particular details about how you overwinter them in the fridge... and might such a technique be applicable to other plants?

Cohan is right.  When practically any plant is dormant, you don't need light.  Obviously, when a cactus shrinks down, you can be positive it is dormant.  My fridge is kept very cold: if you put a cup of water in the back, it will freeze on top.  And I am the only one here, so the door doesn't opened that often. 

I was pretty apprehensive the first time I put these cactus in the fridge last season.  I had only planted the seed the second week of July, and plants were so teensy, and even more so when they shrunk down!  These pics were taken in mid August 2010:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=501.msg5305#msg5305

Now compare that with this pic taken in mid July 2011, and how they shrunk to the image in my previous post, and you REALLY get the idea how teensy they were the first winter in the fridge.

Outside, pots sat under the roof eve for for several weeks before transferring to the fridge, and even then I put them in the fridge uncovered for a month before I enclosed them in a plastic bag.  Materials stay this way until removal in spring.  Remember that if you enclose materials and then put them in a colder temperature, you risk a lot of moisture condensation - in the soil and on the pot and plant surfaces.  Water that was water vapor and innocuous, becomes liquid that can be dangerous and promote rot.  The goal, in my opinion, is to reduce dessication, but not allow any free water liquid.  If your plastic bag has water condensing on its inner surface, than the humidity is too high inside the bag.

I regularly overwinter other plants that I expect to not survive zone 4 winter (but still need a good winter) in the fridge.  This also includes cuttings I root in the late summer, or cuttings that don't root until late summer/fall.  These new plants, I have found through trial and error (well, error, really) just don't ready themselves for winter, even though they are outside, and even though they will be perfectly cold hardy next season. 

When in the refrigerator, always err on the dry side.  It really is amazing how dry plants survive when temps are low.  Other seedlings that are in my fridge now, in their pots DRY are tender Gladiolus spp.  There will be a few others that are still in the unheated garage.

After sleeping on my last post, there was one thing I did forget:
The first time in the fridge, when the cactus was so excruciatingly tiny, in mid February I did take them out spritz them with perhaps a tablespoon of water per pot, let the surface dry, put them back in the sealed bag and back in the fridge.  But I made sure there was no residual condensation.

I don't plan on doing this now (the second winter).  Plants are much bigger.

My experience backs up Cohan's, regarding Escobaria.  Seedlings did not require lots of light inside the house in the young growing stage.  (I've germinated them in winter and late winter.)  Although, I never grew them for more than a few months inside, before transferring outside.

DesertZone wrote:

Opuntia macrocentra/polyacantha cross, found two in the yard.

Those are very attractively spined badboys. ;) I hope the flowers are something special too. :)

Cohan and Rick
Thank you for your input.
I just don't have the patience it takes to start cacti from seed. The years required for the plants to reach flowering size doesn't fit well with my need, for instant instant gratification.  :)

Here's one that's fairly indelible; a lasting display: Escobaria missouriensis in seed. The fruit does not turn red until it has been through a winter so it takes nearlly a year from fertilization to viable seed.These were all grown from seed of a single plant in my garden so they may be children of E. missouriensis x E. vivipara or they "selfed". John Spain told me on a visit there that this is one of the best for New England. It's a great cactus. there is another excellent little plant in the photo: top left: Penstemon laricifolius. This one is ancient. They bloom together and its really quite something; small, but something. I may post a bunch of cacti on the desert thread. I'll try to get a bunch of seed of this on the exchange for 2012-2013. It's really easy to get going.

Those berries are very ornamental.  I have to say I have never left my Escobaria vivipara berries attached into the winter because I collect them for seed, and now even to eat them ;D.  I wonder though, if yours really need to get that red for seed to be ripe.  I collect seed from E. vivipara when berries have a blush on them as in the pic below.  At this stage they sometimes spontaneously pop off by themselves.  Seed is completely viable at this time (no after ripening required), and no pretreatment needed either.

I agree with Rick. They don't need to stay on the plant all winter to be viable. I believe they change to bright orange/red as a way to get the attention of birds and rodents. This would help insure seed dispersal of the left over fruits from the last season. The bigger test is to try and pick the fruit. If it is ripe it will be easy to detach.

I treat seed of E. vivipara the same way; harvest in fall. This one though? I'll have to be more observant because I don't recall even seeing the fruit in fall despite having given at least a glance.

From a gracious forum member, Maihuenia poeppigii cuttings, rooted in about 2.5 weeks:

Looks like you are having good luck rooting those cuttings. They should do well for you.

I have enough cuttings to try outside, too. (Not all were shown.)  Every piece rooted.  But I think it will be next winter for testing, not this coming one.  Even my friend in northern Wisconsin, who seems to be able to grow anything, has problems with this one.