Cactus Blog 

That’s a giant Orchid Cactus Flower.

Epiphyllum is a highly hybridized genus. Do we have any idea what the species of this is? No! Someone may choose to identify the variety by the flower, but we prefer to leave it up in the air. So to speak. Epiphytic Plant Joke! Hah!

It’s a species of cactus that comes from Central America generally. And most of the species we call Epiphyllum are more likely actually Disocactus hybrids. Or intergenic hybrids with other plants from the Hylocereeae Cactus Tribe. But this one I am absolutely positively sure is an Epiphyllum. Or not. I don’t know what those Botanists are thinking these days.

That’s a lot of fancy words for a flower this pretty. Enjoy!

Tillandsia xerographica

Tillandsia xerographica

is a slow-growing, xerophytic epiphyte… making an attractive, sculptural rosette, 3 feet or more in diameter and over 3 feet high in flower…. The leaf bracts are rosy red; the floral bracts are chartreuse; and the petals of the tubular flowers are red to purple and are very long lasting…

Aeonium “Kiwi”

Oakland Succulent Gardens

La Vereda, Berkeley

Tillandsia juncea in a slightly artsy pose. With blooms!

Berkeley cactus garden, Ferocactus stainesii

New concrete succulent pots available at the Cactus Jungle!

Hand-crafted locally by Brian, SukkulentsBYB.

And here is where we pot them up with our very own adorable succulents.

Evelyn G. shared her cactus art with us from her instagram. She wants a cactus that will stay short, have big arms, no spines, and lots of blooms. Nice!

Nadia sends along a photo of her beautiful succulent wall panel she made at our Cactus Jungle wall panel class this weekend.

Nice!

More classes coming up? Yes!

Aloe speciosa,  San Leandro

A house on my street has these mounds of aloes. Not too attractive as far as it’s design, but something very cool popped up out of it.

Is this how variegated versions of plants are made? By mutation?

I’m considering asking to buy this lil special guy and try to see if I keep it healthy it will put out pups. Have you ever seen one like this? Cuz I never have.

Thx!!!
Jbot

Jbot,

It does look like an albino variegation mutation on that Aloe nobilis. In full sun and low water it will likely fail long term, so indeed try to bargain for it. That type of mutation is usually better grown where they get afternoon shade and a bit more care since they lack so much chlorophyll they are a bit “sickly”, but look pretty good with the right care.

Good luck and if you get it and grow it out and want to share a pup in a few years let me know!

Take care,

Hap

La Vereda Road, Berkeley

Aloe striata hybrid in full hummingbird-loving bloom.

Parodia magnifica
Ball Cactus

Brazil; 6″dia. with many offsets, keep dry in winter

Hardy to 25F

Hilltop Steakhouse is gone for good, but the cactus remains!

Whither Hilltop Steakhouse? Closed since 2013, the landmark restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus is about to be demolished. That’s the bad news, at least for lovers of its marbled beef and baked potatoes. The good news is that the giant cactus that greeted patrons is staying put. The developer “recognizes that the cactus is such an iconic item that he couldn’t do any better than to reuse it”….

The Hilltop was opened in 1961 by Frank Giuffrida, a butcher whose name is emblazoned on the 68-foot tall, 45-foot wide cactus. That won’t remain, apparently. We’re told the developer plans to retrofit the Route 1 icon with LED lights and replace the name.

It’s a Boston thing.

53rd Street, Emeryville

Echinopsis pachanoi

Chevy Truck

Nice!

I bought this cactus many years ago for a dollar 99 and there were 4 inches of it straight up. I’ve kept it usually just back in the corner not really paying attention to it and probably in the same dirt it was in for 12, 13, 14, years.

Cannot get pictures not when it was real tiny but when I was about 3 feet high and then I’ve got pictures of a more currently when I transplanted it in cactus soil and a larger pot (it was root bound). And it has grown Beyond belief shooting out things everywhere my question is I don’t know if I planted it in enough cactus soil with enough depth. There is a bout 10 to 12 inches of soil hello pot that is probably 2 feet around tapering down to a foot around. And I don’t know how to describe how far Down the plant goes.

The question is how deeper the roots go on something like this finished just one stock coming out of the center from the center supporting all these things and I will attach photos. I look forward to some answers and maybe even what kind of cactuses if it should be repotted again. It sits in the large picture window so it’s getting good sun. I live in Minnesota supported out during the summer would just open it up to bugs that.

Thanks…
Kevin

Kevin,

Your plant is a Euphorbia. They are a great indoor houseplant. They can be underpotted for years, as you know, and then given some new fresh soil and some water they will grow like crazy! Water less for slower growth. We water no more than once per month. If you pot it up to a larger pot now it will keep getting bigger. However in the ground this is a full size tree, so it’s OK to not repot it for a few more years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_ingens#/media/File:Euphorbia_ingens_(habitus ),_crop.jpg

Peter

Thanks you so much! Yay… Do you have cats at home?
Kevin
DuckyWorld Products Inc.
Minneapolis, MN

No cats, dogs!

Each year, (a) mature cactus can produce 10-20 offsets….

“You can harvest the babies off the larger cacti every year.”…

Last year they had about 1,500. They now have almost 5,000 cacti growing at Tilllsonburg Garden Gate.

“This year I have to pull off 50,000 cacti… with my hands.”…

“Once we have 50,000, then we’ll be able to expand sales,” said Dawson…. “Next year, 50,000 x 10, we could have half a million cacti.”…

“It’s a specialty market.”

That’ll be a lot of cactus soon enough! I wonder if they’ll be trying to sell them to us in California too? It’s a bigger market for cactus than Toronto…

Do you have a free Saturday coming up? Are you going to be in Escondido (San Diego County)? Do you have old shoes?

If you answered yes to ALL THREE of those questions, and not just one or two, then head on over to Waterwise for the Succulent Shoe Workshop!

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Cactus Jungle

Mimulus “Georgie Tangerine” on 4th Street in Berkeley

I can’t actually confirm the ID of the cultivar, but I’m pretty sure. Embiggen the photo if you want to look a bit closer yourself and let me know what you think. Maybe it’s M. “Curious Orange”?

Nepenthes ventricosa comes from the highlands of the Philippines. They must get some scary looking bugs up there to have such a ferocious looking carnivore also. But I am brave enough that someday I will go there for you and find them in the wild and take a picture of one beautiful N. ventricosa in habitat eating a large insect or small rodent. For you!

Clinton sends along a recent photo from New Mexico of an Agave in snow.

Wow, that is pretty. But I sure am glad to not wake up to snow. California sunshine is pretty too. Woohoo!

Rachel sends along a picture of an Agave going into bloom in Arizona on the ranch. Maybe Agave deserti?