New Cactus Cutting Issues

Peter,
Thanks for replying in response to my email request. The subject cactus, which I was told by its owner Tyler is Trichocereus pacnoi monstrose. It has this callous on the cut end but it also has some yellowish spotting that I am concerned may be a virus. Tyler bought this specimen, along with a bridgesii cutting on eBay, and the first pic shows the plants right after they were unpacked. The other pics are closeups of the cactus of concern. Please reply to me and Tyler as to what actions need to be taken to try to salvage both plants, if that is possible. Thanks so much for responding to my request in a timely manner. Tyler just recently got involved with cactus growing and reached out to Texas A&M Extension to get help with his cacti. I was asked, as a Master Gardener, to try to help him, and I decided to reach out to some cactus experts so I do not send him off in the wrong direction.

A hand holding a large, green, unusually shaped ear of corn with fused, bumpy kernels—its odd appearance resembling a cactus cutting and suggesting fasciation or another growth abnormality. A green, fan-shaped crested cactus with bumpy ridges lies on a glass surface. The bottom, showing white, rough, weathered areas, hints at potential cactus problems—ideal for learning about cactus cutting or propagation. A green succulent and a small leafy plant in a black pot sit on a wooden table scattered with white tissue paper, soil, and a folding knife—perfect tools for cactus care. An envelope is visible in the background.

David

David,
I don’t think there is any virus. I think the cactus is just less than perfect, which cactus often are. It may be some active fungus or rot from the shipping process. You can spray with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil or use a systemic like Infuse if you are worried. After you plant it in fresh fast-draining cactus soil and wait 2 weeks to water, if you see any spots start to grow then you might have an issue. If the spots have rings then it might be a virus. But I don’t see anything like that now.

Species name is Echinopsis pachanoi fa. monstrose.

Peter

Christmas Cactus

A close-up of a potted Christmas cactus with vibrant pink and white flowers and green, segmented leaves, set against a black background.

It’s Christmas Cactus season!

Schlumbergera hybrids have the best flowers.

Christmas Cactus will bloom for up to 2 months in the winter. A jungle cactus that grows in trees – needs bright indirect sun, or dappled light

Tips to get your Christmas Cactus to re-bloom every year:
1. August, September and into October: Use bloom food every time you water
2. September and October: 14 hours of darkness, with 8-10 hours of indirect light every day
3. November and December: bring out to bright indirect light and watch it bloom!

Pincushion Cactus

A round cactus covered in dense white spines with reddish tips sits in a pot surrounded by small rocks and gravel. Green pots with other plants are visible in the blurred background.

Mammillaria crinita has great color, lots of spines, very cute!

Native to Mexico, it grows on volcanic rock. Ouch. But then there are yellow flowers…

More Blooming Cacti

A bright pink cactus flower with a yellow and white center blooms atop a green cactus stem, surrounded by other blooming cacti in a vibrant garden setting.

A late blooming Echinopsis grandiflora hybrid that we like to call “Tropical Pink”. Nice!

The Future is Cactus

According to Earther.com:

We’ll All Be Eating Cactus in the Future Thanks to Climate Change
by Katie Valentine

…the prickly pear cactus, a humble plant that, according to a new book co-published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, can serve as a lifesaving crop for many countries…

“It’s actually a fairly amazing crop that can grow in most dry areas of the world,” Makiko Taguchi, a cactus expert at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, told Earther. “And the dry areas of the world are expanding in some places.”

Oh, and it’s delicious!

Prickly Pear Margarita

Ingredients

coarse salt as needed
2 fluid ounces tequila
2 fluid ounces sweet and sour mix

1 fluid ounce triple sec
1 fluid ounce lime juice
1 fluid ounce prickly pear syrup

Click thru to see the rest of the instructions.

Road Kill Cactus

A close-up of a green cactus with small white dots, planted in a pot with rocky soil. The background shows other cacti and blurred greenery in a sunlit indoor setting.

Consolea rubescens is the flat cactus known as the Road Kill Cactus
…
Because it’s flat!
😍 👏 🐝 🦋

Cardon

Rows of potted cacti and succulents are displayed on tables and shelves in an outdoor garden center, with a sign labeled CACTUS visible in the background. Sunlight shines on the plants and gravel ground.

Pachycereus pringlei

Common Name: Cardón

Origin: Baja California

Description: Tall and spiny to 40ft. with 2ft. trunk, slow growing. Edible fruit, medicinal stems.

Temperature: Hardy to 25F

Star Cactus

A cactus with textured, gray-green, geometric scales blooms a vibrant pink flower with orange and white stamens at its center, set in a pot with rocky soil.

Ariocarpus fissuratus vibrantly blooming in autumn.

Common Name: Star Rock, Chaute

Origin: Big Bend, Texas; Mexico

Description: Slow-growing to 10″d; hairy center; summer blooms; keep dry in winter

Hardy to 25F
Full Sun
Extra Chunky Cactus Soil
Low Water

Blooming Cactus Flowers

A top view of a gray-green cactus with thick, triangular leaves, blooming a large white flower with yellow stamens in the center, planted in a pot filled with small brown rocks—showcasing the beauty of blooming cactus flowers.

Beautiful Ariocarpus retusus flowers!

Ariocarpus retusus

Common Name: Living Rock Cactus, Seven Stars, Chaute

Origin: Mexico

Description: Highly variable, possibly through hybridizing. Slow-growing to 10″d; hairy center; summer blooms. Keep dry in winter

Temperature: Hardy to 15F

Los Angeles Area Cactus Show 

Were you wondering what to do next weekend? Are you going to be in Encino next weekend? You are in luck!

If your garden yearns for crazy, colorful, drought-hearty plants, the Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society aims to satisfy at its first Fall Sale Sept. 16 in Encino.

Various small potted cacti are displayed for sale at a Los Angeles Area Cactus Show, each with a white label showing their scientific names and a price of $7.00. The cacti sit in containers filled with gravel.A variety of cacti and succulents are up for sale. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)

I say, “Woot!”

Dragonfruit Recipe

I found this delicious Dragonfruit Sherbet recipe from our local Berkeleyside!

It’s been a very hot weekend (Record heat throughout Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland? Yes!) so it’s what you want. Right now.

Incredibly addictive, this sherbet offers a celebration of refreshing and complementary flavor in every spoonful. The cool dragon fruit is faintly milky, citrusy and herbal with its gentle infusion of lemongrass. Meanwhile, the strawberry layer offers a hint of tartness and a welcome trace of classic berry sweetness.

A metal spoon holds a small scoop of white and pink frozen dessert with black seeds, resembling a dragon fruit treat, against a pale blue background.Dragon Fruit Sherbet with Lemongrass and Strawberry

Makes about a quart

1 1/2 ounces (about 1 1/2 stalks, depending on size) fresh lemongrass
3/4 cup canned light coconut milk (not full-fat)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces fresh ripe strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light, somewhat neutral liquor of your choice, at least 80 proof (think vodka, light rum or a clear fruit brandy)
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds dragon fruit (about 3 medium dragon fruit)

As always, click through for the full instructions.

Delicious Prickly Pear Fruit

Close-up of prickly pear cactus with purple fruit in focus; blurred background shows rows of potted cacti and a greenhouse sign reading Cactus Jungle under a sunny sky.

That is some delicious looking large red cactus fruit, aka Tunas, Prickly Pears, Sabras, nōchtli and more names! This is on one of our larger Opuntia robusta plants. When they get in the ground they can produced a lot of fruit, just for you if that’s what you want, or for all your neighbors and friends too, if you have neighbors and friends. I always prefer to eat my prickly pears by blending them in with my margaritas. Delicious, and healthy!

Prickly Pear Margarita Recipe
Using Prickly Pear Juice
Restaurant Cocktail Recipe

Preparation time: 3 minutes. Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 ounces Tequila
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce prickly pear juice
1/2 ounce Cointreau
Lime slice for garnish
Ice
Kosher salt

Instructions: Click through for the rest of the instructions!
Note that I always leave off the salt, because that’s just the way I prefer my margaritas, without salt.

Cactus ID for Everyone!

Subject: cactus photo

sent you a message asking for your help finding out what kind of cactus this is thanks for all your help

A tall, green, multi-stemmed cactus with bumpy, irregular growth is potted in a light brown container. The pot sits on a wooden surface in front of a black screen, the unique shape perfect for Cactus ID and identity verification enthusiasts.
Mr Leslie Paulson

Your cactus is a Cereus c.v. Monstrose!

Peter

Echinopsis Flower

A close-up of a vibrant pink and orange cactus flower with yellow stamens and a green center, surrounded by spiky cactus stems and blurred pots in the background.

Echinopsis x grandiflora hybrid “Butterfly Mango” showing off.

Summer Cactus Flower

A vibrant pink cactus flower blooms in sunlight, surrounded by spiny green stems and blurred foliage in the background.

It’s a cholla in full bloom! Well, it’s a single cholla flower. At least! Maybe I could zoom out and we’d see if there are more flowers.

And it’s a California native cactus too.

Cylindropuntia fulgida

Chain-Fruit Cholla, Boxing glove Cholla

Origin: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Baja California

Medium height tree cholla, to 6ft tall. Flowers in summer.

Hardy to 5F.

 

Pterocactus tuberosus 

A close-up of a yellow cactus flower blooming on a brown, spiky stem, with a blurred indoor background featuring shelves and various objects.

Ben’s weird caudiciform opuntioid is blooming!

Pterocactus tuberosus 

Thanks for sharing, Ben!

Hopefully we’ll have some available by fall. We can all hope. 

Easter Lily Cactus 

A small potted cactus with several large, pale pink and white flowers in full bloom, surrounded by rocks and other cacti in the background.

Echinopsis oxygona 

Origin: South America

Description: Forms clumps. Stems are variable – 2-10″ diameter; spines are variable, not always present. Large tubular showy flowers range from pinkish white to lavender, sometimes light red.

Temperature: Hardy to 20F

Full Sun to Part Sun

California Beavertail Cactus 

A vibrant pink cactus flower blooms on a green prickly cactus in a pot, surrounded by buds and sandy soil. Other potted plants are visible in the blurred background.

Opuntia basilaris 

Classic blue cactus from the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Very low water, can handle high heat and winter cold if dry. Pink flowers. Loads of small glochids, very few spines. Will get 2 to 3 feet tall and spread 6 to 8 feet wide over time. Pads were used medicinally.

Temperature: Hardy to 0F if very dry

Dave Sends a Photo…

…of a giant blooming cactus he got from Cactus Jungle!

Thought you would enjoy

A tall cactus in a blue pot displays large, vibrant pink flowers with yellow centers. Green ferns and other plants surround the pot in an outdoor garden as Dave sends a photo of this striking scene.

A picture of a cactus we brought from you two years ago.
Dave

Nice. That’s one of our Echinopsis grandiflora hybrids.

Butterfly Mango 

A close-up of a vibrant cactus flower with bright orange and pink petals, yellow center, and delicate stamens, blooming among green cactus stems in a garden setting.

Echinopsis x grandiflora “Butterfly Mango” 

Another giant #cactus flower! Sweet. It’s a good spring for cactus flowers. 

Cactus Hybrids 

A round green cactus with numerous light pink and yellow flowers blooming in a circle around its top, set in a pot on reddish gravel.

Our newest hybrid grandiflora is Echinopsis “Rocket Pink”. 

Nice! 

Cactus ID Is Difficult 

A small round cactus with white spines sits in a brown ceramic pot filled with soil, placed on a red coaster on a wooden surface. A white curtain is visible in the background.

Hello!

I recently purchased a cactus to put on my windowsill to brighten up my room a bit, my problem is that I threw away the container right after I repotted it and now I don’t know what it is exactly. Could you help me?

The pot it’s in in this picture is four inches across and the ends of the spines are a dark red color.

Thank you so much!

Emma

Emma,

Hard to know for sure at that size, but I would guess a Gymnocalycium, although my 2nd guess would be a Ferocactus. If it blooms young, it’s probably a Gymnocalycium. Also, it looks like it could use more sun.

Peter

Blooming Cactus 

A small cactus with spiky green stems sits in a yellow pot, topped with bright red flowers in full bloom and surrounded by white pebbles.

Rebutia heliosa v melanistic

Origin: Bolivia

Description:
“Short Spined” variety

Clustering small stems, variable red to magenta flowers, spiraling ribs with prominent tubercles. Elongate areoles. Short, tiny brown spines. Purple-tinged stems in full sun.

Characteristics:
Full Sun to Part Sun
Ultra Soil Blend
Low Water

Size: Clusters of 1″ stems

April 2026
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