Delosperma “Fire Spinner”

Yes, it is a lowly Ice Plant from South Africa. But it is the fastest selling new Ice Plant we’ve ever had. Once it started blooming they’re flying out the door. Or gate, as it so happens, since we don’t have a door.

Eriosyce islayensis is from Nazca, Peru. Hard to find in the wild since these dark spiny barrels disappear into the gravel beds. Until it has fruit! The bright pink fruit are easy to spot from even a few yards away. But once the fruit are ripe, the seeds are wind blown and then there’s just the cactus left again until next year.

In Peru they are generally watered primarily by the fog. These have to be kept very dry, so that means they are an indoor plant – yes, even in San Francisco.

While very spiny, they are quite variable in the wild. The yellow flowers are a give-away.

Gymnocalycium ragonesei are from Northern Argentina. Generally they are barely visible above the ground if you can find them in the high altitude wilds of Argentina. That’s why we pot them up above the soil level – so you can see them! This we do for you.

Hoya compacta

Echeveria “Grey Red” (or “Gray Red” depending on which-side-of-the-pond’s spelling you prefer) is our newest Echeveria hybrid. This one clearly has a E. elegans parentage. So it’s one of the snowballs. And so!

I love these orange flowers of this Opuntia tuna-blanca, so I’m blogging a new photo even though I blogged the same plant (different flower) only a month ago.

Sarracenia “Cobra Nest” is a hybrid from unknown parentage. But the one thing we do know, besides that it gets about 12″ high that is, and likes acidic water and lives in a bog and prefers full sun, I mean besides all that, is that is VERY PHOTOGENIC!

Opuntia robusta, a large-padded, bluish- skinned prickly pear has small delicate yellow flowers. For all!

I wonder if I’ll ever run out of blooming cactus to photograph and post on the blog? I think not. See you in 2042!

Echinopsis thelegonoides

These cacti can reach 15 to 20ft. tall, which is impressive with those relatively narrow stems. They are native to Jujuy, Argentina, home of Gimnasia Jujuy! and Big Cactus! And just to be clear it’s another big white flower on an Echinopsis.

Nothing
we
haven’t
seen
before!

Ipomoea jaegeri

A succulent Morning Glory! How nice. Once these get to blooming in the summer they keep it up for months. Every day there will be another 4 or 5 blooms open.

Today’s vibrant colored cactus flowers include Echinopsis and Echinocereus.

Echinopsis chiloensis, formerly in the Trichocereus genus. This is one of the plants we rescued from a heritage garden in San Jose 5 or 6 years ago. And then the day after I took this picture Chris bought it. It’s still at the nursery for now, so if you want to get a good look at this old plant come by!

Now to be sure I’m not certain of the ID, so I won’t be offended if you disagree. Go ahead and correct me in the comments! Just don’t start in with the personal insults, calling me a dipstick or blockhead and especially don’t call me a noodle. I’m very sensitive that way.

Echinocereus pectinatus var. rubispinus

They all sold out at the store before they bloomed. Fortunately I saved one.

Opuntia tuna-blanca

These really are some pretty flowers for an Opuntia. Usually they’re yellow or pale purple or yellowish-pale-purple.

Plus, after the flowers are gone, you get some delicious fruit. Everything you could ever want in a plant! And so easy to grow!

And did I mention that they make good fences – they really do keep people out of your back yard or off your property entirely. Nobody is getting through those hefty spines.

Fouquieria splendens

Crassula columella

We were missing this plant for the last couple years, but our tray of babies has finally grown all up and now we have them out at the nursery, and given how long it took to grow them we’ve had to raise the price, but that doesn’t seem to stop people from buying them. Maybe I should raise the price more? Nah.

So let me tell you a little about this plant. It’s South African name is Silinderplakkie so you know they really liked this plant when they named it. It’s only semi-hardy here, although we grow them outside. Maybe 30F, but they are from a winter rainfall area so that might be why we can grow them even when it gets down to 29 or 28F. They will grow up all the way to 6″ tall. Big!

Everyone always wants to know what color the flowers are, but many crassulas have small, insignificant flowers. Then what? If you really care about these small pale-yellow flowers, you can see a lovely picture of a Silinderplakkie in bloom on the Oregon Cactus Blog.

And now that you’re back you can see what I was talking about. Special!

I wonder what today’s plant will be? Shall we take a look and see?

Aha! Today it’s a Mesemb. A hardy mesemb known colloquially as the Oscularia deltoides. Does that mean it has striangular leaves? Yes! It does mean that. Sort of.

It grows in the sandstones of South Africa, so you know it’s easy to grow. When the blooms are full and the mat-forming plant is completely covered in purple, then the butterflies go nuts.

We have a new yellow! Most of the yellow-flowered Echinocereus grandiflora hybrids are what we call “Lemon Yellow”

And “Canary Yellow” too.

Now we have…

“Sunset Yellow”

Yay!

Echinocereus pentalophus

Sometimes the cactus flower is so big you can’t see the cactus at all. Here you can see a few spines poking up behind the flower. But beware when buying cacti in bloom – the flower only lasts a few days and then your left with a cactus that you really have no idea what it’s going to look like since you didn’t see the cactus at all when you bought the giant cactus flower.

But don’t worry about this one. It’s a pretty cactus too.

Sometimes the giant Echinocereus grandiflora flowers are extra big. We call this cultivar “Tropical Pink”

Agave potatorum ‘Kichiokan Marginata’

Now that’s kind of amazing.

Pachyphytum oviferum

A classic in the succulent range of plants. Round leaves with many different colors hinted at therein.

Popular in Germany.

Will form a trailing stem with lots of new rosettes popping up along it, rooting as they go, setting up shop at every new location it can find. Plus, the leaves are pretty easy to root so the pop off and go traveling themselves quite often.

And now the San Pedro Macho bloom has opened.

Artsy photo!

Closer in, please.

Echinopsis peruviana

Local native!

Sedum spathulifolium “Carnea”

Sedums have funny looking flowers when you go right in closeup. Kind of plasticky. 5-pointed stars of course.

I love these extra long tubular buds that turns into amazing deep throated flowers. Echinopsis subdenudata

Numerous barrel cacti bloom around this time of year. For instance, take as an example, this here one:

Echinocactus grusonii

and this one here too

Ferocactus glaucescens

but mostly I recommend you take into account this example.

Ferocactus pottsi

The first of our many new Delosperma cultivars to bloom this spring is…

“Starburst”!

Eh.

That’s what the name means in latin. Echinocereus pulchellus. And it is! It is a pretty hedgehog! This is one of those cacti that will grow better indoor in a sunny window.

What else can I tell you? It’s from Mexico up to 6600ft. It’s generally solitary. Dozens of flowers every year. Under that flower you can barely see that the spines are short and white, but they become darker with age, a yellowish brown color. You can that the ribs are well spaced and the spines are short – that’s a sure indicator that this is a cactus that will shrink into the ground when cold and dry.