Cacti Thread

[Shorerider]

 
 
     That's actually their mature form where they grow naturally in South America. They start out as a single columnar shoot. After a few years, they start to branch out at the base. As the main stem gets older, it grows in diameter and develops a really tough bark. Eventually, they look like a giant candelabra.
 
 
 
https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/show_picture.pl?l=english&rais=1&oiu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trichocereus.com%2Famazon%2Famazon_outdoor_plant.jpg&sp=c579ae2cbafc532ac0e0718e4bff1ed8

Not so much like the one in your link where all the branches are predominantly growing from the base, this one is more like a singular trunk coming up from the ground which then branches out just like a tree without leaves. I haven't really had a close look at this cactus so I could be completely wrong.
 
I'm at work now (nights) and will try to snap a pic in the morning. Stay tuned.....

 

[Shorerider]

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, the sun had only just risen.

 

 
SR. 

 

[synclinorium]

 
 
     Yup, epiphyllum count. They are technically cacti, after all. ( I had to do some reading on that one...  ) Sorry to hear about your pitaya. I've thought about growing one of those. Do they do well if you grow them outside during summer and then bring them inside and induce dormancy when it gets cold?

They grow like weeds in the summer, several feet per year, the main issues are

A) building an appropriate support structure and rigging it up so that it won't get blown over, and
B) moving the damn thing inside during the colder months

And lighting indoors of course. I usually cut off the weaker winter growth when I moved them back outside. It'd be a lot easier if I had a sunroom or greenhouse I could leave them in.

 

[dragonsfire]

Very nice, almost like Art

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, the sun had only just risen.
 
 
 

 
 
     It looks like it's related to the kinds I'm growing, but it's definitely not the same. Really pretty pics, though. I love that plant's growth habit - so open and graceful. Trichocerus tend to be denser and more vertically branched. That is one big sumbich. Thanks for posting pics! 
     Is your state one in which San Pedros and other similar cacti are illegal? 

 

[Shorerider]

It looks like it's related to the kinds I'm growing, but it's definitely not the same. Really pretty pics, though. I love that plant's growth habit - so open and graceful. Trichocerus tend to be denser and more vertically branched. That is one big sumbich. Thanks for posting pics!  
     Is your state one in which San Pedros and other similar cacti are illegal?

 
Yes indeed, it is one hellofa plant. If you look at about the 6ft mark, you'll notice some cable and turnbuckles they've used for bracing. Also, that metal stake in the ground beside the trunk is also used for bracing. 
 
Now you can understand what I mean in regards to its "tree-like" growth habit which, besides its size, caught my attention. 
 
I have no idea about the regulations of growing Cactus here. I live in the state of Victoria, which is in the south eastern corner of Aus.
 
I do however know that prickly pears are delicious, have you ever tried them?
 
 
SR. 

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

 
 
 
Yes indeed, it is one hellofa plant. If you look at about the 6ft mark, you'll notice some cable and turnbuckles they've used for bracing. Also, that metal stake in the ground beside the trunk is also used for bracing. 
 
Now you can understand what I mean in regards to its "tree-like" growth habit which, besides its size, caught my attention. 
 
I have no idea about the regulations of growing Cactus here. I live in the state of Victoria, which is in the south eastern corner of Aus.
 
I do however know that prickly pears are delicious, have you ever tried them?
 
 
SR. 
 

 
 
 
 
     Interesting that they decided to reinforce it with cable. I wonder if that has helped promote its tall growth habit. Either way, cool plant! 
     I've had nopales a few times. I like them fire roasted best. I have a prickly pear growing in the front yard that I've been meaning to take some pics of. I grabbed some pads from a county forest up in Wisconsin (my home state) and stuck them in the ground as kind of an experiment. They really took off and grow and bloom like mad each year. I might try to pick a few pads for eating this spring.
    I positively IDed them last summer just out of curiosity. I forget the name right now, but I'll look it up before I post pics.
    I did, however remember to take some pics of my trichos after mowing the lawn today, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.
 
 
 
Regrowth that started last year, after I pruned before that season. The bright green tissue in the midrib area is new growth from this season. It hasn't grown that bluish, glaucous cuticle yet.

 
 
 
 
Pups on ^ these cacti.

 
 
 
 
Same deal as pic 1. 1 year old branch, with new growth in midrib.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Group shot. I cut about 30lbs of top-heavy growth off of them a while back. Hopefully that stubby one second from the right will get the hint and finally send out some pups instead of top growth. 

 
 
     If anybody's interested in growing these species, let me know. I'll give you a chunk and some directions on how to grow them if you pay shipping. Right now, I have T. macrogonus and T. pachanoi pieces cut and callusing. If you've got your heart set on growing the smaller one (T. bridgesii), I can do that but it will take a couple of weeks to allow it to callus before I'll ship. 
 
edit: Actually, some of my cuttings will have to be divided before I can ship them. So more will need to callus. I do have several that are ready to go, though. 

 

[dragonsfire]

Great looking collection

 

[dragonsfire]

Snagged a little bud yesterday but forgot to take picture of the cacti LOL
Torch type I think , looking on the net to see if I can find it.
 

 

[HigherThisHeat]

Nice thread! I have a ton of trichocereus cacti! and other sorts as well
 
going on 2 years old, grown from seed. T. bridgesii


 
and t. pachanoi


 
and 8 month old seedlings. t. pach on left, and peruvianus on right

 

[dragonsfire]

Nice cacti

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

     Here's what my patch of prickly pears (Opuntia humifusa) that I transplanted from Wisconsin looked like the summer I transplanted them.

 
 
 
 
 
Here they are today.

 
 
 
 
Closeup of flower buds and new pads

 

[Chilima]

 

 
contributing

 

[itsy]

Cacti AND chillies? two of my favourite things 
 
I'm yet to (properly) start a chilli grow, busy building an indoor cabinet for them at the moment (it's the middle of winter over here).
In the mean time, here's some photos of my cacti (new and old).
 
These are my closet babies. I've still got a few hundred unsown seeds too. They're all trichocereus varieties ranging from named clones to named x  open pollination.

 
This is the beginning of my outside cactus garden. Lots more required   Mulching/cover required too.

 
These are some lophs I accidentally grew. I thought they were dead seedlings so I threw them into a pot and waddaya know, babies! They've got some new homes now. A little gnosis there too.

 
and here's some flowering pach. from last year.
 

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

 
 
 
This is the beginning of my outside cactus garden. Lots more required   Mulching/cover required too.

 
 

 

 
 
 
     Nice seedlings, flowers and outdoor plot, dude! Do you know what variety or hybrid those big ones are in the ground? They look like Juul's Giant to me which is a pacanoi macrogonus gross if memory serves me. 
     Any tricks for getting them to flower? I've been trying for years with no luck. 
     Thanks for posting!

 

[itsy]

Close. If I recall correctly the big fat one in front is a sharxx blue, the ones behind it are a diff cv

The smaller ones clumped on the right are mostly pach and the left are mostly peru/macro.

Their labelling was lost a long time ago so I think it's time for a re-ID and labelling session.

As for flowering, no real tips tbh. I got lucky. If I was to take a guess though, old, established, non-cut tips would do best. Those trichs were seed grown and several years old. Potted all their lives.

 

[dragonsfire]

I picked up a new guy on the road side from a road trip last weekend, he's about 3"
 

 

[GhostPepperz]

     Here's what my patch of prickly pears (Opuntia humifusa) that I transplanted from Wisconsin looked like the summer I transplanted them.

 
 
 
 
 
Here they are today.

 
 
 
 
Closeup of flower buds and new pads

 
 
Those will grow in Wisconsin? 

 

[Geonerd]

I think this is some sort of cereus.  ID help?   It produces long, slender branches with either 3 or 4 sides, and lovely flowers.
 
They grow well and are dead simple to propagate. Just whack a branch into several segments and plonk them in the ground.
 
Give them a dash of water and light ferts and they flower like mad.

 

[Calamari Kid]

     Here's a group shot of my Trichocereus collection. I pulled them outside into the shade a few weeks ago. The other day, I scooted them further out on the porch so get them some more direct sun.
     I need to do some more pruning on them to get them into shape for summer. I cut some of them back about a year and a half ago to keep them from getting too top heavy, but a lot of the rebound growth has been up top. 
 
From left to right - Trichocereus bridgesii (E. lageniformis), then T. pachanoi, (2)T. macrogonus, and another pachanoi.

 
 
     After I cut the taller ones back, I'll let the wounds callus for a few weeks and then get them out into the sun and rain. And hopefully they'll be done tipping over during thunderstorms!

They look gorgeous! And I am majorly jealous.