Echinopsis 'Barber Pole'

 

We always look forward to the flower of this old standard every year and it is dependable.

Echinopsis 'Barber Pole'

 

They only bloom for a short time each year, but - wow - what blooms. Well worth the wait. (Again, photos by Lynn-Marie.)

Echinopsis species

 

We've had this echinopsis for a long time but don't have a species name for it. With a little research we could probably find it. The flowers don't last long, but they're amazing and have a wonderful scent.

Echinopsis arioles and spines

It isn't just the flowers which attract me to cacti and other succulents. For some, this may just look like so many bugs, but to me, it shows the strange beauty of these plants and the amazing ways in which they have been able to adapt to a difficult environment.

Echinopsis 'Rose'

This is the other large flowers that came into bloom yesterday, the Echinopsis 'Paramount Rose'.  I'm not an expert on the hybrids created by Harry Johnson in the 40s, 50s and 60s, but this was sold to us as a Paramount hybrid with the name indicated. Whether or not that's the case, it is certainly of the type of hybrids that Harry Johnson was creating, focusing on size and color. The also tend to be very easy to grow and are quite floriferous.

 

I was able to get out and take a number of photos Sunday, covering everything from various cacti to a few Lithops, and I'll be putting these up this week.

Enjoy your plants!

Echinopsis subdenudatum 'Fuzzy Navel'

Good old 'Fuzzy Navel' is flowering again: Echinopsis subdenudatum 'Fuzzy Navel' to be precise. This is one of those fun plants which suddenly surprise your with this fantastic flower.

Echinopsis flowers

On the opposite end of the scale from "weird" are the echinopsis flowers. When these bloom it just takes my breath away. I was watering plants in one of the greenhouses today and glanced over to the other side and - whoa! - they were wide open. We've been growing plants like these for over 40 years and they still surprise me.

 

Lobivia (Echinopsis) 'Aracnacot'

We're not sure of the heritage of this hybrid. Perhaps it's a hybrid by Harry Johnson. It's of the form of what is traditionally called Lobivia and the flower isn't as large as the photo might indicate, but the flower is very impressive. Currently we only have a couple in our personal collection.

Lobivia (Echinopsis) hybrid by Kara

This is a hybrid that Lynn-Marie created a few years ago. It's doing its thing right now and showing of its wonderful flowers.

 

Another one of the Lobivia (Echinopsis) hybrids was flowering yesterday, and it has about 8 more blooms to go. The only name we have on this one was what was written on the original label: 'Beautiful Pink', which could very well be simply the previous owner's description. An apt description.

Weather now is the summer weather we wait for and enjoy here in Oregon. Night time temperatures into the mid to upper 50sF (13-14C) and daytime temperatures right around 80F (27C). Ideal.

Enjoy your plants!

Echinopsis 'Rose'

Several Echinopsis hybrids are about to flower and this one is 'Rose', a Paramount hybrid. It's one of our favorites and it's very dependable.

 

Lobivia (Echinopsis) hybrid

This is an unnamed hybrid we've had for a while. But names do not make the plant and this one does quite well all on its own. And right now, it's its turn.

It's definitely summer now, with today's temperature getting to 87 F. The plants are loving it.

Lobivia (Echinopsis) 'Easter Bonnet'

The top photo is of a seed grown plant (Lobivia 'Easter Bonnet' x L. 'Easter Bonnet') which is a cross of two Easter bonnets that Lynn-Marie did. (We usually propagate by offsets rather than seed since seed from hybrids isn't always consistent or stable.) The result is as you see it. Easter Bonnet is always a bit variable in color and the two toned color may also vary. The spines are finer on the hybrid. Interesting.

There are a few other differences as well.

Lobivia 'Pink Ice'

Another plant which was flowering is Lobivia 'Pink Ice' (Syn.: Echinopsis 'Pink Ice'). This is an old hybrid which hasn't outlived its usefulness but is nevertheless sometimes hard to find. It blooms most of the summer and remains small, making it a fine windowsill plant. We're out of stock at the nursery, but still have our stock plants and just love that flower!

Echinopsis 'Barber Pole'

Today it was the turn for Echinopsis 'Barber Pole' to bloom in unison.

All together now!

I was repairing the back fence so these photos were taken by Lynn-Marie. And - oh - I've been corrected. We've been married 42 years, not 41. :-)

Trichocereus (Echinopsis) Flower

While Lynn-Marie was capturing the photo of the fish pond, she also caught this image. Yeah, it's stickery, but then it flowers!

Echinopsis medley

Today was one of those days when they all come together. Three Echinopsis hybrids decided to flower all at once: Paramount Rose, Stars & Stripes and Buttercup.

More 'Stars & Stripes'

Here's another view. Enjoy!

Echinopsis 'Stars & Stripes'

Well, it's not quite the 4th, but 'Stars and Stripes' is setting off its fireworks in a spectacular manner. Who needs the kind which blow up and go bang when you have this?

More Echinopsis hybrids

OK, I can't resist. Here's a group of Echinopsis hybrids in bloom today.