Plants for the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society "Succulent Plant Expo 2016"

Not much compares with these echinocereus flowers!

Echinocereus flowers

The epis are still blooming like mad, but now, also, it's time for the hedgehogs!

Echinocereus gentryi

We have several of these and  they're all blooming now. Quite impressive.

Echinocereus viridiflorus

For us, these flower abundantly and require next to no special attention. Other than not being especially happy with the amount of rain we get in the winter, these plants can take any cold weather we could ever send their way.

Echinocereus scheeri subsp. gentryi

These plants are very dependable bloomers and quite cold hardy, down to 20F or so, if kept dry.

Echinocereus species

We've never had the species name on this plant. It came without a tag and we haven't ever had the time (or drive) to do the research to determine the species. We're pretty sure, but we don't put a species name on a tag until we're more than "pretty sure". In the meantime we just enjoy the flowers it produces every year.

Enjoy your plants!

Echinocereus flower

It warmed up today and that brought out the flowers. This particular Echinocereus came to us unlabeled but it appears to be aff. scheeri. It flowers dependably every year.

Thanks to those who showed up at the workshop/class at Portland Nursery today. There was a good turnout and it was a lot of fun.

Echinocereus viridiflorus

This nice little Echinocereus grows hidden in the grasses or under the snow in fairly mountainous terrain in Colorado and Wyoming (and in various expressions, throughout other states, from Texas and north). It can take a lot of mistreatment and not only survive, but thrive. Just as yesterday's post was of a "hard keeper," this is one "easy keeper."

Enjoy your plants!

Echinocereus nivosus

Echinocereus nivosus (Syn.: E. albatus) is a wonderful plant, densely covered with white, needle-like spines. It's a bit prone to rot so it needs a potting mix with excellent drainage. But, given that drainage, it's surprisingly hardy, taking temperatures down to -9C (16F). I've seen situations in the Portland area where it has survived outside in our winters, but I haven't had the courage yet...

Enjoy your plants!

Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubrispinus

Today I did have a few minutes to get some shots of the Ruby Hedgehog in flower. They've been flowering off and on for a while now; just never seem to have the camera handy when I need it.

Echinocereus pulchellus

A new addition to the plants we carry at the nursery is Echinocereus pulchellus. The flower color is variable, as indicated in the first picture, and the plants flower their little heads off. Not really "little", as they grow to 6-7 cm. in diameter.

Enjoy your plants!

Echinocereus pectinatus - "Coahuila Lace Cactus"

This particular Echinocereus pectinatus is sometimes listed as "var. coahuila" but the variety status is very poorly supported. More likely it's one part of a continuum of variation which makes up this species. Whatever the name, the plant itself, sans flowers, presents a powerful yet graceful appearance.

Echinocereus longisetus ssp. delaetii

Known to most of us as simply E. delaetii, this is certainly a distinctive looking "hedgehog" cactus. The long, curly central spines are outstanding.

Echinocereus viridiflorus

These aren't flowering right now. It's just a bit cold out there - for another night. But they are out there shivering in the cold night. These particular Echinocereus viridiflorus plants come from Colorado, up near the border with Wyoming, and they're quite hardy. They'd better be. Our temperatures right now are almost rivaling those of Wyoming and Nebraska. ... Notice I said "almost"! But it's going to be into the teens again tonight!

Enough already! We're expecting another night of this and the greenhouse heater still isn't working right. So, another night of temporary heaters. And I'll have to get up in the middle of the night to check 'em! Argh!

Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albispinus

It's back into the archives tonight. This time it's Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albispinus. Like several of the Echinocereus species, these are quite hardy and with excellent drainage will even survive our wet Portland winters. (The consensus taxonomists no longer consider "albispinus" to be a valid variety - that there's just a wide spectrum of variability within the species.)

Echinocereus rigidissimus subsp. rubispinus flower

It's just been way too busy since returning from our trip, but the flowers just keep coming anyway. And with the temperature rising to 88 F today, there are flowers everywhere!

This is the flower of Echinocereus rigidissimus subsp. rubispinus. There are several of these flowering.

Echinocereus gentrii

I love these plants. This is Echinocereus gentrii. Wow!