Lophocereus schottii monstrose "Totem Pole"

One thing almost all visitors comment on when here in Portland is that everything is so green. If you've seen the TV program "Grimm" (filmed here in Portland) you know what we mean. Even the trees are covered in moss green. So I suppose that these Totem Poles are still getting over the shock of blending in so well with the background. Natives of Baja, things are a little drier there. But they adapt well, at least during the warmer days of summer. During our wet and gray winters, they're in the greenhouse and are kept away from the water. We kept three in an unheated shelter last winter and they came through fine...but it was a mild winter.

Lophocereus schottii monstrose - "Totem Pole"

After my last post, the new anti-virus program I installed slowed both of our computers to a snail's pace, making it almost impossible to get anything done with the internet. But now it's working the way it's supposed to, so... Even though there's no flowers, these weird cacti (originally from Baja California) are always  quite striking. We really enjoy having them around.

Years ago a friend of ours had a really big one which was threatening to break the glass in the top of his greenhouse, so he gave it to his neighbor. His neighbor wasn't really that much of a succulent fancier, so he left it outside too late in the fall. Result: One large pile of mush. Oh well, not here. We like these things too much!

Of course it's Lophocereus schottii monstrose form (Synonym: Pachycereus schottii monstrose), the famous "Totem Pole" cactus.