The following was sent via email: Hi somebody there: About 10-12 years ago, I purchased what I thought was a rather nice simple little cactus - not knowing what it was - and was rather haphazard in nurturing it. It has become a very special cactus for two reasons. One, it began to bloom for me about one year after my wife of 34 years died of a horrendous struggle with leukemia. "My desert shall bloom again, I thought". Two, the blooms (now 49 of them over 3 years) are pink, large, trumpet-shaped, and absolutely gorgeous!! I am trying to find out what it is that I have here that is so marvelous. I have taken off 21 small branches and rooted them in separate pots. Two of these have also started to bloom. Can you tell me what it is that I have in my possession? I am thinking, from what I have been able to find out, that I have something non-hybrid and special. The closest that I have come is to identify it as the Sea Urchin. Can you help me out? How do I send you some pictures of the blooms? The plant itself is round!
Your plant is most likely an Echinopsis, maybe Echinopsis multiplex from South America. This species is globular in form with long tubular pink flowers and offsets readily.
alls i can say is wow that is one beautifull cactus .. I have no idea what kind it is .. but i just had to say that is beautifull .. keep doin what ever you are doing .. Marn
Hi there, just saw the pictures of your cactus, and was wondering if I could buy one of the babies from you? It will only work if you live in Canada, plants across the border problems and all. I've been trying to find one really nice blooming echinopsis and have not had any luck at all. Not much to choose from in Canada. Yes, I have gotten in touch with local cacti societies, but there still isn't much to choose from. Anyway, just thought I would ask :)
Wow. I'm not sure what kind it is, the most similar cactus I've ever heard of is the Trumpet Cactus, and it only blooms at night, it's nocturnal. But quite obviously that isn't a Trumpet Cactus. Stunning cactus. All I can say. Absolutely gorgeous.
The skin looks a little too glossy, but the form and color of the bloom, and the general shape of the plant indicate to me it is one of the Echinopsis hybrids referred to as "Paramount" hybrids. Sometimes they are placed in the genus Trichocereus, and they are named by the specific variety of hybrid. I'm not sure if they were hybridized with a Lobelia or not. ??? I'll have to look into it...
I've had to get most of my cactus from obtaining seed, I find it easier to get them this way. Seeds don't generally get stopped at the border like a live plant will. This company has lots of variety, and fresh seed. www.cactus-heaven.com/index.phtml
Here are a couple of other good seed sites: http://www.koehres-kaktus.de/index1gb.htm http://www.mesagarden.com/ Seeds are good if you have patience. Pereskiopsis grafting really speeds up the process.
i must agree cactus is very dificult to find in Canada the ones i do come across are always unmarked or rather marked as catus lol i have been lucky in obtaining plants from the usa & overseas with proper documents Phyto & Cites if required but many wont go to the trouble at all seeds can take a long time Plus can be very tricky to raise but as you say grafting with pereskiopsis can certainly speed things up & in many cases save some difficult slow growing plants . if somewhat larger plants are found Myrtillo geometrians are also good grafting stock pereskiopsis can be tough to find as well they just dont seem to set seed so cuttings is the only way to obtain them
I think Koehres and Mesa Garden both have pereskiopsis seed, but cuttings are a much better way to go.
That's a truly awesome cactus. I wonder if it will produce blossoms like that every year. Wish I had one. ;)
