My (non-flowering) Echinocerei

[DaveW]

The conditions in our greenhouses are unlikely to suit all cacti given their wide range of habitats. Most Echinocereus seem to like a fairly long cool winter rest down to freezing as do Sulcorebutia's that come from higher altitudes I find. However other cacti will not thrive under those conditions, therefore unless you have more than one greenhouse to provide the different microclimates you will have to decide which plants you prefer and provide the conditions required for them, or that suit the majority of cacti. If you grow Other Succulents in the same greenhouse you add yet another problem if they are winter growers.

Easier said than done, since we all want to grow the "difficult" plants that don't really thrive for us, therefore keep buying a replacement when they die. The triumph of hope over experience.

[habanerocat]

An Echinocereus thread. I couldn't let it pass without posting this beauty.

Originally bought as E. amoenus from Brookside but may be more correctly named as E. pulchellus v. amoenus.

The var may not be valid but the flower is much prettier than my other E. pulchellus.

[iann]

There is nothing difficult about getting E. coccineus/triglochidiatus to flower. Possibly you have a dud clone, but more likely you need to look at your growing conditions. Cold winter? Summer heat? Less heat? Feeding? Who knows, but rest assured they can flower from 3-4 years old, and flower prolifically when larger. I freeze them in winter, don't give them a second thought in any temperatures we get including -15C a few years back.

E. engelmanii will also flower in cultivation, but I find it shy. Or perhaps just slow. I grow varieties from southern California and western Arizona, perhaps not the easiest in my conditions. Think about more water early and late in the year, less in the middle. Again, winter cold might help, but these are not hardy for me outdoors so don't go crazy. Probably they just don't tolerate being constantly wet.

[gerald]

I've never had an Echinocereus flower, having said that I only have a handful of them. The greenhouse never gets below 5C in winter, which seems fine for Sulcorebutia flowers as they're prolific, so this year I'll put the Echinocerei in the cold frame. I'll report back same time next year with the results