Espostoa in flower and a new forum contributor

[Tony R]

Hello everyone. Whilst I have read forum articles and threads occasionally, lack of time has prevented me from joining the forum and becoming a (regular) contributor. Early retirement beckons for me soon, so I may have more time (?) to join in.

I am Chairman of the BCSS Dartford Branch, and have about 2500 cacti and succulents in the collection here in Kent, and many more in the "sales house". My plant interests are diverse, but my favourites are Mammillaria, Gasteria, Opuntia (big and small!), Cleistocactus and Sempervivum.

So my question for today is - are there many examples of Espostoa here in the UK that flower? All of mine are too small to flower just yet, but last weekend, I noticed that the Espostoa guentheri (or Vatricania g. if you prefer) in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew is flowering well again this year. Here is the whole plant _ I'll attach a close-up of the cephalium later....
[attachment 17682 Espostoa_guentheri_1.jpg]

Espostoa_guentheri_1.jpg (80.85 KiB) Viewed 2283 times

[Tony R]

...and here is a close-up of the flowers ...
[attachment 17683 Espostoa_guentheri_close-up.jpg]

8QAHwAAAQUBAQEBAQE (97.79 KiB) Viewed 2283 times

[Diane]

Hi Tony, to the forum! Early retirement is an excellent excuse to spend lots of time gossiping here! (And it's nice to have another soft Southerner on board - we're outnumbered by that lot oop North!). Nice pics, by the way, look forward to seeing some of your collection!

[iann]

You don't see many of those!

[IanW]

What, southerners or flowering Espostoa ?

[Apicra]

Hi Tony,

Nice to have you around ...

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble,
London, UK

[Mal]

Hi Tony,:welc:

[David_L]

Hi Tony!

[BrianMc]

Welcome to the Forum Tony.

But Diane, I thought most of the Forum members were Southerners!;)

[Paul in Essex]

Hello Tony

2 things caught my attention - Dartford, which is 25 mins from where I live (over the water is white sock territory) and 'sales house'!

Sounds interesting...