Can anyone ID these cacti? Solved

[Olivia]

I am trying to ID some of my cacti. The third one with the black background is a euphorbia that twists. The second large white one is a burned cactus I acquired & am bringing back.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb23 ... /WhtSm.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb23 ... /Whit1.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb23 ... euphor.jpg
Thanks

[Phil_SK]

1. might be Espostoa melanostele
2. is Cleistocactus strausii

[ralphrmartin]

3 is a Euphorbia - and not a cactus at all.

[MikeT]

First could well be Espostoa, not easy to be certain of the species from the photo.

Second looks to be a Cleistocactus, but straussii doesn't usually look so bald on the older stems? Could it be ritteri or one of the other hairy species? I suppose strausii is so much commoner in cultivation that it may well be that even if a little atypical. Having reached this far, I've just noticed your comment about "burned", Olivia. If it's been in a fire, that might explain where the hair went.

Third: Euphorbia, yes; no idea which one though, sorry.

[Olivia]

Thanks everybody for your help. Other than a spine closeup would another picture help with the ID?
Mike, I meant the sun burned the top of the columns – the plant was in a container & did not get any water for some time. I cut off the dead material last year & the hairy growth is new growth. I acquired this cactus from someone else – I am unsure if the heat damage affected the appearance of the older columns.

[DaveW]

I agree with Phil's identification. When you get a large enough new growth on the C. strausii cut it off and re-root it to get a clean plant. The stump will keep throwing new shoots for propagation for swaps or spares. However, using the roots of the old plant you will get quicker growth and a flowering sized specimen quicker than if you top it now. I would wait until a stem flowers and then remove it after flowering for a clean plant.

I found my C. strausii grew very quickly each year until it started flowering, then all it's efforts seem to go into producing numerous flowers each year and stem growth slows up.

DaveW

[Olivia]

Thanks for your response, Dave. I have been reading up on the possible ID’s, & it looks like they are correct. The bloom of the tall cactus looks like Cleistocactus strausii. I had the same thing in mind – using it as a stock plant. It is not pretty as is, but is a good example of the heat tolerance of this plant. In a sense it was nice that this plant was ignored, because it was easy to bring back & had no pests.