cacti and succulent fans make your presence known here

[Gary Majchrzak]

thanks for the link, Rick. I've been visiting that website for years.

Steve- I'm guessing your Dad takes care of that garden. Does he feed the prickly pears 'rose food' by chance?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Delosperma cooperi is a kewl winter hardy succulent in our zone as long as it's in an area of good drainage. This plant is originally from South Africa. The sun reflects off of the plant giving it the appearance of 'ice', and it's often called "Ice Plant".

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Gymnocalycium buenekeri (cactus) in bloom.
I've had this one for many years and it has spectacular pink flowers. It's not cold hardy.

 

[KurtsReef]

A co-worker gave me a part of a cactus last week that is now planted in our landscaping, from photos of it in bloom it resembles the prickly pear posted by Steve. They keep it in their yard year round, she told me that when it looks like "mush" in the spring just leave it alone and it will come back.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

that's right- prickly pears look like mush in the spring around here. Here's three different types of Opuntia I have growing that are cold hardy. Last year I planted one pad of each species.

A Notocactus on the day it will bloom

'Voodoo' Sedum

'Donkey Tail' Euphorbia

a Sedum that propagates itself by self- fragging
(note the frags at the bottom of the picture)

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

check out this trip through Mexico:

http://www.oasisdesigns.co.uk/mexnov07/1.htm

there are some great pictures!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

it's tough to find winter hardy cactus frags grown locally in upstate NY. I have 'em. My cactus plants have survived the past two winters outside (they're "perennials") and they've begun to put on new growth for this year. I have prickly pear and "spineless" prickly pear (Opuntia). I'm always looking to connect with other cactophiles in upstate NY

 

[Capt_Cully]

Gary, where do you get them? Our Home Depot has NONE, and Lowes selection is marginal at best.

 

[block head]

i have a love hate with cholla and prickly pear, i lived in colorado for six years and it was loaded with both. spent countless hours removing cactus spines with tweezers and pliers. my bird dog and i hunted scaled quail that form a symbiotic relationship with the cactus. in southern colorado they more common than trees in new york. they are extremilly hardy and should grow very well for u. availability should not be difficult ,anyone in southern colorado new mexico,texas area hate them for the most part and would be more than willing to send u some.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12476760#post12476760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Capt_Cully
Gary, where do you get them? Our Home Depot has NONE, and Lowes selection is marginal at best.

Home Depot and Lowes don't offer winter hardy cactus for sale- they offer species that are grown for use as houseplants. The houseplant types won't survive outdoors during an upstate NY winter.
I got my Opuntia (prickly pear) plants from a friends garden in Michigan. My Cholla came from southern Colorado. The Opuntia have spent the past several years planted outside in my garden.
There's a local nursery in Brockport that sells winter hardy cactus or you can contact me.
If you think it's difficult getting coral frags you should try getting cactus frags

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

it's 'bloom week' for my Opuntia

it's 'bloom week' for my Opuntia

 

[Capt_Cully]

Sweeeeet! Under your tutillage (sp? :fun5: ) I've gotten a pretty nice little house Cactus/Cacti collection. I'll have to put together a little photo journal.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

dibs on frags of any pink flowering winter hardy cactus!

 

[RyanEG]

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

a new meaning for "prickly pair"

 

[RyanEG]

My mother has a Christmas Cactus that she inherited that is well over a hundred years old. Ill try and post a pic.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

our variegated Yucca bloomed. This plant was buried under a 36" snowdrift last winter!

last weekend we lugged home 2,000# of rock from the Catskills to add to my rock garden. (A family member is trying to clear property of trees and rocks.) If anyone reading this is growing Echinocerus (ie:"claret cup" / "hedgehog" cactus) or Coryphantha ("ball" cactus) in a cold climate we need to talk- I need your help.

 

[Brent Thomann]

awesome, thanks for sharing.

but Gary, how do you have time for all these hobbies?

 

[block head]

looks good gary, makes me miss colorado, some sage would be nice addition to your biotype

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

thanks for suggesting sage as a companion plant.
Winterhardy cacti and succulents don't demand much of my time, Brent. The plants that can't handle our cold wet winters and need to be overwintered indoors do take some time and effort to move them back and forth- that's why I'm leaning towards coldhardy types nowadays. As a bonus, certain plants like my cane cholla are growing much better now that I leave them planted outside all year long. I've never been able to maintain potted Echinocereus long term and I'm hoping to try them in some outdoor plantings.
Coldhardy cacti (and succulents in general) are very popular in Canada- especially in southern Ontario. They have cactus and succulent clubs up there like we have reef clubs down here. There are cactus and succulent clubs in the USA as well but upstate NY has very few enthusiasts.