cacti and succulent fans make your presence known here

Gary Majchrzak

Gary Majchrzak

Team RC
I've been growing succulents since I was a little kid.
My newest project is a cold hardy cactus and succulent garden I'm putting in on the south side of our house.
Right now I have three types of cold hardy prickly pear/cholla (Opuntia spp.), several nice variegated Yucca, some unusual Sedum and a few others that can stay outside in addition to my cold intolerant plants I still need to lug inside every winter.
I've joined a couple of online cactus and succulent groups, but there's no cactus site that even come close to something like 'Reef Central', and there probably never will be- for a lot of reasons.
Long story short, over the years I've noticed that a lot of reefkeepers are avid gardeners and I'm hoping to connect with other succulent growers- locally, statewide and nationwide.
I'm especially interested in any hardy Opuntia (prickly pear) that flower pink or red (the types I already have are yellow flowering O. humifusa and O. polyacantha , but I'm not positive of those ID's.)
I'm also interested in any cold hardy "ball cactus" such as Escobaria and Coryphantha as well as any cold hardy Echinocereus.
Heck, cold hardy cacti are so difficult to come by around upstate NY I'd be interested in just about anything.
Cold hardy succulent fans seem to be very far and few in between. Please post to this thread if you're one of them!

IMG_1979keeper.jpg

My Notocactus in bloom
 
I guess I could be called a cacti and succulent fan. I'm not much into the cold hardy varieties, however. My parents planted a few winter hardy cacti last year. They survived the winter and are looking good.

Later this summer, I'll be traveling to Arizona and Texas. I plan to visit several cacti farms with plans of taking many pictures and adding to my collection of succulents. My favorite is the Lithops.

My collection contains close to 200 seedlings (most planted this past winter) and a few dozen "regular" sized cacti. I have many seeds available if anyone is interested.

ri
 
Howdy Gary! I've been a big fan of cacti also......I live in Phoenix so they grow like weeds here. They remind me so much of corals- when I'm in my backyard I feel like I'm standing inside a giant reef tank. I'd be happy to frag anything you see for you. TinMan

113880bloom.JPG

You just missed my springtime bloom.....
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.....................
113880MC.JPG
 
Wish I had known this I just gave all my cold hardy cacti away this spring. You could have had quite a collection. If I get any more in I will send them your way.
 
I'm with you on that one, Gary. I have a little cactus garden that goes out on the back porch in summer. I really want to try the cold hardy cactus, however. How cool would it be to have southwest in your backyard without worries of scorpions! If I had it my way...I'd be living there! I will post pics of what I have tomorrow!
 
Kewl. We have some replies!
I knew Rick was into Lithops. I know Helinski's have a big bed of prickly pear. Sorry I missed your giveaway, razz.
kim- there's a fella in Akron or Alden (I can't remember which one!) that's really knowledgable about growing cactus outdoors.
I need to connect with that guy and see what he's doing.

LU359TINMAN- I really love your plants, especially that Organ Pipe and Silver Cholla. I don't think many of those would survive our wet and cold winters, though.
I've always had to bring my Saguaro and Organ Pipe inside.
 
im into the cactus and succulents as well. ill have to snap a few pics for this thread... unfortunatly i dont have anything cold hardy, every window sill on the south side of my house is packed full of potted cacti. i do have a species that looks similiar to Echinocereus that blooms with huge pink flowers, ive never left one outside to see if it would tolterate the cold though.
 
Gary,

I bookmarked this site a while ago... they sells lots of Cacti books, including one on growing cacti in the snow.

ri

http://www.rainbowgardensbookshop.com/cactusccb.html#

# 5018 CACTUS IN THE SNOW - B. Brethauer (2000).
For those of you cacti enthusiasts who love cacti, but reside in the colder areas of the world, Cactus in the Snow is a book you must have. Beginning with a learning chapter on the basics of cactus anatomy, where to start, and cultivation and protection for beginners, the book then proceeds to describe the many different species available for those who live in the 'wet and frozen' parts of the world---echinocereus, escobarias, opuntias, pediocactus, yuccas and more. There are 61 black and white photos---all large format and very crisp and clear-among the finest we have seen. 111 pages, 7” x 8-1/2”, staplebound, semi-glossy illustrated cover. All this for a reasonable price of only: $15.95
 
Very pretty bloom, and nice shot of it as well.

I have some "Hens and Chicks" in one of my gardens, but thats the only semi-cacti type plant I have.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10069121#post10069121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigjdotcom01
Luckily for me, I am moving to the valley of the sun in mid-July :)
Click to expand...

born in Flagstaff and live in Mesa for 20 years, way too HOT in the summer and too much crime & people now, will never go back! Love WNY and the seasons!

I certainly kicked a lot of cactus growing up out there, no fun!! Especially the jumping cactus, watch out for those! Especially watch out for Brown Recluses, I was bit by one and my arm looked very similar - http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_slideshow86.htm
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10123951#post10123951 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
Dang, Brent- I hope that your arm didn't look as bad as that dudes hand. That looks horrible.
Click to expand...

it sure did, within a few hours of getting bit. the weird thing was it didn't really hurt, just looked REAL nasty. oh, and you get real bad flew like symptoms for a couple weeks. I had a friends grand mother die from getting bit by one. hard to believe the spider the size of your pinky nail can pack suck a punch.
 
we have a spider around upstate NY that resembles a brown recluse. I saw this one in my garage a few weeks ago and it freaked me out, so before I got rid of it I took this picture.
Dysderacrocata2.jpg

this spider turned out to be Dysdera crocata, a harmless potato bug eating spider.

Some of my cold hardy Opuntia have started to bloom this week. I have 3 prickly pear species that have survived our winters and I'm looking for more- especially those types that have pink or red flowers.
IMG_3698keeper.jpg
 
Thanks for posting, Steve. I remember seeing those prickly pear when you had a reef meet at your house a couple of years ago. They look like the spineless eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa). Mine are in full bloom right now, too.
I have at least three other types of Opuntia that survived last winter outside and a couple of them have really large pads.
 
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