Ferocactus Wislizeni

Fishhook Barrel Cactus, largest barrel cactus native to Texas (far west El Paso area) hardy to 5 degrees.



Flowers look like a camp fire.  The cactus stem is apparently eaten in Mexico, chopped into small pieces and soaked in sugar.  I can't imagine that it would make a good candy but I will have to post pone judgment until I can try one for myself.

Coryphantha macromeris, hardy to at least 14 degrees.  Macro being "large" and meris "parts" most likely refers to the spines which are quite large for a Coryphantha.  I have seen pictures of this growing in clumps three feet across, I wonder how long that takes?  It appears to grow about an inch every three years.



Nice combination of blooms from late June, most other cactus bloom much earlier.

Question Mark

Echinocactus horizonthalonius



Echinocereus dasyacanthus (center) and a fruit on the Horse Crippler cactus.



Polygonia interrogationis, Question Mark Butterfly, likes to land in my compost pile.



Echinocactus horizonthalonius,

Eagle Claw Cactus

Eagles Claw Cactus

Echinocactus horizonthalonius



aka Blue Barrel Cactus

A little dish cactus garden.  Later this little arrangement would be attacked by red spider mites, killing half of the inhabitants before I discovered the problem.  The remaining survivors found a new home in the fireplace cactus garden.  Somehow just moving things into a more natural habitat balances conditions enough so that spider mites get added to someone else's menu...ants, spiders, wasps something in nature designed to counter balance a surplus.

Arachnacantha phobia!

Astrophytum myriostigma 'multicostatum' hardy to about 19 degrees.




Rain lilies Zephyranthes grandiflora (rosea) and my prized seed grown Heart-leaf Hibiscus.




I purchased this cactus at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas.  Wildseed Farms is a great day trip from Austin and a fun destination nursery that has hard to find native wildflower seeds, a large selection of pottery, garden art, ice cream, and occasionally cactus.




This cactus came to me unlabeled but my best guess says its part of the Lobivia ancistrophora ssp. arachnacantha clan.  It is surprisingly hardy to about 18 degrees.  Originally I was bit over zealous related to its hardiness and I propagated about 20 cuttings and was growing them "hard" in outdoor pots.  When 18 degrees came around all the smaller ones died and only this large well established one survived, lesson learned, small offsets require winter protection.



Apparently there are many other colors of Lobivia arachnacantha (white, yellow, pink, orange), I would love to have some more of these.  It is a guaranteed bloomer and usually displays flowers several times a year.  It also freely produces more of itself which is rare for a hardy cactus with colorful blooms.



Arachnacantha phobia?  Apparently the spider-like spines give us the variety name.

Orange Flameflowers and Blue Butterflies

Orange Flameflower (Phemeranthus aurantiacus) purchase at the Medina Garden Nursery.  A hard to find native plant I have never seen for sale at any other garden center.  A succulent plant in the Purslane Family, with its large underground tap root it feels right at home in a cactus garden.

A contrast of two kinds of Texas Rainbow Hedgehog cactus (the larger cream colored spined one on the left and the shorter more branching form with red spines in the middle).  Both of mine produce yellow and white flowers.

Coryphantha sulcata.  Supposed hardy to 20 degrees below zero (which I hope not to experience first hand).  Very much looks like a pineapple today even the flowers mimic the juicy yellow center of a pineapple.



Twisted Rib Barrel (Hamatocactus setispinus)



Reakirt's blue butterfly (Hemiargus isola)



Reakirt's blue butterfly (Hemiargus isola)

Eagle Claws and Twisted Ribs

Eagle's Claw Cactus (Echinocactus horizonthalonius) also less romantically known as Devil's Head Cactus in twin bloom and many times also blooms with three flowers at a time.  Some how these plants have an internal clock that if you had 100 of these cactus planted in different locations roughly 90% of them would bloom on the very same day.

This cactus can be found every 30 feet in some parts of the .Big Bend Ranch State Park.  Certainly one of the most striking color combinations.  Some of the Eagle Claw Cacti found in Big Bend are rumored to be 100 years old based on the incredibly slow growth rate.  I would estimate the cactus in this picture maybe a old as 20 years.



Twisted Rib Cactus (Thelocactus setispinus) in habitat close to Lake LBJ.  Variety is most likely 'hamatus' given that it has long hooked spines.  Some of these can grow quite large, I remember seeing one at Enchanted Rock that was over 18 inches tall.

These cactus were growing in full sun on a small novaculite dome in an open field.  These fields had just begun to be mowed by the city of Horseshoe Bay.  I found several cactus that had been cut in half or uprooted by the mowing blades.  Just a few years later any remaining cactus with a height over a few inches had been extirpated.

Mammillaria heyderi (nipple cactus) in a protected location.  Apparently these small semi-dome cactus can have yellow flowers but the only ones I have ever seen are cream colored.  The fruits are sweet as strawberries and come in two colors that I have observed brick red or magenta purple.



Another Mammillaria this one missing its' top most likely due to mowing blade.

Dasyacanthus and the Rattlesnake

Texas Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus Dasyacanthus) purchased in Alpine,TX at the One Way Nursery (now apparently out of business).

I believe the common name "Rainbow" is derived by the multicolor rings on the stem of the cactus.  The colors may have something to do with the variable growing conditions from year to year.  This particular cactus does not have much color variation but I have seen many that do (see pictures in more recent postings).



A not so friendly visitor to my back yard oasis.  I found this Western Diamondback Rattlesnake engaged in a pitched battle with our resident Rock Squirrels.  Rock Squirrels are the natural nemesis of the Rattlesnake apparently sort of like a Texas version of the mongoose.  Who knew these pesky plant destroyers had a good side.  (Rock Squirrels are fond of tasting each new plant in my garden, often by digging them up and taking a bite out of the roots).



Here is an early attempt at a dish garden. 



The garden did well for a while but then was over run with Red Spider Mites and possibly something that ate at the roots of the cactus.  I noticed that nothing seemed to be growing and then one day several of the Coryphantha became cactus shells almost over night.  Once a cactus begins to decline and loses its ability to retain water often it can become a shell almost overnight.  In Big Bend we saw several large cacti that evaporated leaving only the interlocked spines holding its original shape creating an "invisible cactus" effect.