Cactus......they have a good side

[bob.oz]

I've been a cacti collector for many,many years here in Florida...I collect the unusual...and hard to grow...some are 40 plus years old...managed to drown a few and even froze a few...not as easy to keep as many think...but the flowers are beautiful...Thanks for looking...

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I have seen a few of these growing wild on the ranches down here in South Texas, and have been tempted to dig a few up for transplanting in our yard. Do you keep the Cactus in a green house, or out in the yard? Have you ever taken any close-up pictures of the flowers by using a telephoto lens? You have an interesting hobby! Kelley (Texas)

 

[bob.oz]

Thanks Kelly...I bet you do see some cactus in Texas!...I try to keep them outside...moving them in and out from the rain or covering the big ones with buckets....that's how a few have drowned, too much rain is bad in the summer and worse in the winter,a couple bad winters in a row killed some old big ones..for 2 days my bird bath was froze...on the coast of west central Fla....These pics were taken with my old cannon 580(its stuck in lens error)...never tried telephoto before...Got the new camera because of water hunts still experimenting with it....few more pics

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

Are most of your Cactus plants being grown in containers? How do you know when to water them? I would love to take a series of Cactus flower close-up pictures of all the various Cactus plants in Texas, something to think about. Thanks for posting the pictures, I enjoyed viewing them. Kelley (Texas)

 

[Roscue2]

Those are some very nice cactus plants Bob! All the colors really make them stand out in the photos. I used to have a cactus in a small pot like that for 4 yrs, but when we moved in 2010 it spilt out of the pot and i wasn't able to save it by replanting it... I loved that cactus, very low maintenance.

 

[bob.oz]

Glad you all enjoyed the pics...I got some orchids that are just starting to bud and bloom,will try some pics on them later....Kelly...I keep all my cacti in containers so i can remove them from the weather when needed,even my big golden barrels which i cover with buckets when raining is in a large pot....I hardly ever water them unless its been a hot dry spell...they get the morning dew and the occasional sprinkle that I leave them out in.Thanks

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

How about during a long, hot drought like we get down here in South Texas, no watering as per se? Kelley (Texas)

 

[nge]

Beautiful cacti flowers, nice shots. I agree with Kelly, some macro's of the flowers would be awesome. Maybe some of your cacti deaths could be attribituable to "acid rain" ie. salt laden rain from the ocean?........nge

 

[Nestor Cerpa]

Really nice, Bob. Is that a PRICKLY PEAR on the bottom of the second row.... lower right? I bought some Prickly Pear ears from a guy here in southern Missouri at the local farmers market. Still haven't gotten them in the ground. Soil is so poor. Mostly clay and rocks. Was thinking that I might get some sand, and a bit of gravel, to add to the soil and get them in the ground right away.

Years ago, a friend from Arizona came to visit me at SIU-Carbondale. She brought with her, two bottles of Prickly Pear wine, which she and her boyfriend had made. It was amazing. I kept one bottle for over twenty years, planning to open it on a special occasion. I just may have kept it beyond it's expiry date. I didn't open it, and it got lost in the mass of storage I had collected.