Which of yours is that?

There are a few different Bridgesii phenotypes in my collection. Most of them have the same general appearance. But there are small differences.

This Papa Smurf clone tends to have very squared off ribs for a Bridgesii. The space between the ribs often forms a straight line, instead if receding inward in between the ribs like most Bridgesii. The ribs are squared off and blocky. It usually has 5 ribs. The squared off ribs with straight lines in between gives an appearance almost of a wooden pencil that is not round but has flat sides.

Most Bridgesii get glaucous when grown in shade. But it is very pronounced on the Papa Smurf. The new growth is deep blue green, with neon yellow green tips. The skinny, squared off columns and the deep glaucous colors set this one apart from others in my collection. I've had 2 of them in the ground for a bit now, but recently decided to plant several more.

My 2 non-monstrose specimens are both thin and have glaucous blue-green at the tips. Pics of tips below. They're not so "neon"-green, but they do get a fair amount of sun. I'll try and include a shot which gives an impression of the rib shape, it would be good to know what you think. There are important decisions to be made about my cloning shortlist!

It's the two tallest ones in the pic with several other cacti.

Edit: There's a couple of shots from the start of the season which show the "neon"-green of the new growth.

Edit2: these are various pictures of the 2 specimens in question, arranged in pairs, to give an overall impression of their habit over the course of a May - October growing season.

Yes some of yours with fewer ribs and a strong blue color have a similar look. But the rib shape on the Papa Smurf is still pretty unique in my opinion.

There is some variety that exists in Bridgesii phenotypes, as your photos demonstrate. I always look at the tips of these cacti to hone in on the differences between them. Bridgesiis seem to fall into 2 main groups, as far as I can tell.

The first group are what I like to think of as pure Bridgesii types. These tend to have 5 ribs (6 ribs as the columnns get fat). The tips tend to be more rounded in shape. They tend not to have a central spine. They are less spiny in general and most of the spines point downward. They almost look like skinny blue Scopulicola with long spines (but weak spination in general). The areoles tend not to point upward, but rather just bump straight out from the ribs.

The second group have traits that make me wonder if there is some admixture with Peruvianus that has taken place. They tend to have 6 ribs (7 ribs when the columns get fat). The tips tend to be more pointy in shape. They tend to have a central spine, with smaller spines radiating around it. The areoles often point upward, giving the ribs a sawtooth shape. They tend to be fatter plants in general.

And there are many intermediate looks. And there are odd looking outliers like SS02.

I have yet to figure out if the different phenotypes have any correspondence to differences in potency. If there is a corredpondence I havent noticed it yet. But perhaps some other growers have made those connections. Werd?

Here are some of mine, all waking up for the coming season no prizes for guessing my favourite psych

I have some new additions to my most humble collection.
I can only go by the tags as far as identification. So they may or may not be as described.
I came across:
First 4 pictures, 2 different Terscheckii.
Next 3, a T. Scopulicola.
Final 2, a T. Pachanoi

The next time my wife complains about all my cacti, I'm going to show her your post and maybe she'll cut me some slack LOL. I live in zone 7 though, so we always have to haul them in and out, nothing beats having a cactus fall over and stick to your forehead while trying to carry it into the house.

Hey nice cacti Sunnyside. I really like those Terscheckii! And that Scop looks so unique. Do you think it is dehydrated or is that it's normal appearance? It looks like a pure Scop. Your collection keeps getting nicer and nicer!

Thank you Grey Fox, you know it's your fault I keep looking for these things, and I can't thank you enough!

I remember one time you had described the Terscheckii as looking like a spider sitting on the areole, and there they were, just like you said.

I agree about the appearance of the Scopulicola (I don't know it well enough yet to call it "Scop",) it's very odd. It doesn't feel soft or anything, it just has a wrinkled look to it. I'll keep you posted if anything changes. But I found it very attractive and wanted to include that picture to illustrate it.

I took a chance on the Pachanoi; from the sides, the edges do not have that jagged saw-tooth appearance of a PC; and the 'v-wings' over the areoles are apparent, at least higher up on the column. And it seems like the spines are mostly pointing not upward and are quite stout. So, we'll see I guess.

Yes that Pachanoi is an odd one. The top and bottom look like 2 different plants! It will be interesting to see what the new growth looks like. Honestly I can't tell either if it is PC or not. The growth is just so variable.

Three more . 13 psychoactive cacti in total now (I have other cacti too). Good thing I'm rearranging my room in order to get a plant rack in.

One love

Got my overwintering tent up set up inside the larger greenhouse. I've had good luck with this type setup the last 5 years or so. The fan will be replaced with an electric oil-type space heater soon. I've been considering hanging grow lights during the Winter rather than let them go dormant.

If it were mine, it would be my nap time space

One love

lol - I just moved my camp bed out of the greenhouse today for the winter. Great minds thinking alike

I have minions...

They're cactus minions...

They find cacti for me to procure.

One minion gets really lucky, and in turn I get really lucky. She found these three for me in a week.



One love

How nice to have minions!

Those all look like PC Pachanoi.

They all look healthy.

Those look like cuttings that were potted recently. I don't grow in containers. But that potting mix doesn't look like what you want.

You mighy want totake them out of the containers. Then you can gently move away the soil from the cuttings and check for roots and any signs of rot. Then you can repot in a better potting mix.

At least thats what I would condiser doing if they were mine.

All the best with them Voidmatrix! Nice find!

My green prickly kids are perking back up. I think my Scopulicola and my Juul's Giant x Scopulicola are going to flower. They both showed signs (Hair on some areoles) last Season but no flower buds. I've never had a Scopulicola flower so I'm pumped!

This Season:

awesome cact y'all

Does anybody know what can be damaging the tip of some of my cact and what I can do about it?

Have those areas simply turned black or has flesh been removed from there? Since it's up on the fresh green tip I would think it is slug or possibly insect damage. Slugs tend to eat away large areas like that. If those areas just turned black then it would be some type rot, which would surprise me as there are no other spots of it than on the tip.

I think you're right, it' s some slug or insect.. Is there anything I could do to stop them from coming there?

Usually it just scars and keeps growing but in a couple of cact when they damaged the very tip, then it stopped the growth, and formed a pup right beside the tip instead. So its not the end of the world but annoying, delaying growth.

For insects I've started to dust the tops with Diatomaceous Earth (and it's high time I did that). I haven't had much trouble with slugs so far.

Google sez:

One of the most environmentally friendly and effective ways to keep snails and slugs from nibbling on your plants is by using egg shells. Crushing up eggshells into small pieces and liberally scattering them around the base of the plant, the pot, or even on the plant itself, acts as a deterrent.

Interesting