Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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Cacti and Other
Succulents of the
Southwest
Rich Reif
March 16, 2016
Κακτος ------ prickly plant (thistle)
Cacti are:
1. Succulents
Κακτος ------ prickly plant (thistle)
Cacti are:
1. Succulents
2. New world plants
--1-- --2-- --3--
--4-- --5-- --6--
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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--1-- Not a cactus!
Euphorbia debilispina
--2--
CACTUS!!
Opuntia lepticaulis
Pencil cholla; Desert Christmas cactus
--3-- CACTUS!!
Pereskia aculeata
Barbados gooseberry; leaf cactus
--4--
Euphorbia mammillaris
Corn cob cactus
Not a cactus!
--5--
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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Not a cactus!
Agave toumeyana
Toumey’s agave
--6-- CACTUS!!
Ariocarpus agavoides
Tamaulipas living rock
--7-- CACTUS!!
Ariocarpus fissuratus
Living rock
--8--
Not a cactus
Euphorbia pseudocactus
Candelabra spurge; false cactus
--9-- Not a cactus
Pachypodium geayi
Madagascar palm
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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--10-- CACTUS!!
Tephrocactus articulatus
Paper-spined cholla
--11--
CACTUS!!
Leuchtenbergia principis Agave cactus, Prism cactus
--12-- Not a cactus
Tromotriche revoluta (syn: Stapelia revoluta)
Carrion plant (?)
--13-- CACTUS!!
Astrophytum myriostigma Bishop’s cap, Bishop’s hat
--14--
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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Not a cactus
Euphorbia trigona
African milk tree, Cathedral cactus
Five characteristics of all cacti:
1. Perennial
Five characteristics of all cacti:
1. Perennial
2. Dicot -- plant with two seed
leaves
Dicot leaves
Monocot leaves
Sycamore Pereskia
Apple Willow
Pachypodium
Iris
Spider plant
Lily
Daylily
Five characteristics of all cacti:
1. Perennial
2. Dicot -- plant with two seed
leaves
3. Fruit is a berry
Five characteristics of all cacti:
1. Perennial
2. Dicot -- plant with two seed
leaves
3. Fruit is a berry
4. Flower with inferior ovary
Superior
Ovary
Inferior
Ovary
Ovary not
connected to
hypanthium
Echinocereus
dasyacanthus
Rainbow cactus
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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Opuntia imbricata --- Walking stick cholla
Opuntia
engelmannii
Cow tongue
prickly pear
Five characteristics of all cacti:
1. Perennial
2. Dicot -- plant with two seed
leaves
3. Fruit is a berry
4. Flower with inferior ovary
5. Only plants with areoles
Parodia sp.
Echinocactus grusonii
(Golden barrel)
Mammillaria sp.
Coryphantha sp. (note groove)
Echinocereus
areole and spines
Opuntia areoles, spines,
glochids, and new pads with
leaves
Preparing cacti for planting
(pots or landscape):
1. Trim all roots to perhaps a half inch or
inch of the bottom of the plant.
2. Let the cut roots dry – 5 to 7 days.
3. Dust the cut roots and bottom of the plant
with powdered sulfur.
4. Prepare the pot or spot in the landscape
where the cactus will be placed.
Top dressing --- very small stones
Sand mix
Pot --- clay or plastic
Pebbles or pea gravel, to hold
potshard in place
Potshard, to block drain
hole
Drain hole
Sand Mix: I use about 80% sand and 20% organic matter (topsoil, peat, etc.). Add about a teaspoon of granular systemic insecticide to a four-inch pot. Mix well. The sand should be slightly damp.
After planting, DO NOT WATER for about
one week.
WATERING:
Cacti need water, and they do like it, but not
too much!!
SUMMER (when plants are growing and blooming):
Water about once a week – about one-fourth
cup for a 4 inch pot.
SPRING AND AUTUMN:
Water about once every two weeks.
WINTER (plants are dormant):
Water about once a month.
PESTS:
1. Aphids
2. Fungus --- over-watering is the
culprit here. This is what the sulfur
is for.
3. Mealy bugs --- Use a systemic. If
they appear, remove with a cotton
swab or spray with an insecticide.
Mealy bug
infestation!!
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HABITS OF GROWTH
1. Tree-like: branched, not jointed or articulate; pereskioid
Pereskia
2. Jointed: upright or caespitose, flat or cylindrical; opuntioid
Opuntia
Cylindropuntia
Grusonia
3. Cylindrical: usually ribbed, may branch; cereoid
Cereus
Echinocereus
Oreocereus
4. Globose: ball-shaped or barrel-shaped, usually ribbed
Ferocactus
Echinocactus
Thelocactus
Sclerocactus
5. Tuberculate: long tubercules, not generally ribbed
Mammillaria
Coryphantha Opuntia inbricata
Walking stick cholla
Opuntia clavata
Club cholla
Opuntia polyacantha
Opuntia phaeacantha
Common prickly pear
Echinocereus --- the hedgehog cacti
Echinocereus
triglochidiatus
Claret cup cactus Ssp. triglochidiatus
Ssp. neomexicanus
Ssp. neomexicanus
Echinocereus fendleri
Fendler’s
hedgehog
Mammillaria heyderi
Nipple cactus; Pancake pincushion
Mammillaria wrightii
Wright’s fishhook cactus
Wright’s pincushion
Coryphantha vivipara
Arizona beehive cactus
Showy pincushion
Sclerocactus papyracanthus
Grama grass cactus
Paper-spined cactus
Toumeya
Sclerocactus whipplei
Devil’s claw barrel cactus
Whipple’s fishhook barrel
Sandoval County Master Gardeners 3/16/2016
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Epithelantha micromeris
Button cactus
Echinocactus horizonthalonius
Blue barrel cactus
Devil’s-head cactus
Turk’s-head cactus
Echinocactus texensis
Horse crippler
Devil’s head cactus
Candy cactus
Ferocactus wislizeni
Fishhook barrel cactus
Arizona barrel cactus
Carnegiea gigantea
Saguaro
Agave perryi
Perry’s century plant
Agave palmeri
Palmer’s century plant
Artichoke agave
(unpaid advertisement)
CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY
OF NEW MEXICO
Meets third Friday (usually) of each month except
April, July, and September, at 7:00 pm, at the
Albuquerque Garden Center, 10120 Lomas NE.
Spring Show and Sale --- April 9 – 10, 2016
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
State Fair Cactus and Succulent exhibit --- September
www.new-mexico.cactus-society.org
END
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