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Trichocereus grandiflorus cv. RED STAR (a nice red
blooming selection)
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Cultivation: Suited for
full sun, needs little water in
summer, no in
winter. It is quite
frost hard (to -10°C) Plants grown in the ground form soon imposing
specimens.
Usually
propagated by
cuttings or
seeds. The flower colour is not always true from seeds
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Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family) |
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Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Origin: Catamarca, Argentina
Habitat:
Argentina is a land erupting in volcanic fire,
quickly changing to the glacial cold of the Andes. Nearby is the most
arid
desert in the world, the desolate Puna de Atacama. Inhabitants must
be very rugged in order to tolerate such extremes in
exposure.
Trichocereus grandiflorus is such a robust individual.
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Growth Habits: T. grandiflorus is
a
basally branching columnar cactus, up to 90 cm tall.
Stems: 5-8 cm, in diameter.
Ribs: 12 to 18.
Areoles: Whitish brown.
Central spines: 1 to 2 , up to 6 cm long.
9 to 11 brownish
Radial spines: Up to 4 cm inches long.
Flowers: 7-10 cm long, bright red produced near the end of the
stems.
Throat
dark red,
filaments fuchsia .
Anthers clear
pastel and
stigma
pure white.
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Remarks: The main
form of T. grandiflorus has red flowers in
summer, but forms with orange and yellow (T. huascha var.
macrantha) flowers are also found.
This
columnar species has been the subject for years of intensive
selective hybridization with
hybrids of Echinopsis. As a result hybrids (see:
Trichopsis) now flower in a vast array of colours, including yellow,
rose, crimson, orange, violet, white and even bicolour. Flowers can
attain 22cm in diameter, rivalling even the giant flowers of the
epiphytic "Orchid Cacti" (Epiphyllums). T. grandiflorus
hybrids in time form attractive columns that explode yearly in vivid
floral displays. Very few cacti can surpass the flowers of the T.
grandiflorus hybrids for sheer flower power.
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