Description: First, before I get to this listing....I have to apologize about it. eBay has badly trained bots, or perhaps poorly informed humans, that patrol the listings, looking for plants that are policy violations. Basically, anything that people with tie-dyed shirts might eat, if you understand my meaning. And despite the fact that the following plant IS NOT SUCH A THING, eBay keeps flagging this as a plant that is a no-no to list. So....I can't even give the names of the genera involved. Very annoying. My apologies, but we live in a world where stupidity apparently exceeds expertise. With that venting complete, I proceed with my listing. About this selection This is a selection of the species, hu-a-scha. (That's how I have to write it, to avoid setting off the eBay bots!)This is something of a difficult thing to find…a nice, yellow-flowering clone of the species. I’ve seen a few yellow-flowering selections, but they were all kind of ratty, with crawling prostrate stems or small flowers. I found this plant, quite unexpectedly. On a birding trip in the Great Central Valley of California—it was a feral, roadside plant growing among road trash in farmland! I saw the large, well-formed flowers and recognized it for the beauty it is! I broke off a few segments, cursing my lack of gloves, brought it home—rooted it, evaluated it over a few years—and confirmed that it was a great specimen! This plant is moderately spined, with sturdy but slender erect stems. The flowers are produced on short and fleshy tubes, and are a clear golden yellow. The color is a little hard to capture, so I photographed it in shade and full sun for you. There are many clones of this species in cultivation, I know. For a while I went mad, collecting all I could find. The flower color in the species ranges from yellow to red or reddish purple. Over time I reduced my collection, eliminating the weaker clones or ones that didn't flower well. I've got it down to four nice clones. (The #1, 2, 3, 4 stuff is just my own terminology, to keep track of the various variants in my collection.). The sale specimen(s) The sale is for ONE plant. More than one may be shown in the sale images, but each sale is for ONE PLANT. Got that? (Some people don't read.) These specimens are fully rooted segments. The specimens are about 5 cm (2") long, fitting nicely in 3" pots. They're in great shape. I'll sell them in order of largest to smallest.. The plant will be shipped mostly bare root. I will not clean of all the soil from the roots, however, as I think that can be a little excessively damaging. Background on these big landscape cacti These are not the dwarf plants that collectors of Schick or Johnson hybrids are familiar with. In character, these plants make stems that are usually knee to belly height. Once the first stem is established, it starts clumping from the base. And then, the flowers start to come. The flowers are usually pretty large, and on some plants they are AB-SO-LUTE-LY E-NOR-MOUS!!!!! The flowers also tend to have a receptacle that is more massive and fleshy. (Indeed, they are excellent tucker for my wife's desert tortoise, who adores them.) Some of them are pure species (like candicans, spachiana, or schickendantzii), which are usually white-flowered, and which used to be in the genus Tricho. Many are nice yellow or red-flowering plants. And then, there are the hybrids. The heritages of these hybrids are not (to my knowledge) published, but I suspect they came from crossing the globular dwarf plants (like the Schick hybrids) with massive plants like candicans. (I'm working on testing this hypothesis by trying to repeat such crosses.) Prominent hybridizers working with these plants include Andreas Wessner and Mark Dimmitt, who have some particularly notable hybrids that have oversized flowers. These are spectacular plants. But don't think they'll fit on your shelf next to your little Schick hybrids. These will require room in order to be happy. You've been warned. Cultivation These plants are quite easy to grow, as long as you know a bit about cacti. I grow them in full sun, but they can take light shade. If you grow them in heavy shade they don't do well. I let the plants get well over 110 F (43 C) during the summer, so they can take a lot of heat! They can take winter temperatures at or slightly below freezing, but be careful. As long as they get below 40F (5C) in the winter, they flower vigorously in the spring and summer. Some of the plants can even take a cold, wet winter, but I recommend you experiment on spares before you risk anything very valuable. The plant is adapted to bright sun in central California. However, shade it lightly for a few weeks after receiving it. After about two years, in good conditions, a young plant will begin to branch, usually from the ground. (Stem branching usually only occurs in response to damage, like topping the stem.) You can keep these in place, or cut them free and root them (after drying them, etc.). I grow my plants in pure inorganic medium in 5g pots, so I fertilize lightly with each watering. But they'll grow well in any standard cactus cultivation system. Plants in my cultivation are treated with insecticides only if needed. The only insecticides I use on my landscape plants are spray-downs with isopropyl alcohol. If that doesn't work, I chuck the cactus. As such, I only grow landscape plants that are naturally very bug resistant. As such, this specimen should be considered reasonably pest-free. I will NOT sell a plant if I find mites or live mealy bugs on them. I occasionally have spine-mealies, which I control, and after they die they persist on the spines (dead) for years, so there may be a few carcasses on the plants. However, as always, suitable pest precautions should be taken in incorporating them into your collection or landscape. I do not buy plants to quickly turn them around and resell them. I know all the plants I sell---most have resulted from normal propagation of my collection plants. If you have questions about growing them, please do not hesitate to ask. I will provide a short care sheet with the plant, too. Combined shipping, and shipping in extreme conditions If you purchase multiple items from me, I will combine them into a single box. Invariably, eBay will overcharge you for shipping, but when I determine the shipping charges I will refund you ALL the overcharges. If you are local and pick up plants at my house, I'll refund all shipping charges. Please ensure that your shipping address will not expose the boxed plant to extreme conditions. Mailboxes in full sun can become dangerously hot, and I will ship to cold climates at your risk. During winter months, I can include an optional 72 hour heating pad--see my separate eBay listing for that. I work to fulfill orders as soon as I can. If you want me to hold off on shipping, I will, but note that once you pay I must ship within 3 days, otherwise eBay gets mad at me. If you want me to wait longer than that, message me first so we can work out appropriate arrangements. Unhappy? If there are problems with the plant when it arrives, please discuss it with me so I can make things right with you (instead of giving my eBay account a bad review).
Price: 27 USD
Location: Woodland, California
End Time: 2024-07-24T01:27:26.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Brand: Unbranded
Growth Stage: Budding
Type: Cacti & Succulents