Ferocactus latispinis

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to Cacti genera too plentiful to enumerate. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.

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Stan
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Ferocactus latispinis

#1

Post by Stan »

I had sworn off cactus. Then I saw this today. In person,its more blue then the camera showed. Those red spines are redder then I've seen on these. So,I grabbed and did my best not to change my mind.
Do you agree its both bluer and redder spined then average? Under shade cloth gave it kind of a ghostly look too. I like it.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#2

Post by Gee.S »

Yes, yes, and I like it too. Nice winter bloomer always surprises.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#3

Post by mcvansoest »

Nice!

Some definitely have redder spines than others, but when you start exposing them to some good sun, they bleach out to orange-yellow in many cases.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#4

Post by Steph115 »

Beautiful! And yes I agree - bluer & redder. This is also one of the few cacti I have a soft spot for. Picked up a very young one that I came across at the nursery - too young for me to for sure say if it's F. latispinus with my limited cacti knowledge, but it was cheap. Yours is a beast and that's a killer price for one that big!
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Azuleja
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#5

Post by Azuleja »

Blooming at the Huntington
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#6

Post by SC FM »

Stan, that is a stunningly blue form of this cacti, beautiful.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#7

Post by toditd »

I recently picked up this young supposed Ferocactus latispinus for pocket change in a 2.5 inch pot. This small cactus is only 2 inches in diameter. I'm wondering if this really is F. latispinus. The central spines are not significantly wider than the lateral spines as they are on older/larger F. latispinus plants that I'm familiar with. Is this a trait that appears as the cactus matures, or might this be another species?
Is does look quite similar to Steph115's plant in post #4.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#8

Post by mcvansoest »

The rest of the spines look sort of right in terms of number and distribution for a young F. latispinus. Color and appearance of the body also looks good. So it could very well be a F. latispinus or a hybrid there-of. I know that there are variations of the plant that do not have the distinctly wide-flat central spine, I had one for quite a while until a couple of summers ago it succumbed to presumably the summer heat and possibly some standing water issues induced by the encroachment of a prickly pear on its growing area. Unfortunately it is a plant that I never took many pictures of.
I think as it grows and as you are able to increase sun exposure you might get it to the more classic look. Low sun exposure tends to make the spines thinner and more wimpy in many cacti. However, it may never attain that specific look simply because it is a different clone/hybrid.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#9

Post by toditd »

Thanks mcvansoest. I don't think it has seen much direct sun for a while, certainly not where it was located on the shelf at the store. I have it inside on a sunny windowsill for now until our temps and humidity moderate some, then I'll slowly acclimate it to direct sun.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#10

Post by mcvansoest »

Actually I found some pictures of a couple of 'weirdos' that I bought together with a bunch of regular wide spined versions a few years back at HD. One of these looks like it was producing normal growth and then either got damaged and started to crest, while the other looks like it may have gotten damaged and produced a double head but in both cases new growth does not have the typical appearance in the central spine. These pictures were from right after I got them. One has been in the ground for a while and I should check out what it is doing now, while the other is still in a pot under a shade structure:
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I think what you can see here implies that there is a good chance you can get it develop the broad flat central spines.

I will try and give an update on these soon to see if how they may have changed.

I have 3 regular ones in the ground and they get a combination of sun and shade, I think they'd take more sun, but other plans have grown up around them shading them. The flowers are pretty spectacular.
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Re: Ferocactus latispinis

#11

Post by toditd »

Yeah, you do have a couple of oddballs there, interesting.

I read the fine print on the original label and found that mine is from Altman Plants. Altman Plants website shows a photo of the young plant in a 2.5 inch pot looking just like mine and also two photos of older plants with the wide central spines. So I have hope that mine will develop the wide spines in time.
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