Program Meeting Pictures

At the August 10, 2026 meeting, Barry Meidi, a member of Weeders & Seeders Garden Club presented a program of growing and caring for cacti.

The top five cactus plants to grow are Echinopsis.

Paramounts and other Echinopsis hybrids were developed by Dave Naylor. This video by him describes cutivars and other hybrids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFVjNJpRxhc

Bob Schick, working for Huntingdon Botantical Gardens in San Marino, California, developed 36 Echinopsis hybrids. This website, entitled Freaky Cacti, has pictures of some of his flowers.: https://freakycacti.com/info/a-gallery-of-robert-schick-echinopsis-hybrid-cactus-flowers/

In the wild, the plants that bloom are mostly white. They are native to Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia where there are cold winters. Blooms are nocturnal and last only one day.

There are blooms sporadically from June to September. Provide a cold, dry, sunny window from October to March. Start cutting back watering in October. They want to shut down as tulips and trees do in the winter. In April when nights are about 35 degrees, put plants outside when there is full sun, but under a roof. They require monthly soaking. Clay pots are a must. They let excess moisture evaporate through their porous walls, which prevents root rot and keeps the soil dry. Cactus soil is also a must.

Harry Johnson created 26 hybrids. The Everblooming Echinopsis “Stars and Stripes” was his favorite, then selling for $12/plant. This website has pictures and information about him and his plants: https://www.succulentsandmore.com/2016/06/more-cactus-flowers.html

In 1987, Bob Schick did 125 crosses of Harry’s Paramount hybrids with Harry’s permission.