See Subject.

http://coldhardycactus.com/esc...

I happened upon these guys quite by accident and am now fascinated after having recently acquired my first hardy cactus. Yet another potential addiction. Cactus other than Prickly Pear that are hardy to my Zone.

I must have some to add to my Opuntia.

@Cinta - what yah think?

This one - Escobaria missouriensis - caught my eye - named for my state. Sweet

I think I will go for that one - at least. Heh

David, this picture is of a cactus that my dad found growing in his yard in Southeast Missouri. I dug up a piece and brought it to Texas and it has grown and multipled greatly. My avi shows it in bloom. Thanks for that link. I think it might be the one that is native to the plains! Have wondered about that all these years.

You are hooked now.

I am working on the Agave to compliment the cactus I have now. When I saw southwest gardens during my travel those gardens were calling my name. I am trying to design the gardens like the ones I saw.

That was my problem with all the travel. When I came home I wanted the to see the same landscape at home. I came home from Hawaii and started buying tropical plants like crazy.

Cinta said:

That was my problem with all the travel. When I came home I wanted the to see the same landscape at home. I came home from Hawaii and started buying tropical plants like crazy.

Bwahahahahaahaahaaaa

I have that problem with all the eye candy I see on here.

Neat - I gotta have one of those.
WOW!! - Must check that out
and so on

@SALL20 - I am pre-neophyte, but even to my untrained eye, yours looks a lot like an Escobaria missouriensis.

David, that cacti sure looks interesting! Love that is cold hardy!

I saw this page ang it discusses about that cacti you like: http://www.cactus-art.biz/sche...

tarev said:David, that cacti sure looks interesting! Love that is cold hardy!

I saw this page ang it discusses about that cacti you like: http://www.cactus-art.biz/sche...

The web site I cited in the Subject line has over 100 hardy cactus. 84 types of Prickly Pear alone.
A couple of negatives. Absurdly high shipping charges. Sorry 13 $ for one plant is rediculous. Questionable customer service. His Order Form is linked in from another site and is 404. An email WRT this goes unanswered. One Positive - his prices for the cactus themselves is quite reasonable in my opinion.

Thanks for that link Tarev.

A review over at Garden Watchdog did not have a lot of information.

They are nice, did you plant them directly in the ground? Only problem I see is those create so many offsets they will take over wherever they are planted.

Update. He emailed me and a web whiz he isn't. Anyway....

I ordered the Escobaria missouriensis. He agreed to send it for $ 6.50 which is fairly reasonable.Keith - I planted the Prickly Pear in the ground and plan to plant the Escobaria missouriensis there as well. I wanted hardy cactus so I could leave them in the ground in my zone.

Escobaria missouriensis received and planted today. A very puny looking plant.

DavidLMO said:Escobaria missouriensis received and planted today. A very puny looking plant.

Maybe they sent you a smaller plant because you talked them out of over charging you for postage.

I want to see pics next summer.

phooey ... not funny Cinta. The actual plant was maybe 2 1/4 x 2 1/ tops. The top was quite brown with just a bit of green (not much) underneath. The pot soil looked like it had last been watered in June. Yeah - I know cactus are to be kept on the dry side. But this thing was DRY!

David if it was me I would be on the phone, email, whatever and lodging my complaint now. When I think something is not right with mail order I notify them immediately. Just remember you will be on shaky ground come next summer trying to defend the plant died over the winter because it was dead when you received. I do not care if I purchased a plant for a dollar I expect it to arrive looking good not dead or half dead.

That said looking not so good I would not put it outside in the garden this winter but in a cold protected area. It seems that the hardy cactus do not do well if they do not get cold treatment.

@DavidLMO, I wanted to post these pictures for you, as you helped me to identify my cactus as escobaria missouriensis. It is blooming now. I started with a very small plant, dug from my dad's yard in southeast MO. It has multiplied greatly over the years and I have given away many plants. I have it in the garden in full sun and I never do anything to it, except enjoy it!

David,

I have ordered a lot of cactus from ColdHardyCactus. I think he is one of the better vendors out there. I hope you called and complained about your dead cactus but as he took a loss to sell it to you, he may not want to hear from you again. I do doubt that he sold you a dead cactus on purpose. The cactus always come bone dry as watering and then closing the plant in a dark box for a week would mean certain death.

I think his plants are reasonably priced already; you paying postage to get them to you is part of your obligation as a buyer. But I never order one plant - the postage is high for one, but you can add 14 more before the postage changes. If you want the plant, you pay the price, in this case, plant plus postage.

I have gotten a couple orders that were wrong and/or incomplete but he has always made good on them. Yes, his computer skills are nonexistent but he is an expert at growing cactus so I am willing to forgive him for his lack of computerease. I have only lost one of his plants - a squirrel ate it.

Daisy