Cereus forbesii monstrose

Cereus forbesii monstrose on August 7, 2009.

Cereus forbesii monstrose

This cacti is of the Cactaceae family and is a native of Eastern Bolivia and Argentina.  It has a sculptural shape and, is dark green, and has a few black spines.  Descriptions indicate that it prefers shade or filtered light.  It prefers to be kept warm during periods of cold weather.  It likes to be thoroughly watered when dry but not in cold weather because it can cause root loss.  It is winter hardy in Zones 10a-11 (30-40 degrees F.  It can grow anywhere from 6-12 inches tall or even taller and as wide.  Some websites indicate that they produce flowers (one website says 7-10 inch blooms!) which open at night and they produce edible orange fruit with white flesh.  Other websites say they produce inconspicuous blooms if any at all.   Well, mine hasn’t bloomed yet, so I can say for sure.  All I know for sure is that it is a very good species to grow because it looks kind of weird.

There are many different species in this genus that look similar but generally all have the same growing requirements.  No need to re-pot until the pot is full and then only increase pot size by 1/2 inch.  Use a good professional soilless mix specially formulated for cacti for optimum results.

FEBRUARY 27, 2010 UPDATE.  A few months ago I re-potted this awesome cactus.  It has seemed to grow at a snails pace for sure, but it is doing something weird.   When I re-potted it a few months ago, I am very sure there was only one plant.  I had began to notice it spreading out a but really hadn’t taken a close look.  A few days ago I took it into the bathroom and watered it…  A few days ago I took it into the bathroom and watered it and took a closer look.  It has separated into three plants!  This I am sure of, as I can see between and wiggle three separate plants!

You may be curious about what I wrote about taking it into the bathroom to water it…  Well, the reason is because I had to take all the cactus and succulents to my bedroom for the winter to be in a heated room.  This cactus is sitting on an antique table (with a table cloth of course).  Luckily all the bedrooms in the mansion have their own bathrooms.  The bathroom in my bedroom has a fairly large tile covered vanity…  Perfect for watering plants and re-potting!  OH, and the shower is great for hanging ferns in when watering!