Tr. bridgesii “SS02” x Tr. pachanoi “Juuls Giant”

Tr. bridgesii “SS02”

SS02 stands for a certain clone brought into cultivation by Ben Kamm & his nursery Sacred Succulents. It is a relatively short-spined Trichocereus bridgesii that is known to produce some mind-boggling offspring. Most of the hybrids produced with this plants do not look like a standard Bridgesii and due to the fact that Sacred Succulents has been offering them for years, there is a huge number of different Hybrids available.

Here is an excerpt of Sacred Succulent´s description:

Dense candelabra stands to 16´tall. Blue/green frosted stems up to 5″ in diameter with 5 – 7 ribs. Each areole bears 2 – 4 central spines up to 1.5″ long. White nocturnal flowers. The new growth on old stemps is often spineless. A distinct form of Trichocereus bridgesii. Cold hardy to 25° Fahrenheit. 

Tr. pachanoi “Juuls Giant”

Tom Juul’s Giant aka TJG is a famous Trichocereus clone that goes back to the former butcher Tom Juul´s, who imported this plant into the United states and spent a lot of time to spread it around. The California based nursery Sacred Succulents played a major part in the wide distribution of this clone.

Locality

Trichocereus bridgesii is native to Bolivia, where it grows in the dry Andean valleys.

History and Taxonomy

The species was originally published as Cereus bridgesii by German botanist Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck, usually cited as Salm-Dyck, in 1850. His original account records that English botanist and plant collector Thomas Bridges brought the plant from Bolivia in 1846. The name bridgesii was given in his honour. Britton and Rose transferred the species to the genus Trichocereus in 1920, creating the familiar name Trichocereus bridgesii. Following the later reclassification of Trichocereus into Echinopsis, the species became Echinopsis lageniformis. It could not be called Echinopsis bridgesii because that name had already been used for a different Bolivian cactus. Echinopsis lageniformis is the currently accepted botanical name, although Trichocereus bridgesii remains firmly established among growers and collectors, many of whom still refuse to bow to the great Echinopsis takeover!

Synonyms

• Echinopsis lageniformis
• Bolivian Torch Cactus
• Cereus bridgesii var. lageniformis
• Trichocereus bridgesii var. lageniformis
• Wachuma Bolivia
• Achuma Bolivia

Some Additional Info

Trichocereus (except for bridgesii / Bolivian Torch) are very hardy and weather tolerant. Trichocereus pachanoi can handle temps as low as -9c for very short periods.

Native to South America, the earliest evidence of San Pedro was found in Peru, specifically, the Guitarrero cave of the Callejón de Huaylas valley. They are natively found in the Andes Mountains at altitude levels around 2000m – 3000m. San Pedro (the class of Trichocereus) is also found in regions like Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Trichocereus pachanoi are night bloomers with these gorgeous flowers doing their thing at night, you have to be quick or you will miss the event :-). A flower event is a special event as it can take anywhere from 5 years to 8 years for an adult plant to produce a flower. When they do, you do your happy dance, thank the cactus Gods, snap a million pics, harvest the pollen, and wait for the next event.

Synonyms

• Echinopsis pachanoi
• San Pedro Cactus
• Wachuma