Trichocereus pachanoi ‘Shulgin Ecuadorian’ (San Pedro Cactus)
Lot ECHI-PACH-SHULGIN-01 1 of 1 the exact plant pictured
$145.00
- Plant: Trichocereus pachanoi Shulgin Ecuadorian
- Cultivation: unrooted cutting, ungrafted
- Size: about 8 in (20 cm) long
- Also known as: San Pedro cactus
- Lineage: Rob Montgomery (Ecuador) to Alexander Shulgin’s garden
- Listing: one-of-a-kind, the exact stem in the photograph
- Grown: our own mother plant, grown outdoors in Orange County
In stock
This is the exact stem pictured, cut from our own mother plant.
- Flat $12 shipping anywhere in the United States, for one plant or several.
- Ships within 1 to 3 business days and usually arrives 2 to 5 business days later.
- All sales are final. If a plant arrives dead, email photos of the plant and packaging within a couple of days. Shipping and returns
- 237 plants sold
- Grown in Orange County, California
- Artificially propagated, never wild-collected
Description
Type: Unrooted, callused cutting, ungrafted · Length: about 8 in · The exact stem pictured
The San Pedro cactus Shulgin Ecuadorian is a Trichocereus pachanoi clone with a short, traceable pedigree, and this listing is one 8 inch cutting of it, for sale as the exact stem in the photograph. The tape in the frame shows the length you get. We take it from our own mother plant, so it arrives unrooted, ungrafted and callused, ready to root.
Where the San Pedro cactus Shulgin Ecuadorian comes from
The clone traces back to the California garden of Alexander Shulgin. Rob Montgomery and his wife sourced the original plant in Ecuador and later gave it to him, and offsets from that plant have moved through collector circles ever since. A few cuttings have gone through fundraising auctions held for the Cactus Conservation Institute, which is a large part of why the name carries weight among Trichocereus growers.
Provenance like this is unusual in a plant group where most cuttings change hands with no history at all.
What to look for
Ecuadorian pachanoi tend to be thick, smooth and lightly armed, and this clone follows the pattern. Its ribs are broad and rounded, with a notch above each areole that gives the stem a stepped, sculpted outline; growers describe it as a notchy, heavy pachanoi. It also shows intermittent monstrose traits, with ribs that shift, split or wander off line for a stretch before settling again. Some stems do this often and some barely at all, which is part of the pleasure of growing one out over several seasons. Spines stay short and sparse, amber when new and greying with age.
For the botany of the species behind the clone, see the Kew record for Echinopsis pachanoi, the accepted name for the plant most growers still call Trichocereus pachanoi, and our own Echinopsis pachanoi species page, which covers its Andean range, its growth habit and how it differs from the Peruvian and Bolivian torches.
How we grow our San Pedro
At rarecactus.com we grow our Trichocereus mother plants outdoors in full sun in Orange County, California, in a 50/50 soil mix of organic and inorganic material. Every cutting we sell comes off one of those plants, so you get a clone of a named plant we keep ourselves. We never sell grafts, and we never sell seedlings under a clone name. With a lineage like this one, that matters: a cutting is only worth its name if the chain back to the original plant is unbroken.
When your San Pedro cactus Shulgin Ecuadorian cutting arrives
Check the cut end first. If it is dry and hard, the cutting is ready to root. If it still looks soft or fresh, stand it upright in bright shade for a few more days until a firm callus forms.
Then let it root in a dry area: stand it upright, propped against a stake if it leans, in bright indirect light and out of the rain, and give it no water until roots appear. Roots usually show within a few weeks in warm weather and more slowly in cool months. Once they do, pot it in a 50/50 soil mix of organic and inorganic material, begin light watering and move it into stronger sun by degrees over two or three weeks.
From there it grows like any pachanoi: fast through summer with generous water, then dry and cool through winter.
Provenance and legality
Like most cacti, this one is listed on CITES Appendix II, and it is nursery-propagated stock grown here in the United States. San Pedro is legal to own as an ornamental plant in all fifty US states, and our guide Is it legal to own San Pedro? cites the statute for each one. Browse the rest of the group in our San Pedro cactus for sale collection, or read the Echinopsis encyclopedia hub for the genus as a whole.
Questions before you buy
What exactly arrives?
The exact stem pictured, cut from our own mother plant and shipped unrooted, as cuttings are. The lot number under the title is its record.
How does it ship?
From our greenhouse in Orange County, California, within 1 to 3 business days, for a flat $12 anywhere in the United States. It usually arrives 2 to 5 business days later.
Is it legal to own?
Yes. Every plant we sell is artificially propagated, cut from our own mother plants, with no wild collection at any stage. CITES rules apply to international trade, and we sell within the United States only, so no export permit is involved.
What if it arrives dead?
All sales are final, because each plant is a living one of a kind. If it arrives dead, take clear photos of the plant and the packaging within a couple of days of delivery and tell us. If anything else about the order is not right, say so and we will help where we can.
Growing Echinopsis
Echinopsis are vigorous South American cacti, most of them Andean columns, and they want full sun, a free-draining 50/50 soil mix, generous summer water and a dry winter rest.
- Sun exposure
- Full sun, acclimatised
- Full sun, acclimatised gradually after winter, keeps growth firm. Light afternoon shade helps in the hottest climates, and E. pachanoi tolerates bright filtered light.
- Watering
- Generous, weekly in heat
- Water generously from spring to autumn, weekly in peak summer heat, letting the mix dry between soaks. Keep plants dry or nearly dry through winter, especially below 10°C.
- Soil
- 50/50 organic/mineral
- Half organic, half inorganic: cactus soil cut about 50/50 with pumice, granite grit or lava. That is richer than most succulents take, and it is how we grow our Trichocereus.
- Cold tolerance
- Cold hardy, no freezing
- Cold hardy, but cannot handle freezing temperatures. Protect plants before any frost, and keep them dry through cold spells, since wet cold does the most damage.
- Container
- Deep and stable
- Deep, stable pots for the big columnar species, whose root systems are extensive; repot yearly while young. Spreading E. chamaecereus suits a shallow pan or hanging basket.
- Growth rate
- Fast for cacti
- Fast for cacti. E. pachanoi adds 30 to 60 cm a year in good conditions, E. lageniformis 15 to 30 cm, and E. chamaecereus clumps up quickly.
Shipping & Returns
Shipping
Flat $12 shipping anywhere in the United States, for one plant or several. Orders ship within 1 to 3 business days and usually arrive 2 to 5 business days later. Every plant is packed by hand to travel safely.
Returns
Every plant we sell is alive, so all sales are final and we do not accept returns or exchanges. If a plant arrives dead, take clear photos of the plant and the packaging within a couple of days of delivery and email support@rarecactus.com. If anything else about your order is not right, tell us and we will help where we can.
