Anybody have any idea?

[vegetarium]

So I was strolling down a road I've been down a thousand times and my eyes drift over to see this enormous cactus, easily taller than me, growing in someones front garden. I just had to have a cutting and the little old lady that lived there was more than happy to oblige! I'm still very new to cactus lore, but it seemed to me to bear a vague resemblance to the Trichs I've seen. Does anybody have any clue as to what type of cactus it might be? The ribs are pretty thin and hard, but maybe that's just because of lack of water?

Happy to retake photos from any angle required, if it'll assist in id. Thanks for any help you can provide! Apologies for the weird rotation in the upload - tried fiddling with it, but couldn't get it oriented properly (its oriented the right way on my computer but the upload keeps twisting it)

[Yeti101]

I'm going to say it's almost certainly Cereus of some sort - look for the fat ribs if you want to find Trichocereus species.

[Dreamwalker.]

my vote would be cereus too...................though I'm a bit confused about the lack of spines......................either way a beautiful cactus..............dust the cut end with some flower of sulfur and plant in a river sand gritty potting mix.....water rarely .................or set it aside for a month and plant it.................cereus have kiwi like fruit.................

[Yeti101]

Some strains have good fruit indeed. I have read that some Cereus sp are not self-fertile, meaning you need at least two plants that are not clones to get fruit. I actually read a paper today that mentioned Cereus sp as having anti-cancer properties too, I'll try to post it later.

[vegetarium]

Thanks for the id Yeti and Dreamwalker - much appreciated! It does have spines but they are very very small, max 3mm. I'd love to see that paper if you find it.

[gwalchgwyn]

No idea, but I am interested in a verification: that cactus, outside, in USDA Zone 3? I know that some Opuntias can take it, & a few Echinocereus types. Whatever it is, I'm very impressed at its coldhardiness.

Edited October 24, 2013 by gwalchgwyn

[vegetarium]

Yup. Right outside and growing very tall (6 foot plus). Just in the garden with the other plants.

[hostilis]

I would say cereus repandus or some other cereus species.

Edited October 29, 2013 by hostilis

[Quixote]

Good old Cereus.. the bane of cactus seekers worldwide

Edited November 15, 2013 by Quixote