I have bought some of these also, but they have never flowered for me.

The ones that I have seen blooming in the bb store here have been a striking red color. But I believe it is possible for them to bloom in white, and shades of pink, yellow, and orange as well as the red. I'm not sure of Altman's propagation methods, but if they are growing from seed the flower will be a mystery color.

If you have them outside, they should bloom well for you, whatever the color. I wish I could plant them outside.

There are named Trichocereus hybrids available elsewhere that will bloom in a reliable color.

Here is a link that might be useful: Altman's Hybrid info

Thanks!
I didn't know Altman was affiliated with Garden Life.
It looks like I can expect a variety of hybrids from them.
Too bad they're not named.
I got an 'Arizona Sunset' on eBay - hopefully more to come, but named varieties are hard to find.
I'm hoping they will do better in the weather extremes here outside than my Echinopsis Hybrids have done. From what I've read, that is to be expected, plus the Trichocereus make more substantial plants. Some of the Echinopsis are doing fine and bloom beautifully, but most are scarred and a few have died. On the other hand, so far the Trichocereus hybrids are doing great. They take the heat better, and I know of a planting near San Antonio that came through 12 degrees a couple of years ago.

I have a group pic of Huntington Garden Schick hybrids from their gardens and if you look closely, you can see that their plants aren't perfect either :-) That makes me feel better so I hope for the best for a good looking plant, but try to concentrate on the flowers.

I love my Echinopsis babies, but you can't beat the size of the Trichocereus hybrid flowers (when I can get them to bloom). My First Light is the most reliable bloomer--for some reason, it has never pupped. I just acquired a Flying Saucer from Ebay a few months ago so I'm hoping for flowers this summer. But I think they do bloom better if they can be planted in the ground or if the general conditions are more to their liking.

I have to bring all my potted cacti in for the winter. We have just had several weeks of teens at night and highs in the 20s.

Good luck and I hope you get a variety of colors!

What notolover said. They use the name for all manner of Echinopsis hybrid. They come in all shapes and sizes and have very different flowers.

Mudhouse:

Thanks for posting all of your gorgeous pictures! If my Flying Saucer even gets one flower I'll be happy.

I tried planting a Trichocereus hybrid from Lowes 2 years ago. I had it in an Aquadome that was stuffed with styro peanuts. It wasn't abnormaly cold and there was a lot of snow cover for insulation that year, but it still didn't survive.

I did have some kind of Trichocereus grow and bloom at my old house, but it was a little warmer up there and I don't think it was a hybrid. I have to be able to bring my pots in anyway or the deer will eat the flowers before I get a chance to take a picture.

And my neighbors probably think they are living in White Trash City with all the contraptions I use in my garden to get things to grow or when I try to keep the deer out. ;-)

Notolover, yes, I'm slowly upgrading my collection of plant covers by weeding out the plaid and flowered bedsheets. In kindness to my neighbors. ;-)

I'm sorry the Trichos won't cooperate with your cold; it was well worth trying. As you said, they really do seem to "take off" and grow better in the ground. My house is pitifully dark, and my tiny greenhouse is already stuffed to the gills in winter. So most any kind of Echinopsis I own is forced to brave the great outdoors.

Oh, the deer. I lived around big herds of deer in TX before we moved here to the desert. You have my sympathies. I used smelly products, various fencing, and still had my heart broken regularly. Bambi can be brutal!

mudhouse

Your trichos in flower re gorgeous. Seems whatever care and great effort to grow and protect them is paying off. I just acquired a Flying Saucer and Sunset Orange. Hope to have same success as you someday.

MUD HOUSE , you are my kind of Sista'. My yard is a mess when the cold fronts come. My house empties out . Everything is game from styrofoam peanuts , cups, bubble wrap, blankets , sheets , last years leaves, matresses, Lawn pillows, cardboard boxes, Black plastic pots, trash bags. Anything and everything

I remember the great freeze of 2011. I spent tjhree days preparing for it. Then every pipe in in house broke and when it thawed the crawl space looked like a submarine movie. I spent the three days under the house replumbing and then another almost as bad coldfront. SHEESH, that was a period from hell.

You need to post more about your outdoor experience. They make me want to try new things. Your Zone is similar to mine just a lot drier. I have seen these in the stores and say , "next time"... HMMMM.

Where in Texas were you. My deer problems are killer. Makes me dream of guns and sausage.

I'm sorry for not finding these posts sooner. Thank you Aztcqn. No great care really, except for my worrying on very cold nights. Generally I just need to water these Trichos occasionally, especially in hot weather, and remember not to plant them where they roast in our hot afternoon sun.

Wantonamara, you made me laugh, yes we are kindred spirits. All year I hoard ugly things to prepare for winter. This year I took over a closet to try to hide some of the garbage, until it's time to haul it out again, to display to the neighbors.

The freeze of 2011 was indeed a period from hell. Our power company resorted to rolling brownouts, which was scary, because I use electric heat in my little greenhouse. The doors to the greenhouse froze shut for three days. When they'd cut the power, I'd bite my nails as the temp fell on the remote greenhouse thermometer....down, down, down. Then the power would kick back on. On the worst nights, I stayed dressed, sleeping in a big chair, ready to dash outside and break open a greenhouse panel, if the alarm went off. I planned to save what I could, by tossing plants into bins, to drag to the house. My little cheapo heaters and thermostats held out, but I'm pretty sure I still have some emotional damage from that freeze...and all the plants we lost, in the ground. Shudder!

We used to live outside of Kerrville, TX, in Ingram. The bed and breakfast business next door attracted big herds of Axis and Whitetail, by feeding them regularly, to entertain guests. I tried every kind of repellant I could, but gardening was nearly impossible, except inside a tall fence. They are lovely animals, but not in huge numbers, clomping around within feet of your door, every night! If we had stayed, a tall fence around our whole property would have been the only answer...along with the occasional venison sausage.

You really should try some of those Altman trichos...I still think they are cheap fun, and they've been pretty tough for me.

Gorgeous cactus, mudhouse .. the best ever. They are like gemstones in the sun.

Realizing this is an ancient post, but as I sit here picking glochids out of my hands and fingers vowing I'll never plant cactus again, I'm about to look for a local source of these! (Just discovered etsy folks love cactus too!)

shapirolh, the blooms are addicting and growing them for their gorgeous flowers is very rewarding.