Well! Well! I Guess I know something after all, Thank for the report. I hope others will learn from this experience. Norma

Any day now...

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Looks a lot like a strawberry cactus to me! Blooming! pictures soon.

Could be a Trichocereus huascha.

Thanks for feedback. I actually have an Echinopsis huascha and it is more short and squat, hedgehoggy...but it may have been incorrectly labeled too. I've concluded that an amateur such as I should have an open mind about determining definitive scientific names.

A friend of mine opines this is Echinopsis calochlora. The huascha at least allows for red flowers which the spachiana and calochlora do not...at least per CactiGuide.

Meanwhile, opening night approaches. This plant has really kept me interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Echinopsis huascha pictures

Whatever it is, it bloomed May 6, 2010. It was labeled E. candicans when I bought it. Then I decided it was E. spachiana. Now I'm good with E. huascha until...

We had fun discussing it, at least I did. All comments were appreciated. Without further ado, here she is:

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It's amazing that those black spots were just nature's way of getting buds to the light of day. Mother knows what she's doing.

By the way, she stands about 13 inches tall and her blooms are a little over 3" across. E. huascha's are supposed to last three days so I'm hoping that's her ID. Thank for the help.

Still looks like a huascha. I think calochlora can have red flowers though (at least according to Desert Tropicals).

N.B. How long cactus flowers last depends partially on the temperature.

Hi,
they are so pretty, there is nothing like cactus flowers,
thanks for posting. linda

I am grateful that I was right it was not a diseased plant.

I love the color of the flowers, and so glad that the plant is doing well. Congratulations, my Echinopsis all are in bud at this time, and I hope they will open all at once. Norma

Wrapping this one up. Thanks again for the help and for making my first posting experience so pleasant.

I had a Eureka moment today. I checked my hunch against pictures at CactiGuide. You've seen the huascha I thought was the candicans. Now here's the candicans I thought was the huascha.

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As I recollect the nurseryman didn't have either labeled and, well, leave it to me. I confused them.

Tjeiken, I'm glad I didn't wait until third day to photograph the huascha flowers! They were beautiful while they lasted.

Norma, thanks for your good counsel. I hope you have a riot of color from your Echinopsis buds.

Linda, thanks for comment. Today as I tossed my trash, I noticed neighbor had some nice Opuntia flowers across the fence. Couldn't resist snapping a pic (below).

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I did not know the name of the plant but my Echinopsis has flower buds like that that is the only reason I knew what it was. Thanks to all of you who stood by her and helped. Norma