Totem Pole Cactus (Lophocereus schottii var. monstrosus)

What a cactus! Does it ever bloom? Lucky you to have all those wonderful cactus in your yard. I'm enjoying your photos. Thanks.

Thanks roshana! This one is between 9-10ft tall. I also have one about 5ft tall out front.

wow i have to agree with roshana that is a great cactus! but has it ever bloomed and if so what color?

It is quite nice. When the wind blows I can see it sway! Well, I just went outside to see if there could possibly be a boom. Darn it! I missed it because there is what appears to be a fruit of some kind. Here's the photo.

Also, here is just some of the new growth I found. Interesting.

Too bad you missed the bloom. I wonder if the seeds inside the fruit would produce more of those cacti? I don't know much about seeds from cacti fruit, but I've gotten some from blossoms on a small cactus I have and they sprouted! Slow growing though!

That new growth is interesting too. Looks like it's getting new arms! Thanks for the pictures.

I have a Totem Pole in Sun City West, AZ, and recently it has sprouted the pods seen in the picture. Any idea what they are?

My understanding (from The World Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents by Miles Anderson) is that the flowers vary from white to dark red. Also one variety is smaller, more densely branched, and branches higher on the stems. I think because it's a mutation that it is grown from cuttings. When stems break off they root. I don't know about those nifty pods.

My group of 3 is under 4 feet and has not yet branched. I bought it recently ($65!!) and it suffered some sunburn (a few 1 cm dark spots on tips) so I've shaded it for now. An employee of the nursery claimed it had been in full sun and thinks it might branch because of the burn. Any suggestions or info?

I gave mine more water this year (as soon as the ground dried) and I have 8 new branches this & last month on 3 stems. Previous years I only got 1 per year (with less water).
I watered this frequently confidently because I knew they had good established root systems, and the All day sun, that dries the soil pretty good & deep enough.
No sunburn,
I did get frost damage last christmas eve though.

The pictures of your totem pole cactus plants are good. I have a yard filled with these cactus plants . They are very unique, and very healthy. Most of them are over 8 feet tall, and 6" diamater. I've been growing them for about thirty years. They are really heavy when cut.