Blog cover image featuring a selection of vibrant Echinopsis cactus flowers with the text “Rolling the Dice.”

Rolling the Dice on Rare Cactus Seeds

Rolling the Dice on Rare Cactus Seeds

Seed sowing station with rare cactus seeds, including Lobivia and other unusual varieties, ready for germination and hybridising experiments.

Part of the fun of this hobby is the gamble. You buy a packet of seed with some mysterious label, raise the plants, and just see what happens. Sometimes it’s a miss. Sometimes it’s fireworks. Either way, it’s never boring.

The AN Mystery

Axel Neumann hybrid cactus in full bloom with a large vibrant pink Echinopsis flower and purple highlights, a striking rare cactus display.

When I first came across “AN” on a packet, I had no clue what it meant. Just another gamble, I thought. Later I found out - thanks to a mate - that “AN” stands for Axel Neumann, the breeder behind them.

Axel Neumann hybrid cactus with a large pink and white Echinopsis flower in full bloom, rare cactus hybrid with striking colour contrast.

Back in those days, not many people bought them. Most weren’t keen to risk it the way I do (hello Unterlagen, but we’ll get to that).
For me though, it was when hesitation worked in my favour. 
These plants produced HUGE, vibrant flowers, and they’ve already been fast-tracked into our hybrid program. Jackpot!

Unter Who Now?

Then there was the time I saw Echinopsis “Unterlagen” in a catalogue. I had no idea what it meant, but figured it was worth a shot. Seeds bought, seedlings raised, a lot of them.

I tried putting some up for sale, but again - no one wanted to roll the dice. I’ll admit, I got defensive. Fine! (like a pouty child) I thought. If no one else wanted them, I’d keep the lot. All 100+ of them.
Then the flowers came. And it was fireworks. Jackpot again!

Unterlagen Echinopsis cactus in full bloom with a massive floral display of pink, yellow, and orange flowers, rare hybrid cactus showcase.

By then they were bulging out of 20cm pots, so I finally did what I’d been putting off for ten years: I made my first in-ground cactus garden. And they loved it. They grew big, they grew fast, and they proved themselves bulletproof - frost hardy, barely watered (once in two years), still going strong, all while throwing out those massive flowers.

Wide shot of multiple Echinopsis cactus plants growing in an in-ground garden, showcasing the size and number of Unterlagen hybrids.

What started as a catalogue curiosity had now turned into a full-blown display garden.
The flowers just kept coming, bigger and brighter each season, a wall of colour that refused to be ignored.

Cactus grower lying next to a massive Unterlagen Echinopsis flower display, showing the huge scale of the rare hybrid blooms.

The Point of the Gamble

Lobivia, Echinopsis, hybrids, mislabels, mysteries - the truth is, not every seed packet tells the full story. And that’s fine. I don’t stress about slapping the “right” name on everything. I grow plants. Pretty ones. That’s the point.

So when you see a plant with a weird name or one that hasn’t shown its flowers yet, don’t stress. 
Around here, that’s not a warning sign - it’s a sign of good things to come. I’ve done the hard part: buying & producing the right seed, putting in years of trial and error at the hybrid bench, and making ruthless selections for the traits worth keeping.

Multi-colour Echinopsis cactus flower with bright orange, pink, and yellow petals, showcasing a rare hybrid cactus bloom.

Sure, there’s always uncertainty in this game - but that was the risk we took, and it’s the reason Spine City delivers the best hybrid cactus flowers you’ll find.

This is just a glimpse at our early work with Echinopsis. Stay tuned… the future is looking neon bright and full of flowers!

Browse our full cactus collection to see everything in season.

Want more guides like this? Browse the Grow with Spine City Blog.

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