Those are INCREDIBLE!!!! I Love the O. erinacea var. ursina... and the Pic of the O. polyacantha you posted was one I've drooled over many times!!! On that site though, it's listed as O. polyacantha (erinacea)... Not sure if they think they are one in the same or not.. but according to Benson, they do look similar. Dave Ferguson wrote that too! I'm gonna have to send him an email about that! O. polycantha var. trichophora is described in Bensons book as looking like the one in the picture on that link! Has very long hair like spines like O. erinacea var. ursina but are flattened. O. polycantha rufispina looks similar to O. erinacea var erinacea and along their distribution lines, the distinctions are minimal. O. erinacea also seems to usually have elongated pads where O. polyacantha has more round or oval pads... except in some varieties... So confusing! Thanks Caudex.... Just keep adding to my confusion ;-) Hey... shouldn't you be pruning some of your plants soon? :-D

I agree with my esteemed, everything-Aloe expert, pretty good with Sedums and Kalanchoes too, Canadian imported friend. Your Ferocactus number about 8 (look like Ferocactus latispinus) and are located on the bottom of the photo taken at the nursery. One easy way to find Feros is to run your fingernail along the largest spine. Just about every Fero has transverse ridges on it. This means the ridges run the short way on the spines. You will feel the ridges, even on species with straight spines like F. hystrix. If the spine is smooth, it likely is not a Fero.

It looks a bit like a Ferrocactus latispinus, especially if the flowers are purplish pink. They are also known to be winter blooming. I see cold hardiness ratings of 25F. Now if those flowers are orange or yellow, then it is F. wislizeni. My F wislizeni blooms in summer. The central fishhook needle it somewhat thinner on the F wislizeni. (God, when will I ever learn that spelling) . I would take your cactus in if this is a recent photo and you want to see the blooms or see it next year. I just saw a cold hardiness rating of Z5 on the F wislizeni. HMMMMM, that might be a bit of a stretch.

The roots look fine, but the stem at the soil line has been infected by fungus. This will be fatal without intervention. You must transect the stem (cactus) above the level of infection. Using a clean knife, cut as low as you can, then keep cutting upwards until there is no dark infected tissue in the cross-section. Callous by drying in air for several days, and place on damp to dry well- draining soil. Then wait for roots to form. This will take several weeks. Do not water until the plant has roots. Good luck. Brad