I had one of these years ago... it was my favorite cactus... the spines never came out in my hand! But from what I have found, while searching for Selenicereus testudo, are images of what I think is the Mature form of this plant. I think the one most people have in pots is an immature or juvenile form. Maybe potsize has something to do with preventing it from maturing? So, if it's just a juvenile form, there won't be any flowers produced. So, has someone started marketing this plant again, I haven't seen it on the market for quite some time. ks-girl, where did you buy it? Feel like trading a few pieces? I can send you a few pieces of Cleistocactus winteri, which looks similar to but thicker than Aporacactus flagelliformis.

I would say it is probably a Melocactus, but my practice is to not label it with a species epithet (the 'bellavistensis') unless you can know what the plant source was, or if you know the seed source. Some hybrids can look just like a species. DNA would clear up that question for sure, but I try to discourage a precise species ID unless you can have a chain of ID from the grower. As an aside, the genus (Melocactus) is always capitalized, and the species name (bellavistensis) is always lower case. Melocactus come from high rain areas (for cactus), and from warm places. Most are from the Caribbean Sea area and the areas nearby. This means that when you have temps like Cuba, keep it watered. When it is cool, keep it drier, but not bone dry like cacti from inland deserts. Although they are very sensitive to frost, a couple of species have tolerated freezing temps here when the heater failed. That said, your plant craves full sun (after acclimation), heat and a moderate amount of water. When the cephalium forms, the plant quits growing, except for the cephalium. When does it make the cephalium? It depends on the species and the care it gets. Some get quite large before maturity, and some, like M. zhentneri and violacaus can be grown in 4 inch pots. I think bella... gets about 8 inches in diameter or so. Not one of the little ones, not one that grow as tall as a human.

Not too sure about the cactus but the bickies are definitely arnotts assortment :D. Toughening it up is relatively easy, just give it a little sunlight each day. Now is a good time to start with the weather being still a little cool. Just think of it as skin, we tan for 10 minutes each day and gradually stay in the sun a little more each time so we don't burn. Don't hit it with a heap of water either, just a bit more now and then. Go light with fertilizer, you don't want lanky growth. Happy flowering!

Omar is spot on - it's this http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/62939/#b also known as Shin Daggar which alludes to the fact it's dangerous to shins if the shin owner is not paying attention. I would love to propagate this, with gloves, of course. Sadly it does die after it blooms. Dave's garden website doesn't indicate that it grows close to Fort Worth but I attest that it does. At the risk of sounding not too bright, we live at the base of an old Indian mountain...Comanches and Apaches lived on and around our land. The romanticist and legend writer in me wonders if I could spin the presence of this plant into their history in our area. Thank you Omar for the ID.