

A HISTORY OF CACTUS PETE (BERT P. VINKEMULDER) 
As presented by “The Missus” to the Epiphyllum Society of America 
Our first introduction to the “Orchid 
Cactus” must have been in about 1928 or 
1929. We had given up our Gift Shop and 
started in what we felt was a much more 
interesting line. We had established a small 
Cactus Nursery on Glendale Blvd., Los An- 
geles. It was in ‘Depression Days” and no 
one had much money to spend for luxuries 
and so we were not much surprised when, 
one day, a customer came to us, saying that 
she would like to have some cactus for her 
out-door gardens, but could not afford them. 
However, she told us, she did have some 
plants which she called ‘‘Phyllocactus.”” These 
had lovely flowers, she said, and, noting that 
we did not have any, she wondered if we 
would consider trading plants with her. In 
those days everyone traded . . . honey, eggs, 
rabbits—anything that could be used. We 
were regular “Horse Traders” when it came 
to that, and so we told her to bring us a few 
(sight unseen) and we would try them. 
The plants she brought us looked pretty 
disappointing (in our estimation). They 
were semi-dormant and really looked rather 
sad to us, but we kept our word. There were 
three of them, no names, but they later proved 
to be what are now called Gloria, Scarlet 
Giant and Padre. Pete was not very enthused 
with these sad-looking plants, so he said, 
rather emphatically, that I could have the 
things but NO MORE TRADING!!! We 
still had not seen the flowers but what could 
these dried-up things have which could pos- 
sibly compare with the desert beauties which 
were our specialty ? 
One day this customer came back. She told 
us that her plants were starting to bloom and 
she invited us to come to her house to see 
them. We did! Such a sight! We will never 
forget it! 
She had been collecting them for some 
time and she had quite large plants. One 
plant of Padre had grown up the side of her 
lath-house and she had trained it across the 
underside of the roof, along with a large and 
very dense ‘‘asparagus fern’ which almost 
covered it. Padre was in full bloom and, with 
its gay flowers surrounded by and peeping out 
of the soft fern, it was a heavenly sight . . . it 
truly took our breath away! She also had 
gteat hanging baskets of what was then 
known as Nopaloxchia Phyllanthoides, later 
as John Morley and now as Rosetta. Needless 
to say, we were SOLD on the plants right 
then and there! 
Our own plants began to bloom and our 
customers were more than intrigued. Like 
ourselves, most people had never seen such 
flowers. We sold cuttings .. . full sized stems 
(we called them leaves in those days) for 25c 
each. 
The following year, we had the opportunity 
to purchase a very complete collection of 
“Phyllocactus” from a German Florist. He 
had brought his plants, as cuttings, in his 
trunk, when he came to America. The collec- 
tion was quite old and well taken care of, but 
the “Phyllos” had only been a hobby with 
him and he wished to use his greenhouses for 
commercial propagation of ferns and begon- 
tas. This purchase brought us some very fine 
varieties, and, added to our other plants, we 
now felt that we had enough stock that we 
could wholesale part of them through the 
Chain Stores (to whom we already sold small 
cactus). We soon found that we must raise 
our prices and shorten our cuttings if we were 
going to have any plants left. 
The man from whom we purchased this 
last group of plants did not know the woman 
who had first introduced us to them, and 
from whom we had formed most of our or- 
iginal collection. Each person had obtained 
their plants from entirely different sources 
and yet both of these people had the plants 
we now call ‘Rosetta’ labeled Nop. Phyl- 
lanthoides. In May, of 1933, we entered a 
large blooming plant, obtained from this 
German collection, in the 5th Annual Show of 
the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. 
We entered our plant as Nop. phyllanthoides 
and won a First prize ribbon for it. 
In June of 1933, we won several more rib- 
bons with our Epiphyllums, in the First San 
Fernando Cactus and Succulent Show. This 
was the show at which Dr. A. D. Houghton, 
of San Fernando, introduced the now much 
disputed “Florence Houghton” and “Dr. 
Houghton.” We had some varieties in our 
German collection which the good doctor did 
not have, so again we made some trades... 
among them, plants of his new originations. 
“Dr. Houghton” was what is now sold as 
‘“Kermicinus Magnus’ (the original descrip- 
tions of “Ker. Magnus’”’ describe it as an ALL 
