Tr. pachanoi “Tom Juul’s GIant (TJG)” – Whole Plant

From interviews conducted by Jon Hanna, published in Trout’s Notes, Tom Juul’s Giant was a plant sold through the defunct Cactus Gem Nursery. The owner, Jim Daniel, brought cuttings of this pachanoi from Thomas Juul after segments of his massive plant fell over from a strong wind storm. He named the clone “Tom Juul’s Giant” to honor his friend and to distinguish it from the PC pachanoi he sold. Jim Daniel himself also wrote a short blurb in the Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose newsletter about this (see picture), which further confirms this story. Large stands of identical pachanoi that appear to be Juuls still exist throughout the Bay Area, especially in the South Bay where Cactus Gem was located (See pictures).

And to the part of the story we all know about… 🙂

Many years later, Tom Juul’s house was going to be bulldozed. Upon hearing the news, Kakster, a local Tricho collector, hopped the fence and took cuttings from the original plant in Juul’s backyard. Kakster distributed cuttings of the plants to his friends and customers, including Sacred Succulents (see pictures of the potted plants).

As for where TJG originated from before Tom Juul, nobody knows for sure. It could have come from anywhere, as Tom Juul was an avid succulent collector who was well known in C&S circles.

The purpose of this write up is to clarify any confusion regarding the origins of TJG and to shed light on the lesser known part of the clone’s history. Real TJG does not have to originate from Kakster.

–Byron Fan (Must be one awesome dude :-))

Synonyms

• Echinopsis pachanoi
• San Pedro Cactus
• Wachuma

Some Additional Info

Trichocereus (except for bridgesii / Bolivian Torch) are very hardy and weather tolerant. Trichocereus pachanoi can handle temps as low as -9c for very short periods.

Native to South America, the earliest evidence of San Pedro was found in Peru, specifically, the Guitarrero cave of the Callejón de Huaylas valley. They are natively found in the Andes Mountains at altitude levels around 2000m – 3000m. San Pedro (the class of Trichocereus) is also found in regions like Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Trichocereus pachanoi are night bloomers with these gorgeous flowers doing their thing at night, you have to be quick or you will miss the event :-). A flower event is a special event as it can take anywhere from 5 years to 8 years for an adult plant to produce a flower. When they do, you do your happy dance, thank the cactus Gods, snap a million pics, harvest the pollen, and wait for the next event.

Growing Tips

Please see the tab called "Steps for Rooting" for rooting instructions where relevant. I have also created a few blog posts with some helpful guides that work for me personally:

• Cactus Substrate 101
• Trichocereus Cactus Care Sheet
• Cactus Pests & Treatment
• Common Cactus Terms

Care sheets and instructions are also sent via email after purchasing to make your journey as easy and fluid as possible. As always, if you have any questions, please use our Contact form or FB Messenger (bottom right) to get in touch.