..Well, after a long week, its time for an update. As mentioned at the end of my thread of similar title, a quick transition between some nice, spring-like weather and 102-108F heat this week initiated quite a spectacle among the remaining cacti in my collection who had been slowly budding up. The change was alot quicker than i have noticed in the past as well. Anyway.. sure to say, what has followed is what i personally would call a "Super Bloom" 

On top of this, something else decided to explode with flowers at the same time, only after the sun set yesterday. Btw, while id been watching the buds develop, i only caught up with it because i spotted the closing remains of a couple flowers yesterday morning.. Didn't expect a full blown show by sundown. This is one of those cacti who plays the game of " How late can you stay up, to catch me in the act"  Let the anticipation build....

Because of all the fireworks, i decided i had to split the original thread into two parts.. one because one thread would be too long..and perhaps overwhelming and secondly, well, you'll see. Meanwhile, enjoy the show, Happy Friday, Happy Mother's Day and enjoy your weekend.

First up:

Echinocereus subinermis v. ochoterenae



Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus:

Somewhat ruffled flowered form


Trying hard to NOT get entranced...


Echinopsis subdunada  Left pic. full- petaled form, Right pic. narrower petaled form. Flowers in cycles up until October for me here. 


..Let the show begin..

Opens door to shade house, and spots the first clue.. What a clue indeed

Echinopsis X "Sorceress" in full seduction mode..



Trichocereus X "First light"



Echinopsis X " Sierra Skyline"



Another? UID Trichocereus X Pink



Trichocereus X "Volcanic Sunset" in the morning sun.


 
And then  ...BOOM!  ....A feast for the eyes

..Throw in a couple more, who decided to join the show..



..And then, after another blazing afternoon, ..the sun set..

Caught in the act, under the cover of darkness, a sight not often seen.

I can think of several members who had discussed never being able to catch this one in full bloom. Well, these are for you. Had watched it closely all spring, even closer once i saw buds start popping. Still i wasn't sure if id be awake for the show,  since she stays out late.. let alone that it would flower this quickly.. anyway.. 

Triangle Cactus, Acanthocereus tetragonis

Tight at 7AM,  buds nearly opened by 8PM..




 In full glory, under the glow of street lights.



..Until next time..



-Nathan

Great pics!!!!

Nice pictures, what is the blue flowering plant? Color is so intense. 

Edited May 12, 20188 yr by Palm crazy

50 minutes ago, Palm crazy said:

Nice pictures, what is the blue flowering plant? Color is so intense. 

Rodger,

That is Guaiacum coulteri, Sometimes referred to as Sonoran Lignum Vitae or Guayacan in Spanish. Related to the two other Lignum Vitae sp. from Florida and the Caribbean and the Texas /N.E. Mexico native G. angustifolium but native to the Thorn Scrub and Tropical Deciduous Forest region of Sonora, Mexico. 

Takes some cold here ( roughly mid/upper 20's.. Older specimens i have documented since 2013 have had minimal damage when exposed to the occasional, brief dips into the lower 20s that have occurred here before. Not sure how much lower they can handle though). Have seen some nice, in ground specimens down in Tucson ( which typically gets colder than us here, or at least used to..) also. 

 Can't say you would be able to grow it in the ground up there, but very easy in containers. Slow grower but steady. Keep dry in the winter. Soil should be gritty / low in organic content. Loves heat. Have referenced it many times here. It is one of the things i'm on a mission to get it spread around to more hands, to further gauge just how adaptable it is.  Great small tree that should be seen more often in Residential and/or Commercial landscapes here but is harder to find because of it's growth rate, esp when younger. 

 

Thanks for the Name, Nathan. It looks to be a heat-loving plant that's for sure. I can't remember seeing it for sale up here so I will have to just enjoy your photo. 

 BTW I pick up two Trichorecueus grandiflorus Hybrid today. One was grown in a greenhouse and has a nice bloom developing. The other one was sun ground and has many babies at the base. Can't wait to see what the flower color turns out to be. 

Thanks for sharing your pictures. 

Super nice pics.  Thanks for posting!

On 5/12/2018, 11:49:51, Palm crazy said:

Thanks for the Name, Nathan. It looks to be a heat-loving plant that's for sure. I can't remember seeing it for sale up here so I will have to just enjoy your photo. 

 BTW I pick up two Trichorecueus grandiflorus Hybrid today. One was grown in a greenhouse and has a nice bloom developing. The other one was sun ground and has many babies at the base. Can't wait to see what the flower color turns out to be. 

Thanks for sharing your pictures. 

A couple extra pictures of G. coulteri for enjoyment..  No doubt it isn't something you'll find outside of local nurseries.. who actually sell it ( most don't.. too bad for them). Working on getting my 4 "mother" specimens up to size so i will have a secure seed source at my finger tips, instead of several miles away. Even so, hoping this year produces a good seed crop so i can get more seedlings going, and into a few more hands..



-Nathan

Wowee!   Gorgeous cacti blooms!  Thanks for sharing them with us all.  

 

jimmyt

Here are a few. I didnt take note of species. 

.. As the spring Flowering season concludes, Echinopsis X "Napea" opens up full of colors signaling what lies ahead, Heat, Summer sunsets, and hopefully a good Monsoon season. It only dropped to 80F last night.  First stretch of 108-110F of the year possible starting next Sunday. Still a few others slowly pushing future summer fireworks atm. 

Echinopsis X "Napea




At the same time, the first ripening fruits of my labor,   literally..    Interesting how the Echinopsis ripened faster than Echinocereus i played around with this year ( maybe ready to process in a couple more weeks).  Playing pollinator with a Paint brush is fun



-Nathan

On 16/05/2018, 1:10:51, Silas_Sancona said:

A couple extra pictures of G. coulteri for enjoyment..  No doubt it isn't something you'll find outside of local nurseries.. who actually sell it ( most don't.. too bad for them). Working on getting my 4 "mother" specimens up to size so i will have a secure seed source at my finger tips, instead of several miles away. Even so, hoping this year produces a good seed crop so i can get more seedlings going, and into a few more hands..



-Nathan

That's nothing short of gorgeous!