I’ve been checking on them since this morning, yet…the ants beat me to the flowers of my Yellow Torch Cactus (Parodia leninghausii). I was so excited to see its yellow flowers again for they only bloom once a year in my upper garden.
Tag: Cactus
Bird’s Nest Pincushion Cactus
I guess the sparrows would agree with me if I say that Mammillaria decipiens ssp. camptotricha is not a comfortable plant to handle. This spiny green globular cactus is presently about 5 inches tall and 6 inches wide (it hasn’t achieved its maturity, yet). It also looks like a nest guarded with lots of needles. Hence, its common name Bird’s Nest Cactus, Bird’s Nest Mammillaria or Bird’s Nest Pincushion.
The green tubercles of this plant are about 2 cm long. Its axil is somewhat lightly covered with white hairs and a few bristles. The protruding needles in the photos are its radial spines which compensate for its lack of central spines. Each tubercle has 2 to 8 radial spines about 3 cm long. Those sharp-edge needles are either thin or thick; flexible or rigid; curled or straight; yellow, white, or brown in color.
In between those tubercles bloom the small white flowers about 1 cm to 1.5 cm wide. (I noticed that this cactus flower in dry and wet season.) Despite its plain appearance, those blossoms have a delicate scent which attracts some ants or stingless bees. In addition, its juicy fruits often look like eye-candy to humans and birds alike.
I like this succulent because it doesn’t demand a lot of care; it’s happy growing in a sandy-loam soil mixed with rice hulls. It also just require a full sun exposure and moderate water to thrive well. However during wet season, I have to move it to a dry spot to avoid drowning and rotting.
Wordless Wednesday: Sea Urchin Cactus
It’s the third time in 2011 that my favorite cactus flowered; it bloomed in February and in May earlier this year. I noticed that every time this particular Sea Urchin Cactus (Echinopsis subdenudata) blooms, it is always on a rainy day/night. It’s frustrating that it stays open for only 24 hours or so. Because of the wind and rain, I failed to see its flowers open in the evening. However, I could still admire its beauty and oh-so sweet perfume in its remaining blooming hours in the morning up to 12 noon. I guess the bees would agree with me…
Mammillaria zeilmanniana
For six years, Mammillaria zeilmanniana is the most active of my cacti when it comes to producing flowers. It shows off 2 cm wide pinkish-purple flowers all throughout the year even when I seldom tend to it. This cactus is also commonly known as the Rose Pincushion Cactus. Coincidentally, I bought it from Rose (a succulent-dealer) last June 2005.
The body of this cactus is glossy green and full of tubercles. You need to take a closer look because the spines cover the whole plant. The white ones are the radial spines, which are about 15 or more found on each tubercle. (Their main function is to collect moisture.) Then, there are also the four reddish-brown central spines on each tubercle — 3 straight and 1 hook. (These fend off little birds that covet its whitish-green fruits and humans.) I always watch out for the hooks when I tend to this cactus but I guess I just couldn’t avoid them.
I’ve heard that in its natural habitat, this cactus rarely branches out. However, it is not in the case here in my garden; from a single plant, it initially produced a cluster of offsets that became clumps later on. I say this plant is very generous that I need to re-pot it every two years.
The offsets thrive well in pots with good cactus soil (I just mix sand, loam soil and rice hulls). I put them in an open area where they get full sun exposure and lots of air. During the dry season, watering is only needed when the soil is hard to the touch. However during the wet season, I refrain to give it water for this plant is prone to rot. Overall, I like this cactus because of its purple flowers and that it is easy to care for.
The cactus dubbed as the Mother-in-law’s Cushion
I’ve repotted my Echinocactus grusonii the other day for it has outgrown its medium-sized container. Six years ago, this plant had the size of the human fist. Now, this sphere-looking succulent is about six inches wide in diameter and six inches tall. It’s also called Golden Barrel Cactus or Golden Ball due to its sharp yellow spines, either straight or slightly curved, which grow along the 14 ribs of its rich green body. My cactus is still quite young; when fully matured this plant could have more than 30 ribs.
Yet, I don’t know who started to call this plant Mother-in-law’s Cushion but I could speculate. Perhaps the reason for this moniker is that its shape and spiny-look symbolizes the attitude and treatment of mothers toward their sons/daughters-in law — you know… critical, tough, nurturing, etc. Anyway according to cacti experts, this plant could grow up to a meter tall and would produce yellow flowers at its crown AFTER 20 years… Well, in that case I have to wait for 14 more years to see this plant bloom…Hmmmnn…I’ll be a great grandma by then…
Just like its tough appearance, this succulent is easy to grow even when I neglect it or give it minimal care. It thrives well in warm climates and likes full sun exposure. It requires only a minimum water, so it’s best to be planted in pots with large holes at the bottom for proper drainage. Water-clogging should be avoided though, for this plant is rot-prone.
Blooming Spider Cactus
If I don’t have my eyeglasses on while tending to my cacti, I would see a bunch of small white spiders creeping on my Gymnocalycium denudatum. I would often confuse the spines for bugs attacking the cream-white flowers. Well, I guess that is why they obviously call this succulent as Spider Cactus due to the way its white spines look like — spider legs that cling close to the body of the plant. (See the photo below.)
The dark green body of my Spider cactus is glossy and globular, about 4 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches wide. It is “slightly chinned” and has eight rounded ribs. Each spines are about a centimeter long and not injurious.
The Spider Cactus is very easy to grow. It requires full sunlight, enough water and a dose of fertilizer to yield cream-white flowers with some rosy tinge at the edge. Depending on the size of the cactus, the flowers are about 5 – 7 cm wide.
Blue Candle Cactus
Last 2005, I bought my Myrtillocactus geometrizans from Rose, a dealer of cacti and succulents. Initially, the plant had lots of erect stems with hazy blue patches. Hence, its common name Blue Candle, Blue Myrtle Cactus,or Whortleberry Cactus. When I repotted it in a sandy-loam soil, the cactus later on grew into a shrub about 3 feet tall. Its columnar stems have reddish-radial spines and a black central spine along its 5 ribs (some stems have six ribs). Also, some stems mutated into a cristate form.
In the photo above, I planted several erect side shoots of the Blue Candle in a small pot. One of the blue stems had an abnormal growth which added an interesting touch to this plant piece. I intended to put this potted cactus on a table so I added some small stones and a red coral for finishing touches.
Another variety of my Myrtillocactus geometrizans came from my plant buddy Baby Yu of Baroy, Lanao del Norte. The mother plant of this specimen has stems with four ribs; I don’t know what environmental factors in my garden affected it to produce stems with five ribs. Anyway, the single stem in the photo above is about 20 inches long and 4 inches in diameter. White markings are present on each side of this variety.
Rat-tail Cactus
If not for its 3 inch wide pinkish-red flowers, I would have given away my Aporocactus flagellaformis. This epiphyte, commonly known as the Rat’s Tail Cactus, has long stems densely covered with short yellowish or brownish spines. Those spines are formidable and I’m always wary when I get near this trailing plant so most often I leave it alone.
This succulent is due for repotting for its stems are overcrowded. Yet, I don’t look forward to repot this plant or propagate it; I remember the countless times being punctured by those needles… Arggh… not a happy thought. I could always prepare a nice pot filled with sandy-loam soil for some stems to grow on, though.
Presently, most of its stems are about an inch thick or less, and about less than a meter long. Those pale green stems could trail down to 6 meters when fully matured, or so as the book says. Also, along the entire length of those stems appear its fruits and flowers.
I remembered that it did not yield flowers before when I put it in a shaded area in my garden. However, it flourished well when I placed it on the deck baluster upstairs. I guess it prefers an open air where there is plenty of air, sunlight and rain.
While most cactus rot during the wet season, the Rat’s Tail Cactus welcomes the rain for it shows off more blooms on its stems. I just keep in mind that this cactus doesn’t like being disturbed or moved when it is showing-off its blossoms. Anyway, humans, bumble bees, stingless bees and small back ants often couldn’t stay away from its red funnel-shaped flowers.
The Old Lady
Neither the silver hairs of my head nor the tuft of fur of my house pet, this white fleece belongs to my cactus Espostoa lanata. This no-fuss ornamental plant is named after the botanist Nicolas E. Esposto and is commonly known as ‘the old lady’. Sometimes it is called as ‘the old Peruvian man’ because its original habitat is the Andes of Peru. I thought to write about it today because it attracted my new plant collector-friends yesterday.
Since I planted my Espostoa in the 1990’s, it flourished into several columns. Presently, each stems is about 5 cm in diameter with 20 ribs.Oftentimes, those ribs are hidden with short spines and long bristles. The spines are mostly thin and yellowish in color and the hairy covering is, in this specimen, whitish. When fully developed, the stems divide into several nodes (see the photo above.) This specimen would have reached its full growth if I planted it on the ground but due to lack of space, I planted it on a medium-sized pot.
They say that this species rarely flourish with too much TLC (tender, loving, care). In other words, once you plant it just let mother nature nurture it. Keeping this in mind, I planted it in a pot filled with loamy soil mixed with coarse sand. Then, I put the potted plant in an open area where it is fully exposed to sun and slightly exposed to rain. Too much rain could cause its rotting.
I don’t have photos of its flowers because my ‘old lady’ hasn’t produced any yet. All I know is that its night flowering blooms are whitish-green about 5 cm across.
Mistletoe Cactus
It’s not yet Christmas but since this plant started blooming the other day, I thought to give my Rhipsalis teres an attention. This plant is also known as the Mistletoe cactus or Wickerwork cactus. My friend Mrs.Tolero, a jet-setter and a plant collector, gave me this epiphyte as a present from her travels sometime in year 2000. She told me that this plant came from South America.
I knew so little about this plant and for years I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was just an air plant for it doesn’t resemble a normal cactus. It has no spines, just a few bristles here and there.
Its stems are slender, they’re about 0.5 cm in diameter. I also observed that the length of each stems vary but they’re commonly connected together in long joints. The young stems are short about 2 cm, angular and have bristles. The old stems, on the other hand, are long, rounded and smooth. Moreover, the branches are in whorls and they grow downwards, hence, they are usually potted in a hanging basket.
Anyway, what I like about this plant is its fruits; they’re like little round white pearls which decorate the plant. Then, there’s its less than 1 cm wide yellow flowers blooming on either the tip or on the side of the stems. I guess the flowers of my Rhipsalis is somewhat smaller than expected; I’ve been informed that the normal size of its flowers is 2.5cm wide.
As per advise of my friend on how to care for Rhipsalis, I put this plant in a shady area where the cactus could avoid exposure from direct sunlight. I also watered it regularly during months of hot season. I cut down its ration of water during the rainy season though.
Due to ignorance, I’ve used chunks of coconut husks as potting medium on this for plant for years. Just recently, I’ve learned that Rhipsalis requires soil rich in humus. So I did the logical thing, I re-potted it with sandy-loam soil. Hopefully, I’ll see bigger flowers the next time it blooms.
Mama Nene's Garden 