Cactus on Fire
I promised I would share pictures of my Rebutia arachnacantha when it bloomed. It tried to open on Wednesday, but the overcast prevented it from opening fully. But it did open enough for me to appreciate the color. The person who gave me this cactus described it as a fiery orange, and the bloom does not disappoint.
How does such a little plant produce such a big flower? It's both ridiculous and beautiful.
Thursday brought sunny skies, and tongues of flame unfurled into full, blazing glory. Slightly more orange than the picture below looks (at least on my screen) it really is the color of yellow-orange flames. The flower is so big it's almost like a huge parasol that's meant to shade the cactus below.
This is what it looks like with just one bloom, after suffering in a dark apartment in Wisconsin all winter. Imagine what it will look like next year after spending this winter in the new greenhouse, where it will get the cool winter rest it needs to really produce a good show of flowers.
If kept dry in the winter, this little cactus is actually hardy to at least 15F, perhaps a bit lower. I think I'll stick with the greenhouse, though, for safety. It originates in the high Andes of South America. Rebutias, and the related genus Lobivia, frequently have large flowers like this one and well-grown specimens produce so many blooms you can't even see the cactus below. They also produce offsets, which you can see at the base of mine, that eventually produce mound-shaped colonies. Each little barrel is less than two inches across, so you can get a lot of little cacti in a colony less than a foot wide, and all covering themselves in huge blooms. I think I'll go ahead and dub this little bonfire my favorite plant in the garden this week, too.
How does such a little plant produce such a big flower? It's both ridiculous and beautiful.
Thursday brought sunny skies, and tongues of flame unfurled into full, blazing glory. Slightly more orange than the picture below looks (at least on my screen) it really is the color of yellow-orange flames. The flower is so big it's almost like a huge parasol that's meant to shade the cactus below.
This is what it looks like with just one bloom, after suffering in a dark apartment in Wisconsin all winter. Imagine what it will look like next year after spending this winter in the new greenhouse, where it will get the cool winter rest it needs to really produce a good show of flowers.
If kept dry in the winter, this little cactus is actually hardy to at least 15F, perhaps a bit lower. I think I'll stick with the greenhouse, though, for safety. It originates in the high Andes of South America. Rebutias, and the related genus Lobivia, frequently have large flowers like this one and well-grown specimens produce so many blooms you can't even see the cactus below. They also produce offsets, which you can see at the base of mine, that eventually produce mound-shaped colonies. Each little barrel is less than two inches across, so you can get a lot of little cacti in a colony less than a foot wide, and all covering themselves in huge blooms. I think I'll go ahead and dub this little bonfire my favorite plant in the garden this week, too.
Still amazes me how something so prickly can produce such a showy flower!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful flower!
ReplyDeleteStunning...just stunning. Love that color, like saffron.
ReplyDeleteA round little figure holding up it's arm, hand grasping a parasol. What a great image!
ReplyDeleteOMG. Some things are worth waiting for, yes?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if the flower isn't too heavy that it could pull the cacti out of the soil.
A cunning little cactus on its own, but what a bonus!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful little treasure!
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me when cacti produce orchid-like blooms.
ReplyDeleteCacti do have such distinctive flowers, and that one does look like a marvelous sunburst, such a pretty color, deepening in the center.
ReplyDeleteThey are amazing, those little cacti. Makes up for getting stabbed by them, mostly. That it looks so healthy is a display of your horticultural skills.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly wonderful...it's as if it carries with it the desert sun!
ReplyDelete