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Posts tagged ‘pink’

Apr 30

Salmon Prickly Pear

Javelina LOVE non-native cactus so in years past, this poor Prickly Pear has not been allowed to fully bloom. But Javelina Cafe is now closed so all my non-natives finally have a chance to show off and they are making up for lost time. Besides what you see here, there are at least 25 more buds waiting to open on this Prickly Pear! I had fun photographing the blooms with various lenses yesterday. I couldn’t decide on just one image so here is a collage.

Apr 6

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Home Depot Hedgehog

I rescued this Hedgehog from Home Depot. It was under a bench with a price tag of a few dollars and it looked nearly beyond help. I had no idea what color the bloom would be but I felt sorry for it and took it home. To my delight, the blooms are an amazing soft pink! I used a filter called Pixel Bender on it to give it even more softness.

Jul 30

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Opportunistic

Yesterday morning, I was excited to find one of my Pincusion Cactus in full bloom! Instead of the solid pink petals that I’m used to seeing, though, this one had white stripes. I’ve seen this pattern before and always wondered so I wrote my botanist guru, Steve Jones. He confirmed that they are indeed the same species as my other…..Graham’s Pincushion. I also asked for the reason they are blooming so much more than last year and here’s his response: ”

They flower any time they get water – seems to me that within a week of any good rainfall from April to September I start to see flowers. They’re opportunistic – they flower like ocotillos leaf out, in response to rain. The ASDM manual has this note (very bottom of the page):

“The flowers can be used as a monsoon season rain gauge. The buds are produced during the preceding summer growing season and usually remain dormant through the winter, spring, and foresummer. The buds burst into bloom 5 days after the first rain of the summer and last about a week. Plants produce a second and sometimes a third flush of flowers after subsequent rains.”

We haven’t been getting the rain the rest of the valley has been getting but I do give them supplemental water so that explains the blooms!

Jul 17

Tubercles

Update on Javelina Cafe…..the fence is working! I rescued many tiny Pincushion Cactus (some with bites out of them) and not only have they healed but they are thriving. Today’s photo is a composite of blooms that opened yesterday (you might have heard me squealing!) For those who live in this area, keep an eye out for them. They’re usually hiding under shrubs for protection. They will bloom for several days so you have some time to scout for them. What sets Mammillaria (species) apart from other cactus is their Tubercles.

 

Jun 9

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Lady Fingers

Since putting a fence around Javelina Cafe, my hybrid cactus have been doing really well! The most amazing blooms this Spring were on my Echinocereus pentalophus hybrid….aka Lady Fingers. Fat Fingers is a better name since the stems stay swollen from too much water. The ground squirrels continually chew through the drip lines.  Anyway….the color is so brilliant that it almost looks fake!