Cactus Island is Earning its Stripes…Blooms, Arms and Spines

It has been a spectacular month for growth and transformation with the namesake plants on our farm. I finally have the very first flower buds emerging from the cephalium wool on the Royen’s tree cactus (Sebucan), and I’ve put the word out to growers and botanists who might also have this species of Caribbean island cactus in bloom so that pollen can be exchanged. It’s uncommon in U.S. mainland exhibits and collections so the opportunity to produce fresh viable seeds shouldn’t be wasted. I suspect its blooming season will be a long and gradual fireworks display, luckily.

The native Harrisia Fragrans I planted around the East pasture have been putting out basal pups and flowers. This small columnar compliments the yellow-flowered Devil’s tongue Opuntia that occur naturally here, and we look forward to seeing them establish into sprawling shrubs. New arms on the large blue facheiro and bilberry are much larger this week. In the two tupperware tubs you can see over a thousand of each species as tiny seedlings. I need a bigger high tunnel! The mini-barrel gives us a flush of flowers every other week it seems, and the Arizona fishhook barrel adapted well to the same bed.