From Bud to Fruit in 46 Days

No, this is not some unusual variety of dwarf watermelon we’re growing at Cactus Island. That little black cactus bud I shared on June 8th? It flowered, fruited and grew into by far the largest fruit I’ve ever seen on any species of Pilosocereus. This eight foot plus Brazilian P. azureus took about 12 years to flower from germination and I’ve had it since 2012 when I bought it as an 8-10 inch potted pair. This biggie has to be an anomaly, because the seed count after cleaning was 5374 – way more than the normal, roughly 1800 I’ve been seeing in this genus. Maybe, just maybe, the two winters that have nipped the tips and caused new pups (and maybe the huge fruit) to form will yield seedlings that lean toward a cold-hardier land race than this one already is.