According to the label on this Mammillaria microhelia, the flowers were supposed to be pale yellow, but instead they've turned out to pink. Sometimes I wonder if the growers just make guesses when listing info!Flowers on the M. microhelia can be yellow, cream, pink, or purple. I usually choose cacti based not only on the species, but also by what color flowers I can expect. This isn't my first surprise, so I've learned to take them in stride.
To read more about M. microhelia, see a previous post.
12 comments:
I love cacti flowers, there always so unexpected :)
I long ago quit believing plant tags when it came to color. Catalogs are no better. I'm still upset with the "Yellow" lilac that turned out to be a white after paying $40. 'Blue' is often the most misleading color labeled. They should just say 'purple with a blue tinge if you're lucky'
Cacti are ironic plants .. such pretty little flowers .. such BIG throny spikes ! LOL
Joy
They're still very beautiful :)
Happy GTS!
Yes we do make guesses.
All labels are subject to change. Seeds get mixed. Names change, genuses change. Reference books make mistakes.
And of course, most importantly, as much as we want to believe that a species is a species forever, every plant is an individual that has it's own life separate from our categorizing.
Beautiful! My daughter and grandsons have some cacti but the only type I've ever tried to grow was Christmas cactus. I did have good luck and one year it had close to 50 blooms on it. I think that took too much of the plants energy as it began to die and nothing I did would revive it. Wish I still had it. It had beautiful pink blossoms.
Maybe I will buy a couple of cacti and try them. They are pretty when they bloom.
Blessings,
Mary
I used to grow cacti in pots indoors, but haven't for years and years. One time one flowered.
I think decades ago I had cactus berries, and they were terrific. I'd grow cacti everywhere (well, not everywhere) if I was assured a crop of berries.
Hi Aiyana,
You have a great selection of colours in your garden at the minute,I bet you look forward to this time of the year.
It's hard to appreciate a desert style garden looking so good.
As to my wildlife effort, I don't know of many other railway employees who do what I do, at least not on the same scale. With it beig on railway land members of the public wouldn't be able to have a close look, but they can see if from the road that passes right by the signal box. I have appeared in the local paper and been nominated for a railway award but the judges don't seem to apperciate what I am trying to do.
The main reason why I do it is that it is land that is not being utulised as much as it could and it's great to look at and photograph when at work.
Cheers Mark
Sweet cactus shots, but I'm REALLY excited by the Convolvulus / Opuntia pairing below.
As for the Billbergia I posted today, it is pretty much a spring bloomer, with some sporadic blooms into summer. Worth a try in some shade or early morning sun. Keep it moist.
Happy Sunday!
Very pretty! I guess it would be kinda fun to not truly know what flowers you will be getting! I really like the pink flowers though!!
This is such a sweet color, it is lovely!
Sorry about the tag mistake, but I love that color pink.
Post a Comment