Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Flowers Galore

Opuntia engelmannii
(Engelmann’s Prickly Pear)


My lone Engelmann's Prickly Pear is loaded with blooms, which are a darker gold than last year's. More blooms equal more fruits, so I will be able to try some new recipes later in the summer when the fruits ripen.



Citrus × meyeri
(Dwarf Meyer Lemon)

My new Meyer Lemon has about 40 little lemons on it. I'm going to cull out most of them so the tree can spend its energy getting established rather than producing fruit. It's hard for me to do this--but it is necessary. It will probably self-thin most of the fruit anyway, so I'm going to wait awhile longer to see how many drop on their own.


Rosa 'We Salute You'

A bloom so bright it almost hurts to look at it. My spring rose blooms are really big and bright right now. March and April are the best time for roses in our part of the country, and even now, this rose has some scorching on the petal margins as it has a southeast exposure.

Rosa 'Hello Dolly'


This rose has a southwest exposure, but so far, no petal scorching. I think it's because it receives some light afternoon shade from a nearby Palo Brea tree.

Echinocereus viridiflorus
(Nylon Hedgehog Cactus)


The greenish flowers on this new cactus are supposed to smell like lemon, but I can't detect any scent at all. It has a shallow root system, so it needs regular water in hotter months. Because of this, I'm going to keep it potted so I can water it easier. I really wonder why it's called Nylon Hedgehog. There is no information that I can find as to how it got this common name.

Eriosyce kunzei ‘multicolor’
I love the long lasting, florescent flowers of this small cactus. After the blooms wilt and dry, I will be repotting it into a clay pot.
Eschscholzia mexicana




This Mexican Poppy came compliments of the potted cactus that I purchased several years ago. I've been hoping it would reseed into my landscape, but so far, it's only multiplied in the pot. This Poppy is a close relative of the California Poppy, which does come up each spring in my garden. Actually, the Mexican Poppy is better suited to our hotter climate than the California Poppy. I should just buy some seeds instead of waiting for seeds from these few plants in the pot.


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I've shown the amazing growth of this Agave lophantha for the previous two Bloomin' Tuesday posts. The stalk is now almost 16 feet tall, four-to-six feet taller than expected! It has grown so fast you can almost hear it growing, as they say about corn. From the looks of the flower buds, blooming should start late this week or early next week. When the flowers reach their blooming stage, the stalk should be fully grown. we've had strong winds the past two days, and this stalk is so strong it barely moved!






The outer sheath that originally protected the emerging buds has now begun to wilt, a sure sign that the flowers will bloom shortly. For folks interested in seeing the growth progress, see the photos toward the bottom in each of these two previous posts.

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Just beautiful! That Agave is incredible, we would love to see some blooms on our lemon tree. We have blooms on the tangerine, grapefruit and peach trees so far.

Claude said...

Wow... all that color! I can hardly wait for that agave to bloom... you'd think it was in my front yard! I only have one rose here, my Mom got a bush for Valentines day and it ended up here. I'm not really a rose grower, but it's putting up buds, so we'll see...

Ashraf sharif said...

Very nice many blooms and colors different look for this is Echinocereus.
I will searching it .

Carla said...

oh la la! I'm really loving that agave! (hope mine blooms this year too:)

beckie said...

Aiyana, I don't know which flower is prettier! I love the prickly pear color and of course the hedgehog is so unusual. Those roses are gorgeous-I'm wondering if I will have any left this year. I planted some mexican poppies from a seed exchange and hope they are as nice as yours.

That agave is stunning! Great picture of it,btw.As much as I want to see the blooms, I hate to think of it dying.

Suzanne said...

I always love looking at the stunning, bright, beautiful colors in your posts. The colors in your garden seem so vibrant!

Paula said...

Love your flowers - your blog has changed my thoughts on Arizona gardening! Can you take a picture of your entire garden area's?I would love to see them! Paula

Sugarplum Cottage said...

Incredible blooms, everything is so unique. That's why I love coming here. Rosemarie

Anne Fannie said...

Hi Aiyana
Wow, so many beautiful blooms today. I love spring in Arizona. The desert comes so alive with flowers! We are going down to our vacation home this weekend in Parker to soak up some sun!
Happy Bloomin' Tuesday!
~Ann

Good Acres said...

Love the beautiful bloom on the prickly pear and can't believe the growth spurt of the Agave lophantha! I hope that your Meyer Lemon tree does well in desert conditions -- they are relatively common (and do well) here in foggy San Francisco (I have one that is 40+ years old in the back yard that is our source of lemons for cooking throughout the year). Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

You have more cactus blooming this season than we do in Berkeley. We're generally about a month behind you. But our Echinocereus viridifloruses are starting to bloom too. We don't call them nylon hedgehogs, we prefer to call them "greenie".

Jean said...

All your colors are so intense it's amazing! I love the florescent flower and the "we salute you' rose. You certainly always surprise us. Can't wait to see the agave in bloom! Jean

Mary Beth said...

I think cacti have the most exotic blooms - and LOVE looking at yours.

Rock rose said...

Amazing flowers on your cactus. I only have a couple that flower with reliability and I have to remember to check on them as flowering is over in a flash. I have Meye's in pots and never remove any of the fruits. Some drop off an d some years there are as many as 20 fruits that come to maturity. I love them much to cull. What a show the agave is putting on for you and other over the wall. Is this one that you have to save the seed to reproduce?

Julie said...

Oh, my fav flower here is the Eriosyce kunzei...what a gorgoeus shade of pink!!! Oooo-la-la!

Spring is springing, for sure!!! So fun to see!

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Beautiful colour... and just look at that 16 feet tall stalk, standing upright without any supporting props...

Bangchik,
Putrajaya,
Malaysia.

Lythrum said...

Beautiful flowers, I can't wait to see my roses again, but at least I can see yours. :)

Anonymous said...

I'll be watching to see your agave bloom. Very cool.

Phoenix C. said...

Beautiful photos and plants! I love the name 'nylon hedgehog'!!