Air plant surprise

I had a surprise yesterday- my Tillandsia ionantha bromeliad is blooming!



I've been noticing it getting redder and redder this spring, which I knew they do before blooming, but never having bloomed an air plant before I was not expecting it to actually do its thing!

What a great surprise.  It must be happy in the corner of my east-facing kitchen window.

Rebutia heliosa

So pretty.  This is Rebutia heliosa, a cactus that originates in Bolivia.  This is repeat bloomer for me, right on schedule since I got it about this time last year.



The flowers are just so vibrant and bright.



There are still lots of buds forming, so this show should last a good long while.  It's so gratifying when a plant blooms again.

Cactus extravaganza, with bonus succulents

Ready?  It’s getting to be cactus time.  Not many words needed.

Mammillaria bocasana roseiflora, second year in my care, second blooming.



Mammillaria zeilmanniana, second year in my care, second blooming.



Matucana aureiflora, second year in my care, second blooming.



Rebutia hoffmannii, second year in my care, second blooming.



Mammillaria backebergiana.  This was blooming when I got it in March 2016, and this is its second rebloom for me. It has grown another inch taller this year, as evidenced by the scarring about two inches down, where the horrible fake flower was glued on the top when I got it.




Mammillaria bombycina, another that I got in March 2016 and on its second reblooming for me.  This one also grows about an inch per year.  The fuzzier, whiter part on the top 2/3 of the plant grew while it was under my care.  I love this plant.



Mixed pot of Easter cacti, got it in bud a month ago and now it's blooming.




Rebutia pulchella, new last winter, first bloom for me.



Echinopsis subdenudata, new last winter, first bloom for me.






Echeveria derenbergii, first bloom in my care.



And lastly, Sedeveria 'Letizia', first bloom in my care.

Another Gymnocalycium

I have a second Gymnocalycium blooming now.



As I mentioned a few days ago, there is a big range in color in this species.  This one is pale, pale pink rather than the deep red of my first one.

Red red red

Today's cactus is Gymnocalycium baldianum.  This species is native to Argentina and can be quite variable in terms of flower color, ranging from deep red to white.



My plant has beautiful dark reddish-magenta flowers, and it's just gorgeous.  I don't have any other cacti this color.



The flowers last for 3 to 4 days, but only open fully in bright sunlight.  The close at night, then open again the next day.

So pretty.

Another Mammillaria

This is Mammillaria zeilmanniana, but the white-flowered form this time instead of the pink that I showed before.



What's interesting about this plant is that it has spination like the pink-flowered Mammillaria zeilmanniana, but flowers like the plumose-spined Mammillaria duwei.



M. zeilmanniana and M. duwei are both now considered subspecies of M. crinita. When you look at the extremes it's hard to believe that they are the same species, but when you consider the whole gradient of forms, it becomes a little more visible.

Cactus fireworks

A few days ago, I was in a high state of excitement because I had two cacti that looked like this.



Buds!  These are two hybrid Echinopsis cacti, bred by a commercial grower.  The line is called 'Rainbow Bursts', and they are produced by crossing Echinopsis and the cactus formerly named Lobivia (now lumped into Echinopsis). Since there are many lines of this hybrid produced from seed, the flower colors will vary widely between plants and you never know what you're going to get. I have... ummm... several... of these, because each one might be different and I can't resist!

Yesterday, the first one opened.



It is spectacular.



Can you even believe this flower is real?!







Then today, the second one opened.  It's not quite as striking as the first one, but is really beautiful.



Up close you can see that the center of each petal has a stripe of orange blended into the shocking pink.









These plants did not disappoint.  They wildly exceeded my expectations; I was hoping for flowers that weren't plain white, and some striping would be a great bonus.  Both plants nailed it. The only way they could be improved would be to have a fragrance and for the flowers to last more than one day.

I can't wait to see what the rest of my 'Rainbow Bursts' blooms look like.

So pretty

This is one of my prettiest cacti, I think.  This is Mammillaria theresae, native to central Mexico, and is another that is critically endangered in the wild.



The flowers are a lovely shade of lavender, and are so delicate.



The spines are plumose, feathery, very soft and pretty.



The flowers last a couple days, and while there's no scent that I can detect, the display more than makes up for that lack.



Just lovely.