Geometric

Today's plant is another Mammillaria cactus, possibly Mammillaria polythele.  It didn't come with a label, but I think that's what it is.  That species is widespread across central Mexico.



It has typical Mammillaria flowers, small and pink.  The body of the plant has prominent angled tubercules that give it an interesting appearance.



I like the way the spines look like stars.  The spines are also very stiff, and this one is quite pokey!

Little perfection

I have a very sweet little succulent to show today, another Echeveria hybrid named 'Chroma'.



It's just so tidy and perfect.  I like the purplish leaves and the bright orange pyramid flowers that never fully open.

Mammillaria zeilmanniana, continued...

This is another repeat plant for the blog, Mammillaria crinita (Mammillaria zeilmanniana), which was first showcased in February.  It has been blooming continuously since that first flower opened.  Three months!



What I would like to show off today is the amazing new flush of buds that it has put on in the past three weeks.



Just incredible.

Epiphytic cactus

At first that sounds ridiculous, right? An epiphytic cactus?  But yes, really.  Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter cacti are all epiphytic, as are the related orchid cacti (Epiphyllum) and mistletoe cacti (Rhipsalis).

And this one, Pfeiffera monacantha (formerly named Acanthorhipsalis monacantha).  This one is native to Bolivia and Argentina, in the transitional zone between the Andes Mountains and the lowland forests.



It has very pretty little orange flowers, which are borne all along the edges of the stems in the spring.  Mine is still a fairly young group of cuttings that I bought last fall, and I was not expecting it to bloom this year.  Nice surprise!

I may need to go to Bolivia some day...

Are you tired of cacti yet?  Too bad.  They are blooming and I must photograph.

This is another from the Bolivian Andes, Sulcorebutia santiaginiensis.



Very cool spines, and amazing vibrant fuchsia flowers.



Beautiful.

Floral fireworks

BAM!



Isn't that amazing?



This is an orchid, Dendrobium Enobi Purple 'Splash'.



I got this in October, and was thrilled when a flower spike appeared along about February-ish.  I haven't had a Dendrobium orchid in more than 15 years, having killed all the ones I had in North Carolina when we made the move to dark and chilly coastal Washington in 2001.

I thought it was time to try again.  I love the way the purply-fuchsia splashes look against the pure white.  Gorgeous.

The Pearls

My Red Pearl amaryllis flowers opened today, bulb #27 for the year!



They are streakier than I remember them being last year, but very beautiful.



As a comparison, here are Black Pearl (left) and Red Pearl (right).  As you can see, they are about the same size, and Red Pearl is slightly darker and more of a true red, not as orangy.  I also like the more star-shaped flowers with the pointier petals better.

I have one more red amaryllis to open (Benfica), and then I will be able to declare The Best Red.  So far, Red Pearl is still winning.