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Here is a picture I didn't think I'd get to take this year.
I'd been watching this plant since the middle of May. It had two buds that just sat there, and I'd decided awhile back the blooms were never going to open. I went out yesterday to check on something else and was shocked to find the plant in full bloom! I was also surprised to see a little pink color around the fringe of the flowers. I didn't know this kind of cactus did that. I've had this cactus about seven years and these are the first blooms.
Astrophytum ornatum.
I was thinking of posting this next picture anyway, but the body of the plant above looks so warped it deserves some explanation. These plants grow in whorl form, so the ribs look like they spin around the plant. At certain angles they look great and at other angles like above they look a little mangled. This one below is planted beside the one blooming in the picture above. One thing I like about the pair is that they spiral in opposite directions!
Astrophytum ornatum.
ETA: the white spots on the bodies of the cactus above are natural. Some books compare them to leaves on other kinds of plants. As the plants grow the spots form patterns which is where the "ornatum" or 'ornate' part of the name comes from.
I'd been watching this plant since the middle of May. It had two buds that just sat there, and I'd decided awhile back the blooms were never going to open. I went out yesterday to check on something else and was shocked to find the plant in full bloom! I was also surprised to see a little pink color around the fringe of the flowers. I didn't know this kind of cactus did that. I've had this cactus about seven years and these are the first blooms.
Astrophytum ornatum.
I was thinking of posting this next picture anyway, but the body of the plant above looks so warped it deserves some explanation. These plants grow in whorl form, so the ribs look like they spin around the plant. At certain angles they look great and at other angles like above they look a little mangled. This one below is planted beside the one blooming in the picture above. One thing I like about the pair is that they spiral in opposite directions!
Astrophytum ornatum.
ETA: the white spots on the bodies of the cactus above are natural. Some books compare them to leaves on other kinds of plants. As the plants grow the spots form patterns which is where the "ornatum" or 'ornate' part of the name comes from.