Day: June 20, 2018

It appears that the Queen accepted the rain with exuberance. She broke stall on Sunday and Monday and is on the move toward bloom. Today most of the buds are in the in the 60 to 80 mm range putting them only 5 to 6 days out. There are a few at 90mm, a few at 50mm, and one at 110mm. Right now it looks like there will be a small split on the bloom with the majority going on the same night. It is possible however, that her plans will be different than mine, as is usually the case.

The P. tepalcatepecanus had two flowers on Saturday night and the P. oaxacensis had one bloom on Sunday. The P. fosterianus has started pushing toward bloom and may happen on the same night as the Queen. I sure hope so anyway. My Queen is on track with her counterparts in the gardens and all of her Court are pushing for the bloom.

It appears that we could together as early as this Friday or as late as Monday, but right now my best guess (which I hate to do knowing how much she likes to frustrate me) is Saturday or Sunday. So get ready to stand by with your boots out and put new batteries in your flashlight. I will let you know the exact day as soon as she lets me know.

Until Next Time – Lee Mason, Director of General Services, Tohono Chul

On June 3, Plant #64 let two of her flowers go. This is the same plant that went first last year with two flowers on May 19. The rest of her flowers remain in stall status. It will be interesting to see if they will push off stall, if and when the rain really does come this weekend. If so, the big night may come seven to ten days afterwards. Stay tuned.

The Queen has seen fit to abort ten more buds since last week. I did see some fuzzies yesterday, but don’t really believe they will produce. She may have a different plan as she frequently does, especially if it serves to frustrate me. We’ll see.

I always enjoy receiving pictures from you of your bloomed Queens. Please keep sending them our way! Jesse Byrd from the Pima County Native Plant Nursery has had four bloom in their collection already. They have also lost several buds, but still have more to come.

As for the Queen’s Court, the P. tepalcatepecanus has produced two more buds that will more than likely go in the next few days. The rest of the P. fosterianus and P. oaxacensis are still in a holding pattern. I told you in the last blog that the P. serpentinus in the pot had three buds which then bloomed on June 10. The plant in the ground decided to make a liar out of me and produced four more buds over the weekend.

I’m checking every day now and will let you know as soon as the Queen decides to make her big appearance.

Until Next Time – Lee Mason, Director of General Services, Tohono Chul