Bloom Watch #2 – Peniocereus Progress
May 15, 2017The Queen has been busy over the last couple of weeks and there are now three buds at stall size. It will be interesting to see if they hang on for the others or if they just take off on their own. Many of the plants are still recovering from last year’s onslaught of the fuzzy and cute little pack-rats. The population has seen a decrease, but there are still a bunch around. Hopefully the pack-rats won’t be as big of a problem this year.
Those of you who came to Bloom Night last year will remember the collection of 11 of the 21 species of Peniocereus. With some help from a friend, we now have 13! Of those the P. marianus, P. johnstonii, P. serpentinus and the P. viperinus have already bloomed. These four are normally earlier than the P. greggii. Next should be either the P. fosterianus or the P. tepalcatepecanus. I will keep you updated on their progress.
I have been asked if the warm winter will affect the bloom time or the number of flowers. As I see it right now we are right on track for a normal bloom somewhere between now and the end of July. The Queen will always do her best to frustrate us and then bloom on her own schedule. I am talking to her every day and let you know where she is in a couple of weeks.
Until Next Time – Lee Mason, Director of General Services, Tohono Chul