Bloom Watch #1

The Queen is Coming

Chris Kibler, Gardens Manager at Tohono Chul, is watching the Queen of the Night cacti and measuring the flower buds at least twice a week now. Most of them are showing new growth thanks to the plentiful winter rains we received. As of today, Chris has found fifteen Peniocereus greggii flower buds; some others are too small to tell. Four of the buds are located right outside the Children’s Garden near the Desert View Trail.

The fuzzy white branch tips and buds are the telltale signs of new growth beginning. The Queen is waking up.

Aside from these night-blooming cereus buds, The North Loop is brimming with a vibrant spectrum of cactus blossoms. We highly advise taking a leisurely stroll while you await the arrival of The Queen!

Rain, surprise. 
Snowy fruit. 
Bathing in the scent. 
Beetles hide in prickly pear blossoms,  
Goldfinch gather chia seeds. 
Quails hurry, lizards lounge. 
The Queen stretches; her white hair begins to grow.

By Tracey Till, Propagation Associate

We are estimating about 4 to 6 weeks away from the big night! 
Stay tuned for weekly updates.

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Bloom Watch #4 – She Is On The Move

The Queen has decided to push to bloom! This morning the majority of the buds were between 60 and 80 mm. What does this mean? Well, what it means to me is my agony is drawing to an end and it is time to put out the luminarias, charge the solar lights, and prep the trails. For you it means the wait is almost over and it is time to get your walking shoes ready and make sure your flashlights have good batteries. My best guess is that it will be over by this weekend or early next week. As you know, I won’t give an exact day because every time I try to predict the exact day in advance she does something different to make me wrong, so standby. I will let you know as soon as she lets me know the day.

Peniocereus fosterianus
Peniocereus cuixmalensis

Last blog there were about nine flowers on June 22 and three on June 23. Out of those twelve flowers, nine were pollinated which you’ll be able to see their fruits when you’re here on Bloom Night. Since then, The Queen aborted three more flowers.

However, she also decided to make fourteen more buds! This is the latest I have ever seen new buds form.

Several will go with the rest on Bloom Night, whereas some will go later, and some won’t make it.

Peniocereus oaxacensis
Peniocereus greggii

In the Queens Court, the P. cuixmalensis, P. oaxacensis, and P. fosterianus are also on the move. Maybe someone will decide to go on Bloom Night. 

Don’t forget the Garden Bistro will be hosting dinner with last reservations at 7 p.m., but they will also be in the gardens with frozen treats and cool refreshments throughout the night.

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

Bloom Watch #3 – Waiting Patiently

This week has been interesting, if not unusual. Although most of the buds are still in stall status, the Queen has pulled a few surprises. First of all, as of the morning of June 19 she has allowed five flowers to move to 120mm and nine to move 80mm. Which means there were fourteen flowers that bloomed before Monday, June 24. As usual, she finds a way to aggravate me and also make me scratch my head. I have one plant that tried to make five flowers, but just gave up and aborted them. She is growing, but not blooming this year. I have two plants that haven’t bloomed for several years (one hadn’t bloomed for four years and the other for thirteen years) that went from no buds to stall status in a week! It seems a little late for her to start and very fast to catch up with the rest. Just another way for the Queen to insure I know she is in charge of this event, not me.

 
Peniocereus greggii

Peniocereus greggii

Peniocereus fosterianus

 

Update: There was one flower on the June 20, one on the June 21, nine on the June 22, and three on the June 23.

 
Peniocereus oaxacensis

Peniocereus oaxacensis

Peniocereus cuixmalensis

 

In the Queen’s Courtn Peniocereus serpentinus continues to bloom. She had four flowers this week! The P. oaxacensis had three flowers on three plants and is still producing more buds. My P. cuixmalensis has two buds. This will be her first year and I’m excited to see what her blooms will look like. My P. fosterianus has twenty buds, slightly down from last year, but it will still be beautiful.  

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

Bloom Watch #2 – Slow, but Steady

This week has been overall pretty slow. There have been a few new buds and a few that gave up and went away. This is normal for her and she will continue with this for the next week or two. On Saturday, June 1 we had one flower. She hit stall size last Wednesday and never bothered to slow down. I have heard that there are other early blooms out there and I would like to see the pictures, so please send them my way along with the date of bloom.  Although it seems early, we did have two flowers on June 3 last year. Yesterday there were a moderate number in stall status, but most range in size from fuzz balls to small. Only time will tell if the Queen will hold these stalls or accelerate to bloom.

With the warm weather most of the plants have started to grow and with luck I can keep the rodents away from them. I am replacing a few plants that didn’t make it for one reason or another.

In the Queen’s Court the P. fosterianus, P. cuixmalensis, and P. oaxacensis buds continue to grow and with a little luck will bloom on the same night so everyone can see them. It doesn’t generally happen, but I always hope.

When the Queen does choose to show her glory remember to bring a flash light and closed-toe shoes. The trails are marked with luminarias, and only this year we are using solar lights instead of candles or oil lamps. Each plant with a flower will also be marked with a different colored bag. The Garden Bistro will have refreshments available and I will let you know what that will consist of as we get closer. All in all it will be a fun night as always.

 

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

Bloom Watch #1 – An Ambitious Queen’s Court

Here we go again. I have been watching the Queen for the past three weeks and two weeks ago I saw the first buds. Since then she has increased the number to a point where it looks like a good year. I have been asked several times if this was going to be an exceptional year due to the winter rains, however from what I see right now it looks to be normal. There have been the usual setbacks with the pack rats taking their share, and some just being tired and pulling their resources back to the tuber.

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As for the Queen’s Court, the Peniocereus marianus on grounds produced twenty-nine blossoms on two plants. The buds started in December and bloomed March. My P. marianus at home aborted her seven buds after the short cold snap in January. My P. johnstonii at home had ten beautiful flowers over a three-night period. The show for me so far was my P. viperinus, she produced 149 beautiful small red flowers over a three-week period. That is the most flowers I’ve seen on any one plant! Sadly, I won’t get any seeds because I only have one and she is not self-compatible. I did try to cross pollinate her with the P. johnstonii, which bloomed at the same time, with no luck. The P. serpentinus (recently changed to genus Nyctocereus) in the gardens has had sixty-five flowers so far, with a few more buds on the way. My P. fosterianus, P. oaxacensis, and P. tepalcatepecanus have all started to bud up.

I’m sure there will be up and downs again this year as always, but that is what makes the Queen such an interesting Monarch to all of us loyal subjects. Will keep you informed of her progress and am looking forward to seeing all of you again at this year’s Bloom Night.

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

 

Bloom Watch #4 – Will It Be This Weekend?

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

Bloom Watch #3 – Will Rain Make Her Bloom?

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

Bloom Watch #1 – Hope Awakens

Hello everyone. Hope you all had a good fall and winter. Now that spring is giving way to summer the Queen is waking up and preparing for another season of ups and downs. Overall the collection looks pretty good, although a few have provided snacks for pack-rats. I believe they will recover and maybe even make a flower or two.

I started checking plants two weeks ago and only found one with the telltale fuzzy spots telling me the Queen is awake. The photos featured below show her progress. She now has ten buds in various stages from fresh fuzz to almost stall size. Looking at all the plants every couple of days has provided an ever increasing number of buds.

This could be an interesting year for the Queen, but I guess I say that every year. I’m ready for the excitement and aggravation that will culminate for the wonderful night of Bloom Night. Hope all of you will put up with my stories and be ready for the night and I look forward to seeing you all at the event.

I will report again in a couple of weeks unless the Queen makes a big ruckus and provides me with some extra interesting tidbits!

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