Bloom Watch #1 – Her Majesty’s Resilience

Hello Everyone,

Hope you all had a good year. It’s that time again for the Queen and she is showing her resilience. Although it has been dry and warmer than normal, she is producing buds. There are some at stall size, but most are small or just beginning. Right now it looks like it could be a pretty good year provided they hold and go at the same time rather than popping off one or two at a time like they did last year.

We have had some pack rat damage, but the majority of the plants have done alright. It appears that the plants native to the property and those salvaged from the wild are doing the best under the current weather conditions. The plants that were nursery grown and in the ground for less than two years have suffered some, but with a little luck they will come out of it.

The interesting thing so far this year is happening in the Queens court.

Peniocereus marianus (left), Peniocereus johnstonii (right)

The Peniocereus marianus along with the plants in our greenhouses bloomed early in February, and the plants that were outside bloomed early to mid-March. Mine at home had four flowers on March 5 and three on the March 10. My Peniocereus johnstonii bloomed April 16 – 26 with a total of eighteen flowers. My Peniocereus viperinus had six flowers between April 20 and May 9. The Peniocereus serpentinus has been flowering for the past month, while the Peniocereus fosterianus, oaxacensis and tepalcatepecanus are all budded up and progressing nicely.

Peniocereus viperinus (left), Peniocereus serpentinus (right)

Hope you enjoy the update and the beginning of another year where the Queen will be in charge and I will be trying to get her to communicate her intensions so we can all get together for another wonderful night at Tohono Chul in honor of her annual show. Looking forward to seeing you all this year.

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

Bloom Watch #5 – Keeping Us Captivated

I just got back from talking with the Queen and she is displaying her usual attitude. She has let me know that Bloom Night will happen when she is darn, good and ready. One flower will bloom tonight and another tomorrow, with the rest of the holding buds still in stall status.

I believe she is showing some stress from this extensive heat, because even with her desert fortitude, she has decided to cut her losses and let four buds go. Even with supplemental watering it is getting the best of her. I was hoping that the threat of storms earlier this week would help make up her mind, however it didn’t happen. I have long thought the stall break was attached to a storm event, but have not been able to pin down exactly what in the storm itself triggers the move. I ordered some new test equipment to more closely monitor all the weather conditions as potential trigger factors. As I have talked about before, it has to be a combination of weather-related factors. It is unlikely that the water from the storm is the trigger or ours would have already bloomed, as we soak the plants twice a week this time of year. So when the new test equipment comes, we will start a new round of data collection.

As for the rest of the Queens court, two flowers will go tomorrow on the P. tepalcatepecanus and several more appear to be on the move. The P. oaxacensis has one very close and another on the move. I’m not sure of the size of the bloom as this will be my first time seeing it. The P. fosterianus is also a mystery. The bud bases appear to be getting larger, but the flower portion is still small. It might be the way she does it, I’m not sure, but will know after this year. I will get pictures and send them along next week.

Right now it appears that Bloom Night will slip into July, but keep watching as sometimes she likes to show me she is still in charge.

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

Bloom Watch #3 – A Few Bloomed Too Soon

Sorry for the delay in this update I’ve been busier than a one armed paper hanger. I have however been making daily checks on the Queen and she is up to her old tricks.

Since my last update there have been 7 flowers and will likely be 2 more within the next week. The ones I told you were at stall size last time never stalled, but just went straight to bloom. It has been a while since I have seen that, but she did it because I wasn’t checking every day and wanted to get me. I caught her and have been checking every day since and now she is behaving herself. There are a bunch of buds in stall status and quite a few small ones left to go. Hope the stalls just wait for the smalls.

I’ve been watching the P. fosterianus and the P. tepalcatepecanus for their bloom, but both are still holding. The buds on both of those are very slow growing and because this will be the first bloom of the P. fosterianus for me I’m not sure how big they will get. I did notice last Friday that the P. oaxacensis is starting to bud up. This will be another first timer for me. Maybe they will hold for Bloom Night.

You will hear from me next week unless something really unexpected happens. I don’t believe they can get there before next week even if they start now.

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