Bloom Watch #6 – Will Bloom Night Ever Happen?
July 10, 2017Well here we go again. The Queen is doing everything she can to aggravate me and doing an excellent job at it. During this last week five plants decided they didn’t have the reserves to support flowers and we lost seven more buds. On the upside, she made one new bud, the latest start of a flower that I can remember.
The flowers continue to go just a few at a time, which is driving me crazy.
Blooming Progress:
June 27 – 1 bloom
June 28 – 1 bloom
July 3 – 1 bloom
July 4 – 14 blooms
July 5 – 1 bloom
That’s 34 flowers so far this year. Some of the Queens are named as you know. Their names come from either the person who found them, a particular trait, or where they came from. Some of the ones that have bloomed are Howard, Theodore, Peridot, Pipeline, Early Bird and Christina. There are still a good number in stall. My hope is that they quit this sporadic show of defiance and go together. If so, it will still be a good show and a lot of fun.
Jessie at the Pima County Native Plant Nursery said that hers are also going sporadically. People I know in the Vail area tell me that they are sharing the same experience. We are all looking for a break in the weather and hoping for a good bloom soon. It won’t however be this weekend, so keep reading and I will keep watching her for a positive sign that Bloom Night is here.
As for the Queen’s court, there were five flowers that opened on the P. tepalcatepecanus and the next two on the P. oaxacensis. The P. fosterianus is still just sitting there trying to figure out when the best time would be to catch me unaware. Below are some pictures of the flowers. The first two pictures are of the P. tepalcatepecanus and the next two are the P. oaxacensis the last two are P. greggii or “Peridot” from last night.
Until Next Time – Lee Mason, Director of General Services, Tohono Chul