My Yellow Bloomers

Day 129: Wanna see my yellow bloomers? Here they are: Huernia zebrina and (where did we leave off with those damn taxonomists on the Latin?) an encore from the Christmas cactus. My crafts room/loom room faces south and offers one small window for a cactus shelf. It's cooler back there in the wintertime, which is exactly what many cacti need to come into flower. If not engaged in a weaving project, I have been known to miss flowering until withered blooms had fallen to the floor, but as a general rule, when the shelf's occupants decide they want to put on a show, they are moved to the fireplace mantel where I can admire them until they fade. For those of you who may remember the horticultural experiment involving two varieties of Christmas cactus begun over two years ago, Yellow is still holding on to one of the seed pods, and I am patiently waiting for it to mature. The second seed pod dropped without forming seed. I have greater hope for the second, although whether the seed will be viable remains to be seen. Even if it is, I cannot guarantee that the hybrid will even bloom.

Out On Display

Day 35: They...those...them things... (hold that thought...we'll come back to it in a moment) have been brought out from the weaving room where temperatures tend to be a little cooler in spring and autumn than in the rest of the house, conditions ideal for setting their annual blooms and remaining true to varietal colour. If given too much light or warm nights, the yellow and white types tend to blush pink, and the crimson and scarlet ones lean more closely to one another in hue. I refer to my collection as "the Dragons," with abundant manes and long tongues so like those ornamenting the head of the mythological Chinese beast one sees in parades. Whether they are "Christmas" cacti or "Thanksgiving" cacti is partially a function of photoperodism, i.e., the duration of daylight. Nursery plants are usually forced to bloom in time windows relative to either holiday and are released in batches accordingly.

And now we come to it: are they Zygocacti or Schlumbergeras? Here I must admit to a certain stubborn retrogressive attitude because they were one of the first plants whose scientific name I learned. I must have been all of seven or eight years old at the time, and thought that "Zygocactus" was a wonderful word even though it failed to impress any of my peers (a situation quite common to my childhood). I had not yet discovered the fluidity of taxonomy or I might have been on the alert for the change which came some time in the mid-50s when "Zygocactus" became obsolete and the genus was re-merged with the Schlumbergeras, from which it had been separated in the late 1800s. I went merrily through most of my adult life calling them "Zygocacti," and even now, slip back into the old habit although I know better. "Zygocactus" is still used by many growers as a common name (NB: "common") for these low-maintenance holiday favourites.

Second Round

Day 125: There is almost always something in bloom at my house. Indoors, the white and yellow Christmas cacti are putting on their second flush of blooms, a little late for their customary mid-January appointment. As you may recall, I cross-pollinated the yellow one with the white in November and am now waiting for Yellow's pods to mature. So far, I have had no luck going the opposite direction. However, I have my paintbrush handy in case Yellow produces pollen (which it has not yet done). Meanwhile, White is putting on a show. Its colour drifts toward a pale shell pink when temperatures are too cool or light levels are too low. This season, conditions in my back bedroom window were pretty close to perfect, with only a faint blush evident in the blooms. I am also happy to report that I have kept my Tillandsia alive for over TWO YEARS now. Lovingly known as "Saturday" for the schedule on which I give it a light spray of water, the plant is not likely to reward me with a flower spike for my pains, but I find its three-inch array of thready foliage very gratifying. Now, if I could just get that damn Clivia to bloom...

Ovaries!

Day 52: Ovaries! I have ovaries! You may recall that roughly two weeks ago, I took my little paintbrush and transferred pollen from a white Christmas cactus to a yellow one. The ovaries of the two receptive flowers are now noticeably swollen. When my husband performed a similar experiment, it took months for the pods to ripen and turn red. As I recall, they hung on the plant for months after that until Bruce's impatience got the better of him and he picked and opened them. They did contain seed, but either he had plucked them before they were fully mature or the seed was not otherwise viable because planting it brought no results. I may not be able to report the outcome of this botanical adventure for a year or two, but at least this phase of it was a success.

Flowering Birds

Day 35: My collection of Christmas cacti is largely populated by the more unusual colours: yellow, white, picotee. I have some red/magenta ones as well, but they bloom later and by then, my eye has become somewhat jaded to their beauty and elegance. It is the flocks of early-flowering hybrids I love best, flying in their birdlike forms and feathery petals to my mantel, there to roost until their season is done.

Many long years ago, my husband (not particularly horticulturally adept) succeeded in cross-pollinating two differently coloured plants. We were both surprised when one of the two developed small reddish fruits, heaxagonal in cross-section and about half an inch long. We expected them to drop, but were again surprised when they held on, matured and dried. Bruce split the pods (it was his experiment, after all) and planted the tiny black seeds with care. Perhaps conditions weren't right, or perhaps the seed was sterile; in any event, after months of waiting and hoping, it became apparent to us that nothing further was going to occur.

As I set the Birds out on dark velvet for their portraits, a shower of pollen dusted the fabric's nap. Thinking of Bruce, I'm going to go get a paintbrush.

Buddies

Day 30: I can't honestly claim that there is something always in bloom at my house, either indoors or out, but there are fairly few dull moments. The Christmas cacti are starting to flare (the yellow and white ones, at least) and the two new Adeniums arrived in bud and seem determined to bloom despite having been transplanted to larger pots. I've made a mash-up of "buddies" here, Christmas cacti in the foreground and Adeniums at the top of the photo, but in full bloom elsewhere in the house are Hoya bella and Adenium Joyful. Plum Beauty is what you would expect from a plat so-named: its blossom will be a rich plum purple. Star Cluster is yellow with broad red stripes central on each petal. I find myself wishing for more shelf space, but that's a dangerous path to walk for a crazy plant lady.

Christmas In November

Day 41: People always seem to be surprised when, after a few years, their "Christmas" cacti (Zygocactus) come into bloom at Thanksgiving. Like many of the flowering plants put out at this time of year, Zygo is easy to force into blooming out of season. If purchased in bloom at Christmas, the plant has undoubtedly been subjected to higher light levels and warmer temperatures in order to fool it into a later blossoming period. Left to its own designs after market, these cacti will revert to their normal flowering period. The bloom time may vary depending on individual conditions, but generally, your "Christmas" cactus is supposed to bloom in November. A second, smaller flush of blossoms often follows in January.

Picotee

Day 36: Every year, I have the same debate with myself over which Zygo is my favourite, yellow or picotee. Picotee is flamboyant and appeals to my adventuresome spirit. Yellow has a subtle strength character hidden in its delicate tones. When it comes down to it, they're like two great kids in a family: as different as day and night, but each with unique and exceptional merits. Favourite? You can't choose...unless it's the one in bloom at the moment.