Picotee Beauty

Day 46: Every year at this time, I'm faced with a problem. I don't think it's proper to play favourites in any event, but when my Christmas cacti start blooming, I lean toward whichever one is flowering at the moment. Yellow has gone through its cycle now, and White is still open. Picotee just popped and...well, there's that dilemma I was talking about. Certainly, Picotee is the showiest of the three, but Yellow is the rarest, and White is both unusual and dramatic. And, if I want to be perfectly honest here, I do have a couple of the standard colours which, although they're brought out to the living room for show, never draw quite the same admiration as my three "best kids."

'Tis The Season

Day 31: 'Tis the season! The procession of the Christmas cacti has begun, one by one emerging from loom-room purdah to sit in the place of honour on the fireplace mantel. Picotee is leading the parade with White not far behind. They spend the better part of the year in a south-facing window, getting water when I notice that they're starting to droop, generally being ignored in favour of the showy Hoyas putting on the ritz in the living room, but when their turn comes 'round, they're trotted out in sequence to show off their holiday clothes. The display will run for six to eight weeks with a possible encore in January from the earliest members of the troupe. Walmart may think the Christmas season starts two weeks before Hallowe'en, but at Crow's house, it has now officially begun.

Playing Favourites

Day 44: I suppose it depends on which one is in bloom, but I can never quite make up my mind which of my Christmas cacti I like best. Picotee (shown above) and Yellow definitely are in the forerunners, but White is so dainty and elegant, and the reds speak so well to the holidays with their festive flames that I cannot choose. All my plants have been with me for a decade or more. I prune them back radically after each flowering period so that I have space for them all. They spend most of the year in the small south window of my back bedroom, and are brought out to the living room one by one as they come into bud. When the flowers fade, they'll be moved back to their shelf where they can enjoy the cooler nighttime temperatures necessary to produce the best colour.

Let's Talk Picotee

Day 210: What do certain flowers have in common with crocheting and tatting? Roots. Taken in the semantic sense as opposed to the botanical, we discover that the edges of both forms of needlework are often finished with picots, i.e., little loops of thread or stitches. When a flower is rimmed by a different colour, it is referred to as "picotee." The word has its origins in Middle French, "picot" meaning a point or peak. Google Translate will tell you "picoter" means "tingling," referring to another Middle French definition, "to prick," as in the pins-and-needles sensation experienced by a person whose hand or foot has gone to sleep. Perhaps there's a touch of synesthesia in the etymology demonstrated here, although personally, I find it stretching a point to relate my lovely little African Violet's flowers to the thought of my foot waking up after I've sat on it for an hour while crocheting picots along the border of a tablecloth.

Decorative Edge

Day 44: Knitters, crocheters and lace-makers will be familiar with the term "picot" as it refers to a decorative edge. The French word by itself means "pin," and refers to a lace-making technique which twists threads and winds them around a pin to leave a small loop when the finished lace is taken off the pillow. In knitting and crocheting, something similar is executed in various manners depending on the work. In horticulture, the word undergoes a slight change when it is applied to petals with a distinct border and becomes "picotee," i.e., a flower with a fancy edging. This type of colouration is often seen in begonias, dianthus, ranunculus, cosmos and others, and petunias commonly exhibit this marking in striking reverse to display a distinctly white edge on a richly coloured trumpet. A picotee Zygocactus is a festive addition to any holiday mantel!

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.

A Closer Look At Zygo

Day 24: Don't have houseplants because you're allergic to pollen? Zygocacti shouldn't be a problem. As you can see from the inset, their pollen grains are smooth and hairless, unlike those which cause many allergies. In fact, many plants' pollen grains look like weapons of warfare; lances, arrowheads, caltrops, maces, morning-stars. Zygocactus pollen looks more like dimpled oranges or slightly misshapen golf balls.

Yes, I couldn't resist taking a look through the microscope when I discovered that Picotee had a fully-open blossom this morning. Of the several colours of Zygo in my collection, she is almost always the first to open, and a showy thing she is for the dismal days of November. She is likely to be followed by Yellow, and like any parent, I don't want to say I have a favourite child, but those two are strong competitors. In any event, I will have a nearly continuous display of Zygos between now and early January, and with any luck at all, Hatiora will join the assembly. I wonder if Hattie's pollen will be a different shape?

Christmas In November

Day 32: I would boycott the stores where I saw Christmas merchandise on the shelves prior to Hallowe'en, but I'd go naked and starve if I did. Here at home, however, I don't mind Christmas coming in November when my Zygocacti respond to the transition of seasons. After all, they bloom when they're supposed to bloom once they've resumed their natural rhythms after having been forced into a one-time December display. It might be that they're giving us some sage advice: give from the heart when the time is right, not by the calendar (and certainly not because you feel forced).

Late Bloomer

Day 125: The Zygocacti nearly always put on a second and smaller flush of blossoms in January, and this year, I began to wonder if they were going to perform. I didn't notice buds coming until the picotee burst into bloom. It hasn't put on a spectacular show, but any color is a bonus at this time of year.

Low Maintenance, Huge Rewards

Day 31: Although my potted-plant collection holds some rather exotic species (Sarracenia and several rare varieties of Hoya specifically), the good old Zygocactus is one of my favorites. It gives amazing rewards in exchange for casual care, and several of my plants have been with me for over thirty years. I keep them pruned to fit pots four to siz inches in diameter, taking slips as the parent stem becomes rough and woody. As these so-called "Christmas cacti" readjust from the conditions which force them to bloom during December, their flowering period transitions to early or mid-November at this latitude, dependent on hours of exposure to sun. My plants are happiest in the cooler back bedroom where they have a southerly exposure and are set back a foot or so from the window occupying a dedicated shelf. When flowering begins, I transfer the pots to the living room where they can be admired.