Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Chamaelobivia 'Rose Quartz'

This is a hybrid of Chamaecereus ("Peanut cactus" from Argentina) and Lobivia (also called Echinopsis, from Bolivia). Found it at Lowe's (amazingly); they got a big shipment of cacti and succulents last month that I've been pillaging, but I guess didn't notice this one as any big thing. Then last week I saw it with one bloom open and multiple buds. The bloom was amazing! So I bought it and brought it home--and here's what it looked like when all the buds opened:

WOW!!!


The last couple mornings were very cool in temperature, dipping a little under 40 on Monday and around there on Tuesday. I went out to get the paper and found one bud just beginning to open while the others were lagging behind. The coloration of the outer petals are amazing:

Both cacti parents of this hybrid are from the mountains of South America, and the info on the pot says that it can go dormant in summer heat. Well--here, that is a given! I'll have to read up on it and see if I should just leave it outside and see what happens, or if it might do better inside when it's 100 degrees out.

2 comments:

Annabelle said...

i love those! they always look like waterlilies to me. yours are stunning, vic. great photos!

A

Victoria said...

Thanks! my new camera allows me to put the lens right up next to what i'm shooting.