Thursday, July 19, 2007

New growth and missed opportunities

As mentioned in the previous post the last month has been extremely wet in Denmark. Some of my plants seem to thrive in the humid environment and are setting new growth while the plants just about to flower haven’t exactly rejoiced in the rain.

Last year I planted 4 Opuntia compressa (Monmouth County, New Jersey) seedlings in one of my beds. The plants were started from seed in 2004 (Mesa Garden described the plants as “cold and wet – no problem” in their catalogue, and they are head-on). The new cladodes are still a fresh lime-green and are bearing reddish-brown leaves.

Opuntia compressa (Monmouth Co, NJ), new growth
Opuntia compressa (Monmouth Co, NJ), new growth

At the age of 3 the plants are setting their first flowers – I’m hoping for some sun for the flowers to develop properly.

Opuntia compressa (Monmouth Co, NJ) setting flowers
Opuntia compressa (Monmouth Co, NJ) setting flowers

I’ve had my Opuntia 'Smithwick' plant for several years and it never felt like flowering – until now. Unfortunately many of the flowers haven’t fully developed because of the weather and have ended up as “duds”.

Opuntia 'Smithwick' flower buds ready to flower but withered before they got the chance
Opuntia 'Smithwick' flower buds ready to flower but withered before they got the chance

Still others have been maimed by gastropods (snails, slugs, what have you) wallowing in the rain.

Opuntia 'Smithwick' maimed by snails
Opuntia 'Smithwick' flower bud maimed by snails

1 comment:

Carrie said...

Do you have any tips on growing Opuntia compressa from seed? I collected some seeds here and I'm thinking of sowing half of them this fall and the other half this spring to compare their success. I live in an apartment so all of my gardening is in containers. I'm planning to buy a cacti mix for them.