Opuntia 'Claude Arno'

The second installment in the I-wish-it-would-be-summer-soon photo series features a flowering Opuntia 'Claude Arno'. The flowers are a distinct rosy red with a pearly sheen.


Opuntia 'Claude Arno' flower close-up

I bought the plant as a cutting from Bennys Kaktus a couple of years ago and it flowered for the first time last summer. According to Benny this cultivar is a hybrid of Opuntia fragilis and Opuntia polyacantha var. rhodantha.


Flowering Opuntia 'Claude Arno'

The pictures can also be seen as a fitting celebration of today’s vernal equinox ;-)

Cylindropuntia whipplei

While waiting for the return of summer I’ll post a handful of photos of plants that flowered last year. I'll start with my Cylindropuntia whipplei (MUG 125; 2100m, San Juan, New Mexico) that flowered for the first time even though it’s still young and far from being the compact shrub described in the Flora of North America.


Cylindropuntia whipplei flower

The flowers are a beautiful green-yellow and develops on the upper part of the stem segments.


Flowering Cylindropuntia whipplei

I’m a bit worried if the plant will make it through winter – last time I checked some of the stem segments seemed to be rotting. I hope the damage is located to individual segments and will not spread to the whole plant.