Arizona "native" back yard - cactus blooms

[EdinAZ]

As a “companion” post to my “Arizona naturalized yard” post, this one just shows a few (very few) my cactus (and a couple of non-cactus) that have bloomed recently. I probably have almost as many different cactus varieties as I do of orchids.

These cactus blooms can be as beautiful as orchids, but they generally only last for a day and bloom only once a year. Some varieties will bloom 2 or 3 times annually, and some will re-bloom (same blossom) for 2 or 3 days. They DO have a succession of bloom, so one cactus may be in bloom for a week or so, and there is something blooming much of the time. They bloom MOSTLY when it is rainy . . . we have 2 “rainy seasons” a year here . . . and “rainy” means total of 5-6 inches for the season, 10-12 for the entire year. Yes . . . it’s a dry heat.

It’s a shame the cactus are not more floriferous, because some of them are really spectacular.

The last picture is an Agave (used to make Tequila).

Ed