Flying Saucer comes crashing down
Just a few days ago, I showed you photos of Echinopsis ‘Flying Saucer’ in full bloom. Between two stems, there were 18 flowers. You can see most of them in this photo:
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| Echinopsis ‘Flying Saucer’ in all its glory |
After the peak, the flowers were fading fast, but everything was OK otherwise:
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| Flowers fading fast |
You know where this is going, right? In a year of unpleasant surprises, here’s another one — and it’s one that hurts:
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| What I found a couple of days after |
The tallest stem had snapped off towards the bottom, presumably because of the weight of the flowers.
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Not all is lost though. I made a clean cut and will re-root the top part. In warm weather, new roots should form within 4-6 weeks. With any luck, the re-rooted stem will flower normally next year.
I’ll also leave the bottom part in the ground in hopes it will either branch or produce new offsets — more little ‘Flying Saucers’ to plant elsewhere in the garden or give away.
And finally....
A quick update on the greenhouse rat situation: Nothing new to report. I have three traps in the greenhouse now, two electric Rat Zappers and one old-fashioned snap trap with peanut butter as bait. And I still haven’t caught the culprit. I accidentally stepped on the snap trap the other day and it pinched the tip of my shoe, but that’s about the only excitement on that front.
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Dang! This is a disheartening scene.
ReplyDeleteIt made me wonder about what happens in nature when a tall cactus crash down in this way. Would the spent blooms develop into baby cacti?
Chavli
No, the seeds in spent blooms have not developed yet, as the fruit has not yet formed and ripened. Sometimes a fruit will root (I've had it happen with a Cylindropuntia, I forget which species; it was the actual fruit which rooted and grew a stem, and not a seed germinating inside the fruit.) A cactus breaking and falling will often develop new roots on the side that isnow in contact with the groundm and new growth would grow vertically from the fallen stem.
DeleteOh no! Ugh, that is a painful discovery. True it will be fine, still disappointing. Thankfully it didn't crash before the "show". I'm glad you had a shoe on!
ReplyDeleteOuch!
ReplyDeleteFrustrating!
ReplyDeleteOh man... that's a bummer. It must have felt like a stab to the heart when you saw it.
ReplyDeleteAloe 'Moonglow' now this! You've had more than your fair share of these capsizings this year. Incredible amount of blooms on 'Flying Saucer,' maybe less top heavy if some were thinned next year?
ReplyDeleteOh, jeepers. Sorry! But it sounds like there's hope for the future, even if this damage is painful today. It sure was beautiful while blooming.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bad news. I've had Opuntia break off at the joints but never from the weight of flowers or even multiple large fruits. In my case the damage came from an external source: either I bumped into it or some item I was handling bumped into it. This makes me wonder whether the damage was caused by an animal (which includes people as well, who could have damaged it unintentionally by getting some item of clothing hooked on it while admiring it.) Whatever the cause, I hope the broken section roots well.
ReplyDelete