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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Hatiora gaertneri (I think) is My Favorite Plant in the Garden...This Week

I'm joining with Loree at Danger Garden in celebrating a plant that has particularly tickled me this week.

Last summer, Alison and I visited Sally Priest at Western Horticultural Products (WEHOP) and Sally Priest snapped off a piece of her grandmother's "Christmas Cactus" for each of us.  The foliage was different from the schlumbergeras that we'd grown so we were excited to see what it would look like in bloom.  My poor cutting sat around for a while before I finally put it in a pot. 


For the winter, it got put on the big table in a sunny upstairs room where most of the agaves stayed.  I didn't really notice how much growing it was doing.

Didn't even think to look for buds because it would be years before it would bloom, right?

Imagine how thrilled I was when looking over the nearly empty table, the agaves having migrated outside a month or so ago,  to see these three beautiful blooms!
 
I love pass along plants!  There's so much happening outside right now that it's nice to have blooms inside as well.  Thanks Sally for this sweet gift!  Hey Alison, is yours blooming?
 
I'm not sure on the ID of this one as the leaf segments look much more narrow than the Hatiora gaertneri images online.  I'm happy calling it that late spring pink flowering epiphytic cactus that came from Sally Priest's Grandma.  A bit of a mouthful and since I have a couple "Thanksgiving Cacti" and an "Easter Cactus" Perhaps I'll call this by one of it's common names "Whitsun Cactus" as it will still be in glorious bloom this Sunday which is Whitsun aka Pentecost.  Now I need to work on finding one that blooms reliably around Christmas and we'll have the whole church year covered.  Wait, what about Saint Swithun's Day, Candlemas,  Assumption, Ascension, and the like?  Sounds like plant shopping is in order.  (When isn't it? ) 
 
 

27 comments:

  1. What a lovely bloom, and so different from other "Christmas Cacti".

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    1. I've seen similar blooms on "Easter Cacti" at nurseries but the foliage on those was much more like that of the typical "Christmas Cacti" In any case, It's fun!

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  2. Oh, what a pretty pink flower! I am bummed, mine isn't blooming. It rooted great, and it's thriving, but no sign of flowers. It must have liked the light in the room where you put it. Or maybe it misses the Agaves. I should put mine outside maybe. I bet I could overwinter it in the greenhouse too.

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    1. I'm sure it'll be happy where ever it gets to live. They seem pretty undemanding.

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  3. That is a pretty one and very different from most. I like the sweet pink color.

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  4. Well! I can see why it is your current favorite!

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    1. Fickle us, next week we'll all have a new favorite!

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  5. Well now I need to go look at the bit of your Christmas cactus you gave me to see if it's blooming!...Nope not yet. But wouldn't it be funny if it was? Yes pass alongs are the best. Oh which reminds me there's new foliage emerging on the loquat you gave me!

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    1. That one is from the "Thanksgiving cactus" that my mom gave me as a tiny thing years ago on one of her annual Thanksgiving visits. It starts blooming every year in November when it's just about time for her to show up.

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  6. How very pretty! I love plants from friends too. It's obviously very happy in your care

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    1. I wish I could take credit for it's happiness but it seems to have done that all by itself. It even wilted horribly a couple of times when it didn't get enough water. It probably thinks it's going to die sometime soon so it's in a hurry to reproduce thus the flowering.

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  7. Such a pretty flower and so unexpected when it is still so small. The plants given by friends are the best as they remind you of happy times spent together!

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  8. I like that, unique from the usual blooms of Christmas cactus

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  9. beautiful flower and even more desirable because it is a gift that grew

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  10. Lovely! And yes, always more plant shopping - and perhaps some more heirloom plants?

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  11. It's lovely. Given that the others get pedestrian names like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Mother's Day, is this one D-Day Cactus or Father's Day Cactus?

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    1. I like D-Day Cactus but it's blooms are already fading which makes it a little too early for Father's Day. Whitsun is kind of fun.

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  12. I love it! I'm a fan of the "holiday" cacti. I have the true Christmas cactus, 3 different Thanksgiving cacti, and the Easter cactus. Yours looks like Hatiora rosea or a pink form of Hatiora x graeseri. I'm tempted to say the former because you said the stems are narrower than in pictures of H. gaertneri, but x graeseri is a hybrid between the two and could resemble one more than the other. My Hatiora gaertneri is starting to drop its blooms after over a month in flower.

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    1. I'm fond of them too and also epiphyllums. The only problem with the latter is that they get so large and indoor space can get scarce in the winter!

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  13. Dear Mr. TOG what a gorgeous surprise to see in bloom! I love the pick and you have taken such wonderful pictures of it : ) .. sadly I have a terrible brown finger when it comes to indoor plants (I actually killed a beautiful arrangement a girlfriend gave me over a month ago ..) I know ... how can I do that yet keep a garden going ... I have no idea !
    Joy ;-)

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    1. Until just this last winter, I killed all indoor plants as a rule but for some reason, my luck with house plants seems to be turning around.

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  14. Interesting choice: to feature an indoor plant when the bloom boom is going on outside. So your success with houseplants is enjoying a turnaround? Who says they don't pick up on our vibes?

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.