Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. River has been having some trouble adding photos to her posts and may not be with us today, though I really, really hope she is.
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.
Like River I generally run with a theme. Today I am featuring the Christmas or orchid cactus (I have heard it called both). It is one of the easiest plants I know of to grow. It doesn't mind heat or frost. It likes a bit of water - but is happy if it doesn't get it. It doesn't need any particular type of soil - and will grow quite happily in what can only be described as dirt. And this very forgiving plant produces blazes of colour (it breeds well too). What is not to love.
You will notice that some of them have pink stamens and some white. I assume this means that they are different varieties of the plant, but the stamen colour is the only difference I can see.
Unsurprisingly the cockatoos have been known to pull them apart and scatter the pieces with gay abandon. I prefer this act of destruction to one of their others which is to uproot my tulip bulbs just as they come into flower.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. River has been having some trouble adding photos to her posts and may not be with us today, though I really, really hope she is.
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.
Like River I generally run with a theme. Today I am featuring the Christmas or orchid cactus (I have heard it called both). It is one of the easiest plants I know of to grow. It doesn't mind heat or frost. It likes a bit of water - but is happy if it doesn't get it. It doesn't need any particular type of soil - and will grow quite happily in what can only be described as dirt. And this very forgiving plant produces blazes of colour (it breeds well too). What is not to love.
You will notice that some of them have pink stamens and some white. I assume this means that they are different varieties of the plant, but the stamen colour is the only difference I can see.
Unsurprisingly the cockatoos have been known to pull them apart and scatter the pieces with gay abandon. I prefer this act of destruction to one of their others which is to uproot my tulip bulbs just as they come into flower.
Yes, they are lovely and very easy-going.I wonder why we don't have one? We did, at a former house.The ants came in for the nectar!
ReplyDeletedinahmow: The ants are fond of them here as well - one of the reason they are strictly outside plants.
DeleteThat's gotta be the biggest and brightest flower i've ever seen on a cactus. I was gunna ask why the different colour stamens.
ReplyDeleteWindsmoke: Most of our other cacti have smaller more subtle blooms as well. This simply blazes with colour - and has multiple blooms as well. It may be that describing it as a succulent would be more accurate - but it has prickles and it a cactus in my book.
DeleteIt's truly a beautiful flower, and I had no idea it is so easy to grow. I don't think it would like the Pacific Northwest, though, with all the rain and little sun. I am so glad to see it here, however. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: It is lovely - and you never know it might like the Pacific Northwest. It is a truly adaptable plant.
DeleteOurs live in the house, start blooming in November and carry on through February or March. Occasionally one gets exuberant and begins blooming in August or September. Love them.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: How fascinating that it flowers at the same time of the year in different hemispheres. That is a first for me.
DeleteBeautiful! I used to have one, and will have to get one again.
ReplyDeleteCindi Summerlin: Get another - they are such cheery flowers.
DeleteWhat a beautiful Sunday morning greeting and vision! :)
ReplyDeleteI love these cacti...they have some lovely vibrantly-coloured blooms!
Happy Sunday, EC! :)
Lee: And a happy Sunday to you as well. I have a lot on my to do list for today so I am hoping for a productive day - with pauses to admire the garden, the birds, the cats...
DeleteWow, those are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteOne Minnesota Writer: They are great, aren't they?
DeleteThese red flowers just ooze with beauty. The naughty bird should leave you tulip bulb alone.
ReplyDeletePam:): We are actually fairly lucky with the cockatoos. The ones that visit my brother chew on his house - and have now shredded two shade sails, and are working on the eaves to his house and the third sail.
DeleteIs this the one I know as Zygocactus? I've never successfully grown one and certainly never had one flower.i gave up on them many years ago, but reading your post makes me think perhaps I just watered them too much and maybe I should try again. Am I correct in thinking they do well in hanging pots?
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you back, I hope you are feeling much better. I loved all the thank you's in your previous post which I couldn't get to because my laptop couldn't connect properly.
River: No it isn't a zygocactus (now known as a schlumbergia - ugh). Both the zygocactus and this one do well in hanging pots, and most of them hang from either our front or back veranda. Zygo cactus seem to need a period of cold - and also apparently need to be kept away from artificial light. Ours flower year after year - but they are another thing the cockatoos love to hack into. I am glad you were able to read my thank yous as you were/are one of the people I am glad to have found in the blogosphere.
DeleteWhat a splendid cactus Soosie. I love it's bright colour and how easy it seem to grow. I wonder how well it would do here, a bit too much rain I suppose...darn...:/
ReplyDeletefarawayinthesunshine: It provides a lovely splash of colour with minimal effort. I suspect it likes rather more water than I give it, so it might be worth enquiring at nurseries or garden centres.
DeleteOhhhhhhh, look at vivacity of that red!!! Splendid.
ReplyDeleteKaren: It is almost glow in the dark red isn't it?
DeleteGood to see you blogging, hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteMy Christmas cactus just finished flowering like crazy. It too is in a hanging basket but has red stamens, the same colour as the petals.
Arija: I have never seen or heard of one with red stamens. Now that would be truly dramatic. I am still struggling but also know that whinging and moaning doesn't help. How are you doing? You have had such a hard year...
DeleteSo bright and cheerful! I used to have these too, and after see this I will make sure I do again.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see you posting again, EC - I loved reading your "Thank you" post - it brought tears to my eyes to see how kind people can be and how much affection and support you have inspired in people. Karma, I guess :)
Alexia: I am pleased that someone else got weepy at the incredible kindness in the blogosphere. I certainly did.
DeleteThe Christmas cactus is something I look forward to each year. Bright, cheerful and fail safe.
lovely flower
ReplyDeleteAdam: It is isn't it?
DeleteWho knew those birds were so naughty? Gorgeous pics!
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: They are very, very naughty birds indeed. They are very partial to fruit and will raid fruit and nut trees, taking a bite out of each piece and hurling it too the ground. Some plants in our garden they seem to pull apart for the fun of it since there is no food value in it for them. And I love them just the same.
DeleteI love the Christmas cactus for the same reasons you do. They are so very easy to grow and are an interesting plant to have around. They bloom twice a year and are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are feeling better every day.
Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: They do look wonderful, and are very, very reliable as well.
DeleteAfter a few (enforced) days away from the computer, I am greeted with the showiest, cheeriest scarlet flowers! Beautiful! And a very apt name for this time of year :)
ReplyDeleteYes, we have naughty cockies too! Those beaks are like bolt cutters and make short work of their intended targets - organic and man-made!
Vicki: Cockies are a joy, but a destructive one, and yes I agree about their bolt cutter beaks.
DeleteOh, what gorgeous shots of the flowers! And so nice that the cockies like them too? ;-)
ReplyDeleteladyfi: It is not to the plant's benefit that cockatoos love them - but they have survived that as well.
DeleteThose are so vibrant and good observation about the stamens, maybe one is male and one female?
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: I wondered that too - but I don't believe so, particularly when Arija mentioned that she grows them with RED stamens.
DeleteThey are stunning. At first glance, the stamens looked like little piles of snow (then again, the first snow of winter arrived here today, so it's understandable why my brain is muddled). Beautiful photos as ever, e-child!
ReplyDeleteKath Lockett: Ooooh, snow! Jealous thoughts in your direction.
DeleteYes, beautiful. I can endorse all you say. We have had one for a few months - new for us - and have been completely won over by it.
ReplyDeleteDave King: It is a little charmer isn't it? And being so easy care merely adds to it.
DeleteLook at that gorgeous color! I used to have a Christmas cactus, years ago, that flourished in a south-facing sunroom and bloomed frequently (especially with no cockatoos to tear it apart!) You're right that they're easy keepers - I do NOT have a green thumb, but that cactus finally died of old age. I should get another one!
ReplyDeleteHow strange that the cockatoos dig up your tulip bulbs like that! Do they eat them, or is that one of their acts of vandalism? Thank you for loving them in spite of their naughty behavior, they sure are lovely birds and I'm glad you enjoy their company.
Laloofah: The cockatoos made no effort to eat the bulb. They merely tugged on the stem until the whole plant came out of the ground, dropped it and moved to the next. Sigh.
DeleteMaybe pink and white is really little girl and little boy :) The Christmas Cactus is beautiful and I would run right out and get one, but ... as you have vandalizing birds, I have vandalizing cats. They would be after it in a minute. It gets pretty cold here in the winter so I don't know if it could survive outside. I am happy to admire them on your blog. Your pictures are wonderful and make it very tempting. Thank you, Sue, for all of your wonderul, heartfelt comments on my blog. You make my days over and over. Be well ... I am glad to see you getting up to speed again.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol
Andrea: I recognise vandalising cats as well. Last year I bought an orchid (in flower) for a friend's birthday. I put it in our kitchen. Jazz pounded the blooms until they started to fall, when he chased them all round the kitchen. Jewel watched, learned and followed suit. I had to buy another orchid for the friend and put the first outside - where it has NOT bloomed this season.
DeleteHow beautiful, EC! My cousin has a Christmas cactus that my mother gave her 44 years ago and it still blooms!
ReplyDeleteAustan: 44 years has to be some kind of record! How wonderful that it still blooms.
DeleteForget orchids and cacti, I would have thought they were hibiscus flowers! :-) Beautiful images. Many thanks for the introduction to this hitherto unknown (for me) species.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
A Cuban in London: They have the vibrancy of some of the hibiscus flowers don't they? I am glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteAnd talking of cockatoos, a friend's cockatoo used to love sitting on my head more than on any other. It used to demand release from its cage as soon as I arrived and would fly straight to its beloved perch. Perhaps it was because I was always the tallest in the room. Or maybe it was the relative lack of hair. Scratchy little feet it had, but I found it quite therapeutic. I wish I had a photo.
Don QuiScottie: My mother's cockatoo used to ride around the garden on my father's shoulder. It also used to pluck the hairs in his ears - one at a time. Painful I understand. However, I loved watching him stump around the garden (he ate his way out of his cage and never went back). He was partial to strawberries and would go to the strawberry patch and carefully pick one up to ensure it was red on all sides. If not, it would be placed back to be inspected another day. If so, it was nipped off and devoured immediately.
DeleteBirds are more clever than their little brains seem to entitle them to be. Perhaps that means something. Our rooks scare me, they look at me with such smart suspicion.
DeleteDon QuiScottie: I am very, very glad that our cockatoos are not as intelligent as New Zealand's kea. The kea also has a very powerful beak, an instinct for destruction, and the brains to work in groups to achieve its ends.
DeleteAh yes, a visual delight and those vibrant orchids are making me almost feel Christmassy. And it seems cockatoos are in competition with the dreaded squirrel who have a fascination with bulbs of the tulip and daffodil variety. Thanks for this. I'm outta' here....
ReplyDeleteGary :)
klahanie: Only almost Christmassy? With (shudder) only three weeks to go? I hadn't realised that squirrels scoff daffodils and tulip bulbs. Not endearing.
DeleteBreathtaking!
ReplyDeleteLynn: Thank you.
DeleteHi EC! Here in my part of the world (Ontario, Canada)you can now find Christmas Cacti in just about every shop you enter. They are sold year round but seem to multiply by the THOUSANDS as Christmas approaches. Myself, I have planted an Amaryllis bulb and I'm hoping it will flower by Christmas. Cheers, Elaine
ReplyDeleteA Scattering: I find it fascinating that we can have the same flowers in bloom despite being in different hemispheres. I have also planted an Amaryllis, but it doesn't look like it will be blooming by Christmas.
DeleteI can't keep any plant in the house because my cats scatter or eat the leaves. Bad cats.
ReplyDeleteBirdie: I know that habit well. Their last spectacular kill was an orchid I had bought to give a friend. Fortunately, the Christmas Cactuses are outside - mostly in hanging pots on either the front or the back veranda.
DeleteThose Christmas Cactus blooms are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: I am amazed that such a forgiving, easy plant is also do dramatic. A joy.
DeleteAbsolutely Stunning.
ReplyDeleteI've Missed YOU!! Xxx
My Inner Chick: Thank you - I have been thinking of you too.
DeleteI love how the color pops in all of these! But particular in the first of the arrangement, and then the second from last.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: Thank you. They are an annual delight, and I rejoice in them every year.
DeleteA Scattering, above, beat me to it - I was going to say that we have lots of these in Canada - but they are kept strictly as indoor plants. Which my cats enjoy munching on. They do have beautiful blooms, don't they? (I only know that from seeing them in stores - and your pictures - because mine hasn't bloomed since I took it home :) Scared of the cats, I guess ...)
ReplyDeletejenny_o: Cats are very hard on house plants aren't they? Our are equally as hard on cut flowers. I don't think I have ever seen the Christmas cactus as an indoor plant - but our climate is more moderate than yours (in winter at least).
DeleteHave a look at the fifth photo from the top, see how that single stamen is different? Larger with a more rounded end and few or no small thin ones around it? That's a male. The others with many thin stamens are the females.
ReplyDeleteRiver: Thank you for that - which seems to support my theory that the pink stamens and the white stamens are different species (or sub-species anyway) of the same plant.
DeleteDear EC, I so love the picture you have painted in my mind of the cockatoos strewing the petals of the orchid in "gay abandon." Wonderful! Peace.
ReplyDeleteDee: Cockatoos have a lot of cheeky charm. Some days they need it, and farmers often don't see it, but I love them.
DeleteSTUNNING PHOTOS!!!!!! Those are my Dad's favorite!! The colors you have and the intensity are/is just amazing~~ WOW!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNicky HW: Thank you so much. Your father also likes begonias doesn't he? I will put up a post about them in six weeks or so.
DeleteO Great El Chi - Thanks for your visit and comments. Blogger has not been letting me in to my own blogs. such a mystery.
ReplyDeleteI love that cat painting you posted, and your Installation-Art piece of magnets which cleverly doubles as a frig and cat toy.
x x
Ann O'Dyne: It was my pleasure to visit you - and thank you. Mouselini is brilliant isn't he? Almost everything in our house (including me) serves double duty as a cat toy.
Delete