May 2014

The first of many flowers on our big saguaro cactus out front opened today. The tops of the cactus are twelve feet up in the air, so I got out the telephoto lens and took this photo from across the driveway. As you can see, there will be many more flowers soon. We hope to have flowers opening daily for the rest of spring and maybe into summer.

From 50 States dot com:

In 1901 the saguaro’s blossom was adopted as the official territorial flower, and later, in 1931, it was confirmed as the state flower. The saguaro cactus typically blooms in May and June. It is one of the most unique state flowers, and is characterized by having a waxy feel, but fragrant aroma. There may be hundreds of flowers on a saguaro cactus that bloom just several at a time over a period of more than a month. The saguaro flowers have a short life; they open at night and close permanently during the next day. Many of the blossoms will become pollinated and, later in the summer, the flowers become red-fleshed fruits that are enjoyed by the local bird population.

Any day now, the big saguaro cactus out front should have our state flowers opening up on it. This is the second spring season that the big guy has been in front since the collapse of the saguaro we originally had installed.

When the flowers open, I will try and get some close-up photos of some of them, It will be a challenge since the lowest buds are about eight feet off of the ground. Maybe I can get up on the ladder.

Click on the image to enlarge.

I brought this cactus from California just after we moved here over three years ago. I don’t know the name of this variety of cactus, but it has long arms that hang over the side of the pot. This is the first and only flower that opened up on this unusual cactus since it’s been here in Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.

UPDATE: You can see more of this strange cactus here.