hildy's gearing up!

Well, Hildy, my Cereus hildmannianus, (aka Peruvian Apple, or one of the dozen or so plants called Night Blooming Cereus or Queen of the Night) is gearing up for blooming... counted this morning and there's 18 buds forming. Now, usually some of the buds will abort, usually under half... but I've tried to see if I can get more of them to stick around this year, by giving her a shot of plant food a couple of days ago when I first noticed the buds forming.

Currently, Hildy is about 4 feet tall, and consists of a trunk that was broken off and now has 4 branches, 2 from near the base and two from further up the stem. The branch in the pic is the tallest, and it would appear that the growing tip has become damaged in some way, as it doesn't appear to be growing... but the other three stems have already put on about 3 inches each this year. Eight to 10 inches a year seems about par for the course...

Next is a newer plant that I managed to aquire earlier this year. A San Pedro cactus, (Trichocereus pachanoi) that I found at Wal-Mart of all places around May.

I wonder if Wal-Mart is aware that they're selling plants that are often used by idiots to produce mescaline? Seriously, I about got into a fist fight with some stoner when I purchased this thing... It was the only one there, and we were both intent on aquiring it. Fortunately, aging hippies are often slow moving. Their reflexes are shot...

Of course, I won't be producing mescaline from this plant. I just like the looks of him...

Slightly less than 18 inches tall... he (I think I'll call him Packy) Packy is large enough to bloom, but I don't know if he will honor us with any blooms this year. You'd think he would, I saved him from some hippies blender. I mean... where's the gratitude, right? He looks a lot like Hildy, with less spines, and fuller bodied.

I wanting some of these taller cactus for the new planting bed I'm putting in... of course, I won't be able to leave them outside... but I'm thinking of plunging old nursery pots into the ground, so that I can set my big guys in the ground for the summer... just put them in the plunged pot and fill around their actual pots with gravel. Come autumn, when the frost are threatening, I can pull them out fairly easily.

And now... I must apologise... My internet service has been blinking on and off like a defective strobe light with a short circuit. I haven't been around to post on my blog, or to comment on my friends blogs.

but I am keeping up with you!