19 April 2008
Big red exciting things
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti .
At long last, Heliocereus aurantiacus is in flower.
Not bad going for a plant that was destined to be chopped up and thrown out!
The flowers are very heavy and having trouble not drooping, but the vibrant red of their petals is providing some extremely welcome colour on this dull grey spring day.
I haven’t researched much about this species in the past so I wasn’t even completely certain what shape the flowers were going to take. I think I was expecting something a little more Selenicereus-like, but obviously they’re far closer to Epiphyllum flowers.
What impresses me most about these is the amount of colour contrast in them, from the light green deep in their throat, to the purple anthers and pure white stigma.
There isn’t anything in these photos which accurately reflects their scale, but the external petals are about 7 inches across. Magnificent.
2 Comments so far...
Aiyana Says:
19 April 2008 at 7:12 pm.
I agree that the flowers are wonderful, but it’s hard to put up with the plant the rest of the year. It needs support and any little wind will wreak havoc on it. I try to keep them in hanging pots only.
Aiyana
Stuart Says:
19 April 2008 at 10:02 pm.
It is a pain, I agree, and the bulk of the plant is quite an overhead for the sake of these flowers, wonderful though they are. I don’t have any problem with weather affecting it as it stays in the greenhouse all year round - and I keep it tied to a stake as you can probably see in the photo.