4-year-old cactus blooms

When I bought this cactus 4 years ago, it was a tiny button, about the size of a nickle. In the past few years, it's produced many pups, which grow like a crown around the top and sides of its body. Imagine my surprise when I saw two horns begin to grow out of its side!

A single horn had started to grow a few months earlier, but it soon withered. I wondered if there was a problem with the cactus. This time, the growths looked quite robust and I checked them several times a day because I know cactus flowers are often short lived. I was rewarded with an amazing display on July 4.

The flowers opened.

The flowers were such a brilliant white that the rose colored streaks on the petals did not photograph well, but are visible on the top of the flower at right. If you look close, you'll see a tiny bee in bee heaven at the center of the same flower.

The flowers are absolutely stunning. They also bear a striking resemblance to trumpets.

Sadly, the blossoms didn't last 24 hours before they began to wilt. Within days, the trumpets shriveled into barely recognizable twigs.

Another cactus in my hard blooms frequently, especially after heavy rains. Sometimes it produces several flowers at once and often blooms in succession.