Wednesday's Story

To paint the desert…

Besides needing a canvas and brushes, one would require a palette of very neutral colors including various shades of tan, brown and subdued green. They would also need to have a smaller array of bright orange and red, variations of blue and purple, assorted hues of yellow and soft shades of pink to brush in the soft spoken and sometimes bold colors of the landscape.

points of interest

Solitary or clump forming with spherical to obovoid, mid to dark green stems, spreading indefinitely. Spirally notched ribs with white woolly areoles produce red-brown spines that turn gray with age. In summer, trumpet-shaped flowers appear in shades of carmine-red or violet, with paler throats. Grow indoors in pots or in a desert garden.

general care

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun. If growing indoors, plant in cactus soil mix in full light, watering freely and applying a fertilizer high in nitrogen and potassium monthly. Keep completely dry in winter.

friday’s flower fact

Native to high altitudes, this echinopsis has flowers that are diurnal, as they open during the day and close at night, opposite of those in the same genus from lower altitudes.