Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Beavertail Cactus (May 29, 2010)

One of the two beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris) plants in the garden bloomed today--one in a pot, by the garage. It gets much more sun than the one in the ground on the side of the house. That plant has only two buds. The one that bloomed today has 15 (more than twice as many as last year). I think I will have to move the shaded one to a better location. This plant has beautiful magenta pink flowers that contrast with the bluish pads of the plant.

Opuntia basilaris bloomed on May 9 in 2009. A year according to this plant was therefore 385  days--another long year probably attributable to the cold and rain this year.