Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Opuntia Elata, Chitalpa Tashkentensis

First blooms of 2011 today on the Chitalpa tree in the back garden and first blooms yesterday, June 21, on the large cactus, Opuntia elata, a type of prickly pear with unusual orange flowers. It is originally a native of Argentina. I have no record of the first bloom last year, as I was away in Europe, but Opuntia elata bloomed on June 4 in 2009.

The Chitalpa is a small tree that resembles a Catalpa tree, which is logical as one of the two parents of this hybrid is the Catalpa (Catalpa bignoniodes). The other is the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis). These small trees are fairly drought-tolerant and look very attractive at most times of the year. The flowers attract hummingbirds. The Chitalpa tree in my garden bloomed on June 1 in 2009. I have no record for this plant for 2010.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Chitalpa

First blooms today or yesterday on the Chitalpa tree in the back yard. The Chitalpa is a very attractive, moderately-sized tree that does very well in our dry climate (Santa Rosa, CA).

It's a cross between the desert willow and the catalpa tree. Not as majestic as the catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) but with more presence than the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), it's a good compromise for a garden without the space for a catalpa. Hummingbirds love the flowers (around here, mostly Anna's hummingbirds).