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Father's Day Gift

jimscott

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
I got these from my son for Father's Day:



I was told that cactus flowers from garden centers are actually glued on. Is that right? There may actually be 2 flowers that are real, though.
 
i love when cacti have flowers glued on while they are actually flowering as well and the two look nothing alike :lol:
 
Yes Jim, most of those flowers are glued on. Makes me shudder to think upon it. To add insult to the indignity, the flowers aren't even the natural colors they should be -- they've been dyed. The flowers typically used are straw flowers (Rhodanthe chlorocephala ). Now on the left hand plant, the two pink flowers are the real deal while the middle red one is glued on.
 
It's unfortunate that nursery growers can't just come clean and say, "Sorry, but those flowers are just things to make you buy the plant and are not real cactus flowers. You probably know that, but we won't tell you." I've even asked a few nurseries and they insist that the flowers are real. Of course, they're not.
 
That's a good son you have there...

Nice plants.
 
I think that there are 2 real, pink flowers, amid the glued on one. The purple and yellow ones look fake. LOL! It was probably Julie who picked them out! Thanks, Warren!
 
 
  • #10
Hahaha!

I scrolled down each shelf and was thinking, "Oh how cool...look how he has the shelves and the lighting fixed up."

And then saw your cat.

And thought, "Dadgum, someone could have been looking in my house..."

Don't you love it how they think we do this stuff just for them?
 
  • #11
We are on the second floor, fortunately. Here are more, sans the cactus:







BTW, I just took the pictures, but didn't stage the kitties!
 
  • #12
So you use the tray method with the cats or not?
 
  • #14
I'm having flashbacks to your New Plant for the Grow Rack thread. I still don't believe that it's a Cattleya rather that a Catopsis.
 
  • #15
Catopsis is also a viable name!
 
  • #16
The one on the left is a gymnocalycium - and you're right, two of the flowers are real. As far as the one on the far right, I can't see any flowers, but the bright yellow body of the plant IS real - it is a chlorotic sport of Gymnocalycium mihanoviochii. Don't know the name, but it's related to cv "Hibotan" - the Japanese have developed a huge number of chlorotic sports of this cactus that are then grafted onto...IDK, Myrtillocactus, maybe? They all trace back to one grower noticing something special in a tray of seedlings - his fact action in grafting it has produced a hugely $ucceSSful horticultural oddity.
 
  • #17
yes but said oddities tend to die off eventually and then the graft stock end up growing like a weed. the base piece is a super vigorous cactus

i eventually gave up trying to grow them lol.
 
  • #18
A normal G. mihanoviochii looks like this:

 
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