Cacti can have some really, surprisingly, beautiful flowers. Our echinopsis seminudus really did surprise us last year. It started growing these strange wooly protuberances. This hadn't happened before. At first the growth was slow, then it picked speed & growing before your eyes.

This pic was taken early morning.



Later in the afternoon.

Close up of the stems a couple of hours later.

The next day. Unfortunately, these flowers only last a few hours. Which is a shame considering all the effort the cactus puts in to growing them. These flowered on very windy days which makes it even harder to photograph them. They are a beautiful flower with a lovely, subtle fragrance.

A few short hours later, starting fade.



We were lucky, though, as we had a third yet to bloom.

The mammillarias flower throughout the warmer months of the year; Their flowers are much smaller, & far less showy, than the echinopsis seminudus's. They are beautiful, though, in their small way.

Flowers of the mammillaria bocasana ~ "Powder Puff".



With six flowers.

The mammillaria hahniana "The Old Lady"with its lovely pink flowers. These aren't yet fully open.



Some more.

Mammillaria bocasana "The Powder Puff" with a ring of its very delicate & pretty little flowers. This cactus seems to flower at any time of year. The flowers just suddenly appear.

I have always been fascinated by cactus flowers, they are so beautiful. Yet they come from such strange places from within the cactus sometimes!
Those Echinopsis Seminudus flowers are especially striking. It is a pity they only last a few hours. How long or should I say, how old was the ES before you got any flowers? Lovely Joy! all your plants are so well looked after!

Thank you Dawn. The echinopsis seminudus has grown so much since we have had it & has nearly doubled its size since this time last year. It was quite small when we first bought it nearly 2 1/2 years ago. Would have only been about 5cms across. Now it would be about 15cms. (It is dark outside right now, otherwise I'd go out & measure it. ) We would have had it about 15-18mths when it surprised us by growing those huge buds & flowering. This year it has outdone itself. There is at least one more bud to flower & I think there may be another two more to come. They are just small fluff balls at the moment. This cactus also has several offshoots, some of which have fallen off & rooted & the others are still attached to it. They are still small.

The mammillaria bocasana doesn't seem to have grown much but the m. hahniana has almost doubled in size.

After we have had so much rain over the past several months this mammillaria hahniana "The Old Lady", has not been inclined to flower. It is a shame as they are a striking pink. Another reason for the lack of flowers could also be that it hasn't been getting enough sunshine. The cocos palms in the yard have grown so much they have taken out most of its sun & I have nowhere else to place it.

Anyhow, we have had some wonderful sunshine & it has decide to flower. There are quite a few flowers yet to open, too.

A sole flower on the mammillaria hahniana today, but it had opened further than other recent flowers. Still others hiding there.

They are such a striking pink.

Our mammillaria hahniana or "The Old Lady" continues to open up its very colourful bright pink flowers. These do not seem to last more than a day but are replaced quickly.