Gymnocalycium baldianum, Dwarf Chin Cactus. This is one of my favorite cacti. These little guys are native to Argentina and typically are grown by seed. They come in a variety of colors including red, pink, white and yellow. They're pretty durable, mine having lived on the front patio wall for some years now, and bloom reliably every year. The flowers open during the hottest part of the day and then close back for the night. On the South side of the house, they'd stay open most of the day. Ironically, on the North side of the house, they only open up when the direct sun hits them and between opening time and closing time, are only full open for about an hour. Pretty wild, huh? Worth the suspense though and the flowers last for days and new flowers continue to pop up for quite a while.
They're supposedly hardy down to 15 degrees F! I, of course, chose a beautiful red one (way back when...). If you wondering why they're called dwarf chin cactus...heheh...I've got no idea.
2 comments:
Offered through a mail order source anywhere that you know of?
I did a search on Ebay for Gymnocalycium baldianum and found two for around $2 each plus postage. You could try a google search or froogle search as well. Of course, it's not quite as much fun as sorting through a whole tray in bloom but you get to open the box (Christmas in May!).
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