Cactus Flower August 2011

The post below is about the flower my cactus produced last summer.  There are several pictures.  Here is this year's flower.  It bloomed on about the same day in August but only lasted about 12 hours before it closed and started to droop.

 Click for a larger view.

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My brother Bob gave me a cactus that is the offspring of one he received way back when from our Aunt Lily and Uncle Earl.

It produced a flower in 2009 at two separate times, so I knew what to look for this year and sure enough, a stalk appeared about two weeks ago and grew steadily.

The pictures below were taken over five days.

Most of the year, the cactus does nothing and seems to need nothing but a little water.

But, then, a few days of growth, 24 hours of glory, and...dissolution.

Click on the photos for larger views.

The End.