It’s #bloomscrolling time here at Deserthaus! Strap in for wildflowers and things I have planted that haven’t died yet! First up, CACTUS FLOWER! - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

tkingfisher.com • 2 days ago

It’s #bloomscrolling time here at Deserthaus! Strap in for wildflowers and things I have planted that haven’t died yet!

First up, CACTUS FLOWER!

Comments

waffmom.bsky.social•2 days ago

Haven't lived in Tucson for years, still miss the spring bloom season!

kvalenagle.bsky.social•1 day ago

Aw, look at it! That's not the nylon hedgehog cactus, is it?

From just north of you in the native plant world, ant money lupine, flax, white locoweed, and penstemons are in bloom with a bunch ready to join in at any moment. And the Rocky Mountain bee plants are starting to grow for real finally.

tkingfisher.com•1 day ago

No, the nylon blooms yellow-green—this one’s a Spinystar!

emoontxwriter.bsky.social•2 days ago

Have you noticed (I'm sure you have, actually) how the mass of stamens becomes a very busy place with many species of insects after whatever they can grab?

tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

I have not sat and watched this one, but it will not surprise me in the slightest.

mjfgates.bsky.social•2 days ago

That's exceedingly fuzzy, for a flower!

tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

An evening primrose growing all by itself in the far back.

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chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

Omg is that Oenothera harringtonii??? There's a team here who focuses entirely on that baby and their gigantic pollinators!

https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/skogen/oenothera.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IICb5MScBTg

video: a gigantic moth sticks their nose into closed evening primroses

chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

More!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wNg0dvUCaU

video: a gigantic moth gets all up in there with some big white and pink, 4 petal flowers in a desert

tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

I have no idea! I can’t tell them apart?

chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

Don't doxx yourself, but iNat is probably the fastest way to get a good guess! Here's a search for Family Oenothera, just redraw the box around where you live!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=44.98832984964306&nelng=-96.11453947238712&subview=map&swlat=31.793815778118606&swlng=-119.18582853488712&taxon_id=48626

chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

Here's O harringtonii's distribution, for example.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=1&subview=map&taxon_id=165798

tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

No, I know, but the best iNat ever gives me for Oenothera is “yup, that’s an evening primrose all right.”

chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oh apologies! I meant see what observations are near your area & look at the community photos already ID'd to species, not use their default AI. Seeing whats nearby yourself helps a lot. If you click the "Species" tab, it will list the options already observed.

Apologies if that's what you meant!

spaceturtleart.bsky.social•2 days ago

I love hummingbird hawk moths and DAMN, that one has a huge proboscis

chasesolidago.bsky.social•2 days ago

BIG BEEFY BOYS

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

The main clump of evening primroses happens up front. I love them. Such dramatic flowers on such flat little plants.

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

I have been watching the flower spike on the yucca with impatience.

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

The shrubby cinquefoil the previous owners planted is flowering, somewhat!

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

This rose was also planted by the previous owners. The plant was not in good shape. I pruned it savagely. Now it is not in good shape but shorter.

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ccameron.bsky.social•2 days ago

Beautiful rose. Looks related to the wild rose in Alberta.

tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

The tip of a very happy tree cholla. I don’t know if those are gonna be new limbs or if it’s considering a flower at some point, but it’s definitely doing SOMETHING.

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buglady.bsky.social•2 days ago

This looks like the red climbing roses I inherited from the previous homeowners at my place too! Slightly scented, tenacious, but also a rather rough looking plant. A friend of mine who is a rose fancier believes mine may be a variety that has multiflora rose as its rootstock. I'd believe it.

vincaminor42.bsky.social•2 days ago

Does it at least smell? The previous owners of my new(-ish) place had tons of roses everywhere, and they're almost all the same boring red with no scent whatsoever =(

stormmesa.bsky.social•2 days ago

That’s going to be a fun one

rustyfoxfyre.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oooo!

ashokhotnik.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yucca is sly, it will wait until you turn your back then Bamph! Flowers.

wolfsilveroak.bsky.social•2 days ago

My Yucca is about ready to bloom. Likely later this week.

oldpines.wtf•2 days ago

We’ve been watching our agave the same way. It’s on its way out but is intent to make a show of it.

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

Holy cats!

paintinggryphon.bsky.social•1 day ago

I’ve heard that if you can watch them actually open up if you catch them in the evening- and you can even hear them as they unfurl. Might be a different variety of evening primrose tho.

sorchao.bsky.social•2 days ago

Having just started taking evening primrose oil, it’s really interesting to see the plant that it comes from, thank you plant for being good for perimenopause! And also being pretty 🌸

ponyco.bsky.social•1 day ago

I adore the things we planted that haven’t died yet.

wessoman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Love cactus flowers.

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leahjaclyn.bsky.social•2 days ago

oh that’s gorgeous!!

miche-hakohenet.bsky.social•2 days ago

These were planted by the previous owner.

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miladymigraine.bsky.social•2 days ago

Rhododendron(?) and bearded iris?

springsandwire.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah! (On the rhododendron at least — I grew up in Washington, the rhododendron state! My iris differentiation skills are not awesome, though.)

jennlee.bsky.social•2 days ago

I had these beauties on Monday!

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tkingfisher.com•2 days ago

Wow!

rustyfoxfyre.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oh my!