First flowers of the year

[Ali Baba]

Each year 3 cacti battle it out in a race to be the first flowers of the year. This year the winner is Mammillaria sanchez-mejordae

[el48tel]

Lovely .... spring must be on its way

[Aiko]

Mine are in bud too. Let's see if they can beat Mammillaria henandezii, which have been in bud since November and still haven't flowered.

I do have plants in flower throughout the year, so there is no real battle for first flower. That is the advantage of having winter active plants in your greenhouse, with mesembs flowering late autumn and the bulbs taking over through winter.

[SimonT]

Nice looking plant. Presumably you started watering a while ago?

[Ali Baba]

Thanks Simon, no I haven’t watered it deliberately but it’s probably had a few drops from the orchid in the hanging basket directly above it !

[RayW]

Nice plant only buds here on Astrophytums

[Herts Mike]

That’s a beauty!

Mams tepexicensis and pennispinosa will be my first.

[JonNo]

That's a nice display.

Apart from Shlumbergera and Aloe Variegata, I've so far had Mammillaria Gracilis Arizona Snowcap, Mammillaria Bombycina and Echinocereus Viridiflorus in flower, though the buds have been quite reluctant to open, no doubt due to lack of sunshine. All just before they had their first water of the year last weekend. Gymnocalycium Stenopleurum is also showing signs of budding, though they take an age to develop. The flower on the E. Viridiflorous is different this time in that it appears to have tried to produce a sort of "double width" flower for some reason.

[ralphrmartin]

I wont count my Crassulas, many of which have been flowering over the winter, nor any of my bulbs, but apart from a couple of early Rebutias and Turbinicarpuses and a few Dorstenias, I had these today:

Euphorbia aesthenacantha

Euphorbia xantii

Euphorbia phillipsioides

[SimonT]

Is it R.marsoneri that gives the earliest Rebutia flowers or is there a Rebutia or even Aylostera that flowers earlier?