These are sometimes cleistogamous by degree. They don't need to open all the way to pollinate themselves. If it has been too cold for them or too wet or whatever, they may sense that the giant hawkmoths (their primary or only pollinator) won't be active, so they don't bother opening all the way. You will still get seeds.
I bought it at Loews about 4 months ago. It was in one of those 2" plastic pots, about 2 1/2" tall with dried up flower buds on its sides. It's about 5" tall now.
Mike M
The plant is self fertile and will set seed without needing cross pollination. It is advisable to set a few seeds in order to have replacement plants coming along since if you still have an 7-8 year old plant you are doing well because it is one of the shorter lived cacti, no doubt constantly reproducing from seed in habitat.
Not all cacti are long lived plants, some have a comparative short life span even in cultivation such as I believe Mammillaria louisae, which constantly reproduces from seed in habitat. Individual plants lifespan varies of course and although you can find a lot of information on how long Saguaro's live there is little information on the lifespans of the shorter living cacti.
The 3rd opened up last night. The patio light seems to have caused it to start closing really fast. I took these 3 pictures over a 10 minute period.
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Thank you. I did read that this cactus will last 4 to 5 years or so and that it was self pollinating. I will gather up the seeds and give sowing a shot.
Last edited by mikethecactusguy on Tue Jun 04, 2019 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sometimes individual plants live 8 or 9 years, but I wouldn't count on it. Those that live longer, flower less often. It's like those fish who have lots of sex then die immediately. lol
I find it interesting that when I turned the patio light on the flower started to close and bend away from the light.
The first photo shows just as I turned the light on. The second is about 5 to 10 minutes later and the flower has moved flat and closed. The 3rd was after I moved and turn the pot for a better picture and light.
