Kihikihi resident John Brown admires the flowers on his San Pedro cactus on Tuesday when it flowered for the first time. On the right is a close-up of a second flowering cactus. Photo / Dean Taylor
Kihikihi’s John Brown has a gardening motto - “If you can’t eat it, it isn’t worth growing.”
Having said that his property does feature a few colourful shrubs - and a plant that on Tuesday this week was producing the most spectacular floral display - a San Pedro Cactus.
The importance of the day is that the cactus is one of a group that rarely flowers, and then often for one day.
Some only flower overnight by moonlight.
Brown said he was given a few cuttings by a lady friend about 10 years ago and planted them. He has four adult plants and two were in full bloom when I visited.
He said in the 10 years it was the first time he had seen them flower.
According to Wikipedia these cacti can grow about 30cm a year, which makes sense as the tallest plants were about 3m, and while a South American native, grow easily in temperate climates.
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