FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

@thepitchergrower can you please explain succulents to me? One of my neighbors is hosting a succulent swap next month, and people around here are actually excited about it. I don't get it. Succulents are so boring. They don't produce fruit, don't flower, can't catch bugs, can't eat them... so why are so many people into them?? (no hurry, I know you're bizzy packing. just figured I'd ask while it's on my mind )

Now, they do actually produce flowers. Echinopsis and epiphyllum hybrids are grown for their flowers. As well as some mesembs like lampranthus. Some are colorful, and have interesting textures.
Don't get why your neighbors are so excited; maybe because succulents have gotten rather popular.
Flowers window plants/haworthia have "windows" on their leaves. In nature they grow half buried so that the windows are the only part exposed.
Interesting colors:
Sorry for clogging up the thread Hollyhock,

Nice selection! There are thousands of species of succulents and many, many have great flowers and/or great foliage...

What about dragon fruit (Selenicereus, formerly Hylocereus)

ChefDean wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 9:45 pm On all other points, I can agree. But some do fruit, and most of them flower.
One of my favorite fruits is the fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus, and you've never seen a more beautiful sight than one of the entire desert in bloom, including most of the cacti, after a heavy summer rain.

omg, those are all over the place where I live. Many years ago, I was walking home and saw a prickly pear cactus covered in pink fruits, and I thought, "nice! free food for me!" -- assuming they'd be like dragonfruits. so I grabbed one with my bare hand, ripped it off, and tossed it in my backpack. that's when I realized my palm was covered in tiny needles. So i went home, tweezed out the needles, opened my bag, and realized there were tiny needles *everywhere*. I tried to shake them out, but for the next few weeks every time I reached into my bag I ended up with a stray needle in my hand. I couldn't even eat the prickly pear I brought home because there were too many needles.

thepitchergrower wrote:What about dragon fruit (Selenicereus, formerly Hylocereus)

Yeah, my parents grow those. they barf up like one flower a year, and the flower is only open for 15 minutes so my dad has to get out of bed in the middle of the night with a tiny paintbrush and a ladder to hand-pollinate it, because there aren't any bees awake at that hour. Three months later it might set a single fruit, which they have to wrap in a bag to make sure squirrels don't take it before it's ready. I *really* don't get it.

@thepitchergrower now I admit the sindow plants look pretty cool. and some of the flowers are nice. hmm, I dunno. I guess I just don't understand some hobbies.