The Bad and the Ugly in two photos

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a classic 1966 Spaghetti Western. The Bad and the Ugly is the state of our garden after 18" of rain and colder nighttime temperatures than we’ve had in years.

Below is an example to illustrate.

Here is the Bad:


A decent enough cactus with a pleasing olive green coloration, you might think.

But that’s where we veer into Ugly territory:


The olive skin is the only thing that contained the mushy center. “Mushy” is not a good word in conjunction with cacti.

I know the title of this post says two photos, but here’s a third to illustrate what used to be the Good:


That’s what this Mammillaria compressa looked like last summer. It sailed through the winter of 2021, but this winter, with weeks of rain and cold, simply proved to be too much.

The lesson to be learned from this experience: There’s only so much you can do to create favorable conditions in your garden. Like all the other succulents in my garden, this Mammillaria compressa is a stranger in a strange land. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to recreate its native habitat exactly. I did plant it in freely draining soil so it wouldn’t be waterlogged. However, even if it had been in 100% rock, it likely would have died.

Coincidentally, the other cacti nearby, including two other mammillarias, are perfectly fine. That underscores how random and unpredictable things are. Don’t be hard on yourself if a plant in your garden dies. Chances are it was killed by circumstances beyond your control.

After all the rain and snow we’ve had in December and January, California’s parched landscapes are breathing a metaphorical sigh of relief. But what’s good for nature at large isn’t always good for gardens. That’s just how it is.

I promise, this is the last “ugly” post for a while. More pretty pictures coming in a few days!


© Gerhard Bock, 2023. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.

Comments

  1. That is terribly disappointing, Gerhard. I feel your pain.

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    1. It's the price we pay for pushing the limit, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

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  2. Soft and mushy are definitely not good cacti descriptors. Always so hard to lose a beautiful plant. You are so correct though in that these are strangers in a foreign land so we have to be prepared for disaster occasionally. On the plus side I bet you can hear other plants sighing in relief with all that rain.

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    1. A garden is a living thing, and this experience underscores it vividly. Plus, I have plenty of other plants waiting to go in the ground!

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  3. Good lessons learned, but sorry about the mushy cactus. Sounds like you have a healthy attitude about it all, and I hope your other plants are happy and healthy with the rain.

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    1. We got rain, a lot of rain, and that's more important than any individual plants in my garden.

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  4. It sure has been a bad winter for the cacti and succulents. I'm so glad I put my Echinopsis under rain cover. I cringe every time I look at Mangave 'Lavender Lady' -she looks like hell ! So much slime this winter but reservoir refills are worth it.

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    1. 'Lavender Lady', oh no! That's one mangave that's not been damaged in my garden. Which underscores how random it all is.

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  5. I learn so much from the "ugly" posts, Gerhard. Also, some of the same has happened to my plants and I like knowing I am not alone!

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    1. I love hearing other people's experience, the good and the bad. You're right, it creates a sense of community. We're all in this together!

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  6. Ugh. I am so sorry. Random and unpredictable could be the theme of my blog posts this week ("Agave week") as I am surveying how plants are doing around town.

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    1. I saw your posts (here and here). Heartbreaking stuff but also signs of hope. That's how it seems to go this winter.

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  7. I felt your pain. Regardless how hard I tried to protect my plants, I lost more than a dozen of plants due to the series of atmospheric river storms in January: agave (rare ones), aloe (some hard to find), euphorbia, pachypodium. You’re right, it is a bad combination of way too much rain and cold weather.

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