This and that, mid August 2026

It’s been a month since my last “This and that” post. High time for another one, the mid-August 2026 edition.

AGAVES

My previous post was about the teeth on agaves and other succulents. I have a few photos that didn’t make it into that post but deserve to be seen:

Agave horrida from San Marcos Growers

Random variegation on Agave ovatifolia ‘Vanzie’ found at a big-box store

Agave ovatifolia ‘Orca’, the storied variegated clone of the whale’s tongue agave, now in tissue culture at Altman Plants

CACTUS FLOWERS

Cactus flower season is behind us, but some echinopsis hybrids rebloom throughout the summer. Bless them for giving us joy at the doldrumest time of year.

Echinopsis ‘Embraceable You’, a Schick hybrid released by the Huntington

Echinopsis ‘Mutation’ (formerly ‘Freda’). The petals are serrated, but never quite the same way twice. In other words, each flower is a surprise.

Echinopsis ‘Shades of Bourne’

Oops, I missed these. This is all I got to enjoy, in the late afternoon.

The flowers on Ferocactus rectispinus are pretty, but not in the same league as the echinopsis flowers above. But look at the spines! They’re 6" to 7" in length!

MORE CACTUS

A few more random cactus sightings:

Ferocactus pilosus in front of Agave (potatorum ‘Spawn’ × isthmensis) × shawii. A totally random combination that looks great.

A friend gave me an unrooted cutting of what I think is the most spectacular form of the silver torch cactus (Cleistocactus strausii). It took months, but it seems like it’s finally rooted, as per tug test. I love this one.

My friend Kyle made this box for my creeping devil cactus (Stenocactus eruca). Look how small it was exactly two years ago. Two years later, not only has my creeping devil grown arms, it’s also extended far beyond the wooden box. The time has come to think about its future. It will be rehomed shortly; I’ve already talked to the owner of its future home. Update soon.

STOPPED DEAD IN MY TRACKS

Sometimes you’re in the right place in your garden at the right time and spot something that stops you dead in your tracks. This happened to me the other day:

Hardy tapioca (Manihot grahamiii)

The shadows were mesmerizing

STAGHORN

In early April, I came across this staghorn fern (Platycerium bifurcatum ‘Netherlands’) at a local Ace Hardware store. I’d never had much luck with staghorn ferns before, but I decided to try again. Fast forward four months. My staghorn fern, still in its original 1-gallon plastic pot, is not only alive, it’s actually grown! It’s on the front porch, in full shade, a spot it clearly likes. A success story for sure, but nothing more than a stroke of luck. I take no credit for any of it.

Platycerium bifurcatum ‘Netherlands’

“SCHIZOPHRENIC” CANNA

I used to grow cannas many years ago, but when I switched to more water-wise landscaping, I ditched them. That was a big mistake. Cannas may be native to tropical areas of Central and South America, but it turns out that they’re actually remarkable drought-tolerant once established. In recent years, I’ve been adding cannas back into the mix.

No canna cultivar is as striking as Canna × generalis ‘Cleopatra’, a chimera known for its unpredictable mutations. Sometimes the leaves are all green, sometimes they have brown streaks or are half brown, and sometimes they’re all brown. It’s completely random. Plant Delights calls it “schizophrenic canna lily” — a very appropriate moniker.

Canna × generalis ‘Cleopatra’ leaf

The flowers are equally unpredictable: yellow, red, or a mix of both:

Canna × generalis ‘Cleopatra’ flower

Canna × generalis ‘Cleopatra’ flower

REALLY?

I saw this outside a local supermarket:

A 6-pack of shade-tolerant succulents, each in a 4" pot. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

Then I saw the price. $36.99 for six 4-inch pots of super common succulents? Wowza. The pricing is insane. These should be $19.99 or less.

THINK AGAIN

Here in Davis, we have decent-sized yard waste bins that get emptied every week. Most of the time, the bins are more than adequate. But some weeks you have more yard waste than you can stuff into the bin. In that case, you simply have to spread it out, because, according to the waste collection company, the lid of the bin has to be closed for them to empty it.

Apparently, this homeowner a few blocks away thought that they could push the envelope just a liiiiiiiittle bit. This was yesterday, the evening before today’s yard waste pickup:

Yesterday, before pickup

And this is today, after the collection truck came through:

Today, after pickup

Oops, the truck simply drove by and ignored this massively overstuffed bin.

I wonder how long it’ll take for the homeowner to figure out what happened? And do something about it?

RECLAIMING PATHWAY?

I love Mexican tulip poppies (Hunnemannia fumariifolia), a short-lived perennial native to the Chihuahuan Desert. Our original plant was a volunteer seedling that came from who knows where, and it’s been reseeding in random spots in the front yard. I usually let it do its thing, wherever it wants to do it, but I’m getting to the point where I want to reclaim my pathway. But then, I’ve been thinking that for months and I still haven’t done anything about it. The flowers are just too pretty.

PLUMERIA TEMPTATION

Just recently I told Kyle that if I ever see a plumeria around here, I’ll give it another shot. (Plumerias are tropical shrubs that do NOT like cold winters.) Well, look what I saw today at our local Costco. I was soooooooo tempted, but sanity prevailed. Except now I have a bad case of missing out syndrome. Maybe I’ll go back tomorrow and get one....

MISCELLANEOUS

A few more random observations:

Aloe inermis is native to the Arabian peninsula (western Yemen) and hence used to extraordinary heat. But still, mine is curling up in on itself, looking like a giant spider ready to pounce.

Aeonium ‘Wheel of Captivation’ from Little Prince of Oregon, a nursery I got to visit in April. Native to the Canary Islands with its moderate climate, aeoniums go dormant, or semi dormant, in our summer-dry climate. This one is definitely holding its own, which makes me happy.

Ceratozamias are cycads native to the mountainous and tropical forests of Mexico and Central America. As such, they struggle in our hot summers. I’ve tried several species of Ceratozamia, and they’ve all died. Except for one, this one: Ceratozamia hildae. I have two plants, one in the front yard and one in the back, and both are still alive, years after I bought them. Beyond the fact that they are super cool plants, I love the fact that new leaves emerge bronze!

POOR STELLA

Stella is used to two walks a day, mid morning and late afternoon. This past week, with afternoon temperatures in the mid-90s, her second walk of the day was either delayed or canceled altogether. Stella eventually got resigned to the situation:

Now that temperatures are back to normal, Stella gets her routine pre-dinner walk and is happy. And if Stella is happy, I’m happy.

© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.