Succulents and More™

Last year, I planted a lace hedgehog cactus ( Echinocereus reichenbachii ) with snow-white spines. It's still pretty small but it's grown a good amount. With its spectacular spines, it stands out and invariably attracts attention. Not just from humans, apparently, but also from the ubiquitous western fence lizards. Last week, one of them – a juvenile, from the looks of it – got stuck and died. At least that's what I surmised when I saw this: When I spotted it, ants had already been busy at work. The next day, there was little left: And the day after, just the skeleton of the lizard: Fast forward a couple of days, and the skeleton is gone, too, but another baby lizard has climbed onto the cactus. I don't know what makes it so attractive to lizards. Maybe the white spines? Fortunately, this lizard didn't get stuck. Seeing a small army of ants consuming a dead lizard might be a queasy-making sight for some people, but it's simply the cycle of life in action.  © Ger...

In spite of daytime highs in the high 80s and low 90s, fall is definitely here. Summer-growing succulents have slowed way down in preparation for winter, and compared to spring and summer, there’s very little in bloom in the succulent realm. But there’s always something , as you’ll see below. Coryphantha retusa Coryphantha retusa is a small cactus from Mexico with dense golden spines. I got two of them in last year’s fall plant sale at the Huntington, and this one flowered in early October: Coryphantha retusa Ferocactus herrerae Ferocactus herrerae is closely related to Ferocactus wislizeni , the common Arizona fishhook barrel, but as the body of the cactus ages, it takes on a pronounced twist. Mine flowers quite profusely from summer into fall. The flower you see below is last one of the year, and quite possibly the most perfect: Ferocactus herrerae flower; the yellow “pineapples” above it are immature fruits from earlier flowers Ferocactus herrerae Ariocarpus fissuratus var. hint...

On January 18, 2023, I wrote a post about two agaves being stolen from our front yard. At the time, I was both mad and sad – and worried it might happen again. Fortunately, it hasn't. I did install a security camera, which may or may not have had a deterrent effect. Quite a few readers left comments on my original post. All of them were sympathetic and supportive. Until October 11 when this arrived: This is what the comment says:  “Your hostile language, and that of most respondents, is what is making your nation so divisive. Yes people shouldn't steal plants but I suggest it was taken by a fellow succulent lover like yourself, who is probably looking after it and perhaps even propagating from it, rather than 'pond scum'. It is interesting that you define yourself as a 'good person' which assumes you have divided your world up into good people, like yourself and bad people that you need to protect your smug little world from with CCTV etc. Little spirit of gene...

This summer, I removed two agaves , Agave bovicornuta and Agave shrevei var. matapensis × Agave guadalajarana . They had flowered and were dying. Bittersweet, but the ultimate fate of most agave species. It’s one thing taking out an agave that has come to the end of its life span. It’s something else entirely when an agave (a large one to boot) croaks seemingly from one day to the next. A few weeks ago, I noticed something was amiss with Agave gentryi ‘Jaws’ in the sidewalk strip: The leaves had begun to fold in on themselves in a rather extreme way: And black liquid was coming out of the center: Black stuff oozing out of any plant is never a good sign. Even worse, I was able to rock the entire agave back and forth with just one hand. Friends who stopped by during my open garden for the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society confirmed what I already knew: It was a goner. Removing ‘Jaws’ was easy: I was able to pull the entire rosette to the curb with nothing but my two hands. There...

Last Saturday I had an open garden for members for the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society . It was well attended – the weather was perfect for an outdoor event – and I even met some people who had joined the club only recently. Since the garden was nice and tidy, I decided to document it in this post. There are lots of photos so let’s get started. This is what you see as you walk from the driveway into the front garden These three ponytail palms ( Beaucarnea recurvata ) were tiny when I planted them. In hindsight, I wish I’d separated them (they were all the same pot) and planted only one. Still, it provides an element of surprise as you step into the garden. Bed next to the front door, anchored by Aloe vaombe Smaller agaves and cacti (and even a xeric fern, Astrolepis cochisensis ) in the front This trio of containers planted with echeverias is new. I’m not totally sold yet, but I’ll let the echeverias get bigger before I decide whether to keep this arrangement. I’m even experim...