Signs of Spring
I read in the paper on March 19th or 20th, I forget, that the spring equinox was a day early this year. Don’t remember what the groundhog said about the changing of the seasons, but I am still waiting for the warm weather. Perhaps we will have no late freezes, but I...
Adenium Obesum in the Winter
Adenium obesum, commonly called the desert rose, is a native to the warm climates of sub-Sahara, eastern and southern Africa, Arabia, and Socotra, so I shouldn’t be surprised when my adeniums drop their leaves every winter. Even though I have talked to you about these...
A Surprise Flower
This is why it’s a good idea to go into the greenhouse everyday, and maybe more than once-you never know what you will find. I was in the greenhouse yesterday and apparently overlooked the bud on this plant. Today I wander in, and Bam! there it was. And thank goodness...
On the Road Again: Cactus at Sonora
Since around 2003 a group of cactus lovers has converged on the McPherson 4M Ranch in Sonora, Texas, to appreciate cactus in its natural habitat and to also take home a few for personal gardens. I took part in the adventure this year. The story goes that around 2003,...
Our Texas Heritage-TACSS Fall Seminar, October 5, 2019
October is traditionally the month for the annual Texas Association of Cactus and Succulents Societies Fall Seminar. This year it was hosted by the San Antonio Cactus and Xerophyte Society at the San Antonio Garden Center. I have attended several over the years, but...
Another Look at the Coryphantha Rungonii
The first time I wrote about the coryphantha rungonii was on July 1, 2017, but it has outdone itself again, and I wanted to share it again. Some of you missed it the first time around, and it’s only fair to shower the plant with praise for an even more spectacular...
Death Comes to the Agave
One of my very favorite, dependable, beautiful, low-maintenance plants, agave harvardiana, shared its spectacular blooming mast with me and the neighborhood this summer. Alas, as is the nature of the plant, after it put its heart and soul into this bloom, it begins to...
A River Runs Through It
Well, not exactly. More like a hint of a creek or spring. I had a dry creek bed of gray/white rocks from Coleman, Texas, in my cactus garden. I had been reasonable happy with it all these years until I was inspired to do something different when I saw my friend...
An Awarded-Winning Mass of Lace Cactus Blooms
On May third I took a picture of this group of echinocereus reichenbachii, lace cactus. I counted fifty buds, more or less, at this time. But it’s hard to do! I may have counted a few more than once, and one or two might not have opened, or opened early by themselves...
Mammillaria Spinosissima
I bought this plant last year, maybe two years ago, to rescue it from the too-small pot from which offshoots were pushing their little heads up in search of room to grow. So I brought it home, repotted it, and the new crowns were relieved and happy and grew. This year...
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