Fat Plants Pachypodium Lealii and P. Baronii
I believe I have reported on these fat plants before, but they are worth another story for some of you new readers- or to review for old readers! This is the time of the year when pachypodiums do their blooming, since their native lands are around or below the...
My Crown of Thorns is Blooming Again
Euphorbia milii, which we usually call crown of thorns, is blooming again. Crown of thorns is a euphorbia that is native to Madagascar but can be found just about everywhere now. It comes in various shades of red, pink, yellow, and white. It is one of those rare...
Are Your Succulents Getting Enough Winter Sunlight?
Now that plants have been brought in for the winter, sunlight becomes an issue, especially for cactus and succulents. My cactus deal with the reduction of sunlight during their winter incarceration indoors pretty well. Their growth rate slows down and they keep their...
Another Look at Ariocarpus
I have written about ariocarpus before, but it has been a while, so some of you may not be familiar with this plant. Fall is their blooming season, as you can see here. Ariocarpus retusus is not a plant you will find at the big box stores, but it is worth...
Refreshing a Path in the Cactus Garden
My cactus garden is over 20 years old and needs renovation from time to time. One path through the garden had become cluttered and hard to navigate, so the time had come to fix it. These pictures show the path in question. The flat rocks are supposed to mark the way,...
My New Stapeliad Turns Out to Be Controversial
I have become a fan of stapeliads and bought one I don’t have the other day at the Living Desert in Spicewood. It was not identified, which is not uncommon because there are so many very similar varieties. As luck would have it, i was blessed with blooms right after I...
Clean Your Cactus With Your Hair Dryer
Fall brings football season; up here it also signals that it is time to bring my potted cactus and succulents inside for the winter. In my garden, if it is in a pot, it is because it is not cold-hardy. I have braved icy winds and impending snow storms and...
Try Autumn Joy Sedum for Fall Color
Try Autumn Joy Sedum for Fall Color I have mentioned autumn joy for fall color before, but let’s take another, closer look at this reliable succulent. Autumn joy sedum is a plant in the crassulaceae family also known as stonecrop sedum and...
Praying Mantis Like Cactus, Too.
I discovered this praying mantis on the euphorbia trigona the other day. Just to simplify a bit, mantises are from the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, and order Mantodea and I suspect most of us take them for granted as a native insect. Not so; they were introduced...
Create An Entrance to Your Garden
We recently added two new features to my cactus garden, cedar post arches that invite you to meander through its pathways. I shared the genesis of these rustic portals yesterday-“Look What My Husband Built for Me!”-The Bright Lights of Muleshoe, September 15,...
Recent Comments