Brown Outside; Colorful Inside
January in Muleshoe doesn’t lend itself to much color other than brown. Brown grass, brown dirt, brown tumbleweeds, leafless trees; if the wind is blowing, which is often, dusty brown air. Winter up here isn’t very colorful anyway, and the drought hasn’t helped. But I...
One Way to Defeat Cactus Poachers
If you read my last cactus blog, “I was rewarded with Ariocarpus Blooms,” December 23, 2022, I talked about the damage cactus poachers are doing to Ariocarpus populations in Texas and Mexico, and I promised to tell you more about how to spot these dastardly pirates...
I was Rewarded with Ariocarpus Blooms
I have written about my Ariocarpus before, but I had three plants bloom recently, one I had checked daily for a flower and two others that surprised me!The species of Ariocarpus in general are native to South Texas, north and central Mexico, with different varieties...
This is How to Really Protect Your Agaves
I have an Agave Ovatafolia, commonly referred to as a whale’s tongue agave, that I bought in Austin at least ten years ago. I was told it was cold-hardy, so I planted it in the cactus bed, and for the first three or so years didn’t bother to give it any...
The White Rhino Agave
I told you about the melocactus I brought home from the TACSS meeting in Austin this October. I also came home with a new agave, the one commonly known as the white rhino, and the one a website labeled “Arguably the most coveted novelty of the genus.”Well! I had no...
My New Melocactus
I came home from this year’s Texas Association of Cactus and Succulent Societies (TACSS) seminar with a Melocactus Salvadorensis, the first melocactus I have added to my collection. Native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America, this is...
The TACSS Fall Seminar Finally Happened
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society was to be the host club for the Texas Association of Cactus and Succulent Societies, or TACSS as we all refer to it, the event had to be put on hold till the world got well. So after several...
The Praying Mantis Claims this Bush as Its Home
As I was watering the rock rose the other day, Pavonia lasiopetala, something moved in the bush. Imagine my surprise, and delight, to see I was being frowned upon by an indignant praying mantis who didn’t appreciate me disturbing his home! Praying mantis are in the...
Don’t Bring that Prickly Pear in the House!
I received an email from a magazine with an article about using certain succulents for house plants. From the beginning I questioned most of the choices, and eventually the article suggested prickly pear as a house plant. Whaaaat? Are they serious? That’s a terrible...
One Last Succulent Science Lesson from Professor Wallace
The last presentation by Rob Wallace at the Mid-States Conference was a science lesson aimed at the succulent/cactus grower. It reminded me of Dr. Neir’s Soil Science class at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University, Kingsville) way back last century...
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