This is What Dichotomous Branching Looks Like

by | Nov 10, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

Mammillaria nejapesis is a pretty little cacti native to the Oaxaco region of Mexico. It is a bit different from other cacti in that it is prone to do something called dichotomous branching. I have two of them, and both have branched and are blooming on their...

The Melocactus are Developing their Tops

by | Nov 3, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

I’ve told you about my melocactus before, but more is happening with them all of a sudden, and I am having fun watching them bloom and develop their cephalium. These cacti, native to Brazil and the Caribbean, are distinctive because of the cephalium that grows...

The Alpine Wildlife Weekend

by | Aug 17, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

The city of Alpine, Texas, hosted what they called  Wildlife Weekend: Bats, Bears, Bighorns back in January. I am a bit late in telling you about it, but it is worth a story, late or not. On Friday, January 31, I drove to Alpine which took me through Seminole and...

The Gymnocalycium That Kept on Blooming

by | Jul 28, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

Gymnocalycium is a neat little cactus native to South America, mostly found in Argentina, but sometimes found in Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Sometimes nicknamed the chin cactus because the rounded ribs often have a “chin” below the areoles. The...

The Yucca and Cholla Dilemma

by | Jul 14, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

Back in 2009 I made two trips to Cibolo Creek Ranch near Marfa, the first time to learn about taking pictures with Wyman Meinzer, the second to plant cactus gardens for the ranch with their native cactus. On one of those trips they had just grated their roads. This...

Update on the Melocactus

by | Jul 6, 2025 | Cactus Are Cool

I bought my Melocactus salvadorensis at a Texas Association of Cactus and Succulent Societies (TACSS) seminar in Austin in 2022 and showed it to you in “My New Melocactus,” November 3, 2022. Melocactus are distinguished by the cephalium that develops in...