Don’t Abuse Your Red Yucca

Hesperaloe parviflora, commonly known as red yucca, is a popular landscape plant all over Texas, but especially in our area because it stands up well to the heat and dry climate. Native to the Chihuahua Desert in Mexico and West Texas and into south and central Texas,...

My Cage Ranch Cacti are Blooming

A few years ago, J.D. Cage, or was it his son Jay?-I forget after all this time-called to ask if I would be interested in some cactus they had found on their Earth, Texas,  ranch (18 miles from Muleshoe, for those of you not familiar with this part of the world)....

The Huernia Reticulata Bloomed!

I bought this little plant in 2019 at the CSSA (Cactus and Succulent Society of America) convention held in San Luis Obispo, California, that year. At one point I thought I was going to lose it, but it hung on and finally  grew a little. Yesterday I walked into...

AJ and I Build a New Cactus Garden

My son AJ asked me to help him design and plant a cactus and succulent garden requested by a customer of his Green Dude Organic Lawn Care business in Kyle, Texas. I had helped him with a similar garden in 2017 (A Succulent Garden for Kelly, May 17, 2017) so of course,...

Succulents and their Flowers

I have learned that one way to distinguish between succulents is by the differences in their flowers. I’m still learning, but here are some differences that might help you distinguish between a few popular species. Aloes and haworthias are easy to confuse, but not if...

Flowers in the Greenhouse

It’s brown and dreary outside; it’s green with spots of color in the greenhouse. Here are some of those spots of color. Pleispilos nelii Royal Flush is an odd-looking little plant with a gorgeous flower. This particular variety has the purple petals, hence the name...