My Rhipsalis Collection

by | Feb 17, 2023 | Cactus Are Cool

Rhipsalis is a cactus that grows in trees in the rainforests of Brazil and other South American countries, so it is an epiphyte, one that supports itself in the crooks of branches of trees in rainforests. Unlike a parasitic plant that takes its nutrients and moisture...

An Uncommon Cactus

by | Jan 27, 2023 | Cactus Are Cool

I wrote about my Leuchtenbergia principis back in 2014 and 2021.  It had just bloomed. When I researched it, I found that it is the sole species of its genus and there is nothing else quite like it. I have a larger one that bloomed, but I also have this small one...

Brown Outside; Colorful Inside

by | Jan 19, 2023 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Dec 31, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Dec 23, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Nov 16, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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...