I Catch The Lithops Blooming

When these mysterious little plants, lithops lesliei, bloom, it is always such a pleasant surprise. And easy to miss since they open in the evening when I may not be checking on them any more for the day. But I was in the right place at the right time and wanted to...

Leuchtenbergia Principis, aka Agave Cactus

 I have been watching and impatiently waiting for this cactus to bloom, and finally it did. I suspect our current overcast skies and lack of sunshine delayed the unveiling, but bloom it did. And it even stayed open for a couple of days, a nice plus....

Succulents Provide Good Color

   If you are not familiar with using succulents for a touch of color, may I recommend ice plant, dew plant, and Autumn Joy sedum. The advantages are that they don’t wilt when you take trip for a few days and have no one to water them, they grow relatively...

Agaves Macrocantha and Sharkskin

  Two more agaves I would recommend for your collection are these two that are smaller and slower growers, which makes it nice for collectors like me who have to drag plants in for the winter.   Agave sharkskin, sometimes called sharkskin shoes, is a...

Agaves Kissho Kan and Blue Glow

Two good choices to add to your agave collection, Kissho Kan and Blue Glow, are relatively new in the mass market, at least in Texas, but those of you in California may tell me they have been around a long time. As you can see, they make fairly large potted specimens,...

The Stinky Flower

I told the story in my other blog, The Bright Lights of Muleshoe-(“Cactus and Kerrville,” October 5, 2011) of driving home from the Austin area with the distinct smell of rotting flesh lurking around me. Turned out the smell was coming from the orbea lutea, a...