The White Rhino Agave

by | Nov 8, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Nov 3, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Oct 9, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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

by | Sep 2, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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!

by | Aug 20, 2022 | Cactus Are Cool

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...