Cactus Blog 

Hi Hap,

I have accumulated over a hundred succulent cuttings and plants over the last several months (not hard to do, as I’m sure you can appreciate) and most of them live outside. Will it pose a problem to leave them out and exposed over the winter? It would be difficult for me to cover them.

Best regards,

Darrell

Darrell,

Without knowning which species you have, it is hard to give good advice. But a good rule of thumb is if they are “hardy” succulents (that can live outside year round…) it is fine to leave “baby cuts” outside, as long as they are in fast draining soil and never sit in water. If you have cuttings and starts of tropical/frost sensitive plants, they will need winter protection since the Bay Area is generally too cold and wet for many tropical or “dry winter” species to live through our rainy winters.

Good luck,

Hap

It’s the Muddy River String Band playing their ever popular “Cactus Jam”.

Download here.

And what’s most remarkable is if you listen closely, they’re actually singing a recipe for cactus jam, both the cactus type of cactus jam and the musical jam type of cactus jam. Oy, the irony.

Apparently there are some artists who post drawings of cactus on Mondays, callling it Cactus Mondays.

This week, Soulbrush had a nice pencil drawing of a spiny column cactus, possibly a cereus or an echinopsis. Plus links to the other Cactus Monday peoples.

Only 2 more weeks left, and then Suzanne’s coming to take her art back and send it off to a proper art gallery. I like pretending we’re an outdoor gallery.

Suzanne Long

Ferocactus pottsi – generally not a fall bloomer, but we have a few fero’s with a few late blooms, including this large specimen. With some buds still left to bloom, maybe in early winter!

From Reuters

US Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reacts to almost heading the wrong way off the stage after shaking hands with Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, October 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008

My apologies. This photo is not indicative of anything, doesn’t represent my personal opinions or the opinions of anyone else on this blog, and certainly has no relevance to the election at hand. But it’s hilarious! That McCain is such a scamp.

I don’t know what this pixdaus site is, but they give you embed codes for the pictures, so here’s a nice cactus in bloom from Q T Luong.

I’m going to guess it’s an echinocereus, but that red is very very red.

Luther at Oregon Cactus Blog has an interesting blooming caudiciform, Pterodiscus speciosa. Pictures ensue.

Gymnocalycium stenopleurum v. friedrichii

Click the picture to see the whole thing.

From Gary, Indiana, we find out that they harvest cactus pears in Indiana.

It’s harvest time for “pears” at the Indiana Dunes State Park.

But these pears don’t grow on trees. Rather, this purple, olive-sized fruit grows from the bright-yellow blooms of the prickly pear cactus, a desert plant that, amazingly, has adapted to Northwest Indiana’s climate….

“I want to cut it in a circle, put white sprinkles in it and bread it to make it look like okra and give it to my grandma; she likes okra,” Zoe said.

Well, who doesn’t. Do you have a recipe for making cactus taste like Okra?

But seriously, who knew that Opuntias had naturalized in the sand dunes of Indiana?

We told you previously about efforts to keep people from stealing cactus out of gardens. Now the National Park Service is getting into the act of microchipping plants. This is good, but won’t actually help find the plants, only track plants that are already found back to their original source.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

TUCSON (AP) — Anyone swiping a saguaro cactus from the desert could soon be hauling off more than just a giant plant.

National Park Service officials plan to imbed microchips in saguaros, Arizona’s signature plant, to protect them from thieves who rip them from the desert to sell them to landscapers, nurseries and homeowners.

I wonder if you can microchip a tomato plant? The possibilities to track your produce as it travels could be quite entertaining.

…the tragedy is that this election year does look quite a bit like Hoover vs. Roosevelt (and given that choice, I’ll take Hoover)…
Jonah Goldberg

via roy edroso

Re: Dying bamboo!!
Hi Peter (and everyone)!When I called about fungus on my bamboo last week, you said to spray it with a warm water/baking soda mix and put a fan on it. So far, no good and it looks like it might be on its last leg. Could you let me know if there’s any way to save it?Thank you!
Rebecca

Rebecca,

You can try a more aggressive fungicide. Neem Oil might work as an organic solution sprayed on the plant and drenched in the soil at a 1% solution. Or if you want to go synthetic and a lot more aggressive,  there are many on the market, though since we don’t use them we can’t really recommend which one to use.

Hap

And a followup after the break…
(more…)

Another shot of Cercis occidentalis in bloom with some morning dew. Now isn’t that lovely?

Mudpuppy on Etsy is selling ceramic vases for your succulents.

Check out the dog about to eat the succulents, too.

I do think the plants should be planted a little higher though, for aesthetic reasons, you know.

Gary Kavanagh took a photo of a succulent in Persing Square in LA (So one presumes.)

It’s an aloe, possibly A. ferox. Click through to see the full size photo. Very scenic.

Citroen C-Cactus 97.4mpg hybrid edges towards production.

Yeah, but not in the US. Plus the windows don’t work. On the other hand, the new Honda Insight hybrid which will finally replace our model Insight we’ve had for 8 years is finally coming out. Took ’em long enough.

I see they’ve gone with the 4-door.

A letter writer to the Clarendon Sun has this radical suggestion:

After reading that “overgrown” cacti are causing accidents at Gion and Broad streets I’m appalled that they are even a problem. The county could simply drench them with vegetation killer after chopping them off at the base.

Oh my. I wonder what they do in South Carolina when their pets get too big…

Cactus Biotech Announces Improved Milk Production in Cows From
Company's Cactus Cattle Feed
Results Expected to Allow Company to Make Key Marketing Claims

It’s not too hot, but it’s a dry wind.

Gail Collins:
Remember how we used to joke about John McCain looking like an old guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn? It’s only in retrospect that we can see that the keep-off-the-grass period was the McCain campaign’s golden era. Now, he’s beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll.

Here’s a cactus picture for you:

It’s the Button Cactus! Epithelantha micromeris.

Indeed it is cute as a button.

From eHow comes this idea on using Elmer’s glue to remove spines. We prefer duct tape, but you might want to try the glue method.

Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You’ll Need:

* Elmer’s Glue (or any other brand white school glue)
* Anti-bacterial soap
* Paper towel or tissue
* Antiseptic like betadine or hydrogen peroxide
* Antibiotic ointment
* A band-aid
* About ten to fifteen minutes of time!

Step1
Try this method before you decide to pick and poke at the spot where you suspect the tiny, nearly invisible splinter or cactus needle is located…

Step2
Next, shake up a bottle of Elmer’s School Glue…

Step3
Pour a little of the glue into the palm of the hand with the splinter or cactus thorn…

Step4
Use a paper towel or tissue to wipe the excess…

Step5
Allow the glue to dry for about five minute…

Step6
Once the second layer of glue has dried, gently peel off the glue…

Step7
…To limit the chances of infection, conclude by washing the area with anti-bacterial…

Step8
If redness, swelling or pain occurs at the site, this can indicate an infection…

Lots more info at the eHow link.

Cornell Ave.
Sedum “Autumn Joy” in bloom.

Some may ask how can I tell? And in this case, I did a genetic analysis. I compared my results with the results on file at the Smithsonian in Washington, and they confirmed my suspicians. They were even kind enough to overnight the results back to me at no extra charge.

I forgot to blog about cactus today. That’s what happens when you take a day off.

One more shot of the garden art we’re featuring this month, by Suzanne Long.

Gerrardanthus macrorhiza

Classic caudex-forming plant from South Africa. Easy to grow, with massive vining. Tiny flowers coming right at the leaf nodes off the vine. Nice orange color, very unusual.

This member of the Cucurbitaceae family comes from southern Africa. First described by Benth & Hooker, and then by William Henry Harvey in 1867.

This is your final warning. Do not read any further.

A cactus was travelling one year
Along the Western frontier
It came out in the news
that the cactus was nude
Cause the reporter got pricked on the rear.