Cactus Blog 

The Chicago Tribune is inspired by the upcoming olympics to write about competitive gardening. I took an interest in the competitive succulent gardening section, of course.

Among the women of the Lake Forest Garden Club, the competitive spirit may be less muscular in its expression, but it is no less intense. Earlier this year, four of them spent months nurturing a jewel-like miniature landscape of junipers and succulents inspired by an Afghan rug woven in a traditional Persian garden design. The effort won their club a blue ribbon, defeating five other North Shore clubs in the Show of Summer, held at the Chicago Botanic Garden in June.

Good for them. They got written up in one of the largest newspapers in the country because of their skill putting together little itty bitty succulents with junipers. You just never know what the premier news writers in this country will find news worthy.

If you aren’t checking out National Geographic’s photo of the day, you really should.

Dead Trees, Grand Sable Dunes, Michigan, 1991

Photograph by Phil Schermeister

Long-deceased trees cling stubbornly to the steep flanks of Grand Sable Dunes in Michigan’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The precipitous dunes, left behind by ancient glaciers, rise some 300 feet (90 meters) above Lake Superior and spread over 5 square miles (13 square kilometers).

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Big Lost Country,” March/April 1991, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

Dustpan Alley has a picture of an upside down baby mannequin head with a Crassula ovata growing out of it. Angelina thinks succulents have secret lives. I suppose the pictures help to reveal them.

We love us some news roundups! and some exclamation points too! We do!

First up we finally find some pictures of the artificial cactuses! (since they’re artificial, I don’t think they’re “cacti”) being built to provide homes for the cactus wren at the Audubon Society.

Photos courtesy Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

Next up we have a desert newspaper telling us about how to make your desert garden high-style by using succulents! Well, that’s nuts! It’s not a possibility, it’s a requirement to have succulents, or the garden just isn’t stylish at all. Get with the program!

Low on water, high on style

“I got rid of a lot of lawn and all the ficus trees and then converted my yard to desert landscape”… Karvelis didn’t want to use tropical plants but his yard is still very colorful.

“People think of desert landscape as sand (and) rocks… but there are lots of flowering plants that work with little water.”

Now you know what it takes, so you too can get with the program.

And apparently succulents are getting even more popular in South Carolina! (since they’re experiencing a drought there too.)

“Drought is as common as thunderstorms and hot summer days…”

Use the right plants for the right spots… One suggestion is to use plants that hug the ground and have thick succulent foliage.

We agree.

And finally, we find that succulents are also becoming more popular in Washington too! Who knew?

Hi,

What can I do to save it?

I have been watering it more regularly (every 2 weeks)

I just gave it food.

It gets plenty of sun.

– Mike

That’s kind of like a poem. I like it. Shall we answer? Well, Hap already has:

Hap

And it’s… John Kerry! at a fundraiser:

“I don’t know if you know this,” joked Kerry, “John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you’re on the short list.”

What a card!

Victoria Daily Photo has 2 great closeups of a mystery iceplant. Maybe a Delosperma. But it could be many others. Still, such lovely photos.

This is the plant in question. I left all my information with a lady. thank you for taking the time to help me.
-Jennifer M

Jennifer,

It is a Pachypodium. Most likely a Pachypodium saundersi that wants more light or a Pachypodium succulantum that wants more light (I would need to see the plant in person and perhaps in bloom to tell for sure which species it is). The branches look elonated which means they are stretching for more light and that makes it hard to know which one it is.

take care,
Hap

The town of Methven somewhere in New Zealand is set to reap the benefits of a cactus programme. Well, who wouldn’t? I think you should get your town to start a cactus programme and then you too could reap the benefits.

Look at those smiling kids and their benefits-reaping. They’ve earned some very valuable cactus certificates.

Children in Methven will now have the opportunity to reap the benefits of a Cactus programme similar to the… Ashburton course.

Methven’s youth mentor Debbie Cameron will begin the programme there with the help of Ashburton youth support worker and Cactus co-ordinator Kerry Kampjes.

Wow.

Now, if only they told us what a cactus programme was, then we’d really be set to set up our own.

The Smithsonian has beautiful botanical illustrations. And it’s cactus fruit season at the nursery. We have fruit bursting out of echinocereuses, echinopsises, mammillarias, opuntias and more. That means it’s time to take a look at some botanical illustrations of cactus fruit. See, it all makes sense in the end.

copyright © Smithsonian Institution

Plate Number: 1778
Publication: The Cactaceae Vol. 2 Pl 16, Fig 3
Client: Britton, N.L. and Rose, J.N. – Size: 11×14

Acanthocereus subinermis (Cactaceae) – Collection: Rose, Mexico, between Mitla & Oaxaca City; fruiting branch.
Artist: Eaton, M.E. – Date unknown – watercolor

They eat them some weeds in South Dakota, if a noted local herbalist can be believed. Apparently, they even eat wild succulents, although they remain unnamed at this time. If I were a reporter I would call this person up and get a quote and ask for some names. Good thing I’m no reporter.

Dumdey, a certified herbalist and nutritional herbologist, had foraged the grasses, plants, flowers and succulents from her own herbal garden as well as the open fields and trails found in the Black Hills and near the Wyoming border.

“These plants can be found in your yards and along roads, but I would be careful about what I harvested,” she said.

Some might call me chicken, but I’l stick to the tried and true – well-cooked pork products, like bacon and ham, but especially bacon. 

Actually, we’re have an employee barbecue tonight and we’re not serving any pork at all. Local veggies, turkey dogs, and chicken sausages. Plus if Hap remembered, maybe some hamburgers too.

It’s the worlds smallest snake and I couldn’t resist it’s tiny charms. The BBC reports:

The world’s smallest snake, averaging just 10cm (4 inches) and as thin as a spaghetti noodle, has been discovered on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The snake, found beneath a rock in a tiny fragment of threatened forest, is thought to be at the very limit of how small a snake can evolve to be.

Found under a rock. Well, that just beats all. I wonder where it found the quater?

Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid

These large hedgehog cacti that get dozens, even hundreds of blooms, also get pollinated by our bees. The bees love them. And so we get fruit. And seeds.

If you let a hybrid get hybridized with other hybrids and go to seed, well then you don’t know what you’re going to get, now do you? That’s how I like it. That’s why we don’t attach cultivar names to our grandifloras, or a lot of our other hybridized cacti – hybridizing is so simply a natural process that the results really are just individuals. They vary! what a shock. It’s all good.

You know that we get questions here at the Cactus Blog, and we post them on the blog, and we like when readers send us photos. However, sometimes we’re stupid and lose the photos. But I’m posting the question and answer anyway. Because that’s just the way I feel today.

Hi Hap,
I saw this cactus in a magazine and thought it was really cool. Any idea what kind it is or if cactus jungle sells it?
Thanks,
Ashley

p.s. Got the Neem Oil you suggested!

Ashley,

Alas the photo is too small to tell for sure, but it is either an Echinocerus, Echinopsis or an Euphorbia. But we have all three that look very similar.

Hap

[Ed: Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.]

Have you noticed that my headlines are getting wordier? It may be that I’m getting a little punchy. I usually like very short, abstract headlines. But not right now.

Anyway, on to the fantastic news that I’m rounding up from around the world, to you. You’d be amazed at all the cactus and succulent news I ignore, only blogging the best of the best. (Yes, I know, shocking isn’t it.)

First up is an expensive spa treatment in South Carolina that includes smearing cactus on your face. ABC News reports:

On this weeks Wrinkle Free Wednesday we’re heading to Wisteria Salon and Spa who are doing their part to Go Green (with) a fully Organic Facial…

The ingredients include Argon, from Argon trees… and cactus.

Next up is some news you can use. So the Huntington Garden in SoCal has succulent classes, and if you’re in the area, the collection can’t be beat, so you might want to check it out. I’m just saying.

Aug. 14, 2:30 p.m. “Succulents for the Home Garden,” at the Huntington Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108, (626) 405.2100.

John Trager, curator of desert collections at The Huntington, will discuss how to bring unexpected beauty, color, and diversity to the home landscape with succulent plants. A plant sale will follow the talk. Free.

But you don’t live in Southern California. You live in Denver, so what’s available for you? Well, Denver’s own Channel 9 News is on the beat:

KUSA – Gardeners love to plant. While lack of rain and high heat have curtailed most planting, one group of plants can still fulfill your creative urges: succulents. These desert plants lend themselves to a project during high summer.

One likely project is to plant a dry land garden in an old strawberry pot.

Now that’s just sensible.

Now for the big news: If you want your own local cactus news updates, then you know, send along those updates to me and I’ll blog them for you. Because that’s just the kind of cactus blogger that I am.

Cleistocactus azerensis

You’d think from the name this plant was from Arizona, but no, it is from Bolivia, where the hummingbirds love the blooms and the small fruit then burst with seeds that I’m sure some other bird must feast on too.

Tall slender columns covered in golden spines. Vast quantities of red blooms. Fast growing, make great focal specimens in any garden, in case you were looking for a focal specimen for your garden, that is, because have we got a deal for you.

The final shot in Benjamin’s amazing photo shoot up on the Sonoma Coast.

He’s a very photogenic pooch. Previous coast photos are here and here.

Hi,

What a great resource! Attached is a golden barrell of mine. I cant exactly describe what it is doing, but as you will see it is striping or shriveling? Maybe varigation (sp)? See attached. I dont think these are wrinkles, although it is very difficult to get a finger in there and tell. The cactus has been around for many years and has been healthy and otherwise appears so. It is currently in a greenhouse, with filtered sunlight. Any thoughts or anything to worry about?

Thanks again.
Matt (portland oregon)

Matt,

Plants grown inside usually have a few quirks. Your Barrel (Echinocactus grusonii) looks pretty good, the odd lines are likely seasonal growth lines, so I would recommend giving it a bit more calcium, as the spines are getting thinner and try upping the light exposure, Echinocactus can take full sun once they are over a few years old.

Good luck,
Hap

A Trip Down Succulent Lane got a beautiful Euphorbia lactea ghost crest graft as a gift. Photo ensued. What’s not to like?

…in the shape of a cactus. What more could you possibly ever want. This is it, everything put together into one flattering shape. I could wax poetic for months and never really get to the heart of the matter as clearly as this vase does. It makes me feel inadequate. I may have to stop blogging. Certainly, I should stop my limericks.

Signed on bottom by what appears to be Christian Tortu –Luminous clear blue and amber tone glass in potted cactus shape –Could be used as vase, holes in cactus arms also see photo) –Mint condition

Size: 9w x 5d x 19h
Condition: Mint

Better hurry, this item won’t last long (it’s an auction).

It’s the cactus from yesterday’s video in full bloom, up close.

Ferocactus hamatacanthus

Update: In comments below, Aiyana asked if I use black backdrops, which I do. However, for this photo, there was no backdrop since I cropped it pretty severely. However, the cactus underneath the blooms was in deep shadow. If you look closely, you can sort of see it. Here’s a closeup of the lower right corner where I’ve used photoshop to lighten the shadow area so you can see the cactus beneath:

Here we have a 2 part question.

Q: I have a cactus tha is over 15 years old. I was watering it the other day and was picking it up when it almost broke in half. What should I do to keep it alive.

Jeffrey

Preliminary answer:

Jeffrey,

Can you email me a photo? If it is a big break it may be that you need to cut it off and re-root it, if it is a species that will re-root. If it isn’t you will need to “splint” it and hope that it will heal up strong enough to support it’s weight. But a photo would help me give you better advice.

Hap

…and, yes, here comes a new email with photo… so now we get the rest of it….

Jeffery,

I would recommend repotting in fresh cactus soil, mulching with a small rough gravel like lava or small crushed rock and laying the whole cacus on it’s side on top of the gravel, it should root along the length and then grow new “pups” along the length and turn in to a many headed cactus. Do not use smooth gravel like aquarium gravel as it stays too wet. It does look like it would like more light… so try moving it closer to the window or to a south or west facing window.

Good luck,
Hap

Ferocactus hamatacanthus

These large barrels have thin hooked spines, yellow blooms and greenish fruit.

I can’t decide between the bud photo with bloom in the background or the bloom photo with the buds nearby:

Such choices will have to be made.

In the meantime, I’m posting a video later today that includes this very plant a couple days later in full bloom. Look for it!

Hi guys,

I have a question for you about a beautiful Ferocactus latispinus that I purchased from you in February. The plant had been living at your shop, on one of the outdoor racks, for many months through the Berkeley winter. About a week after I bought it I moved to Los Angeles…en route to New Zealand. Unfortunately, the cactus had to stay behind in southern California, where it is living with my mom. About 5 days after we (the cactus and I) arrived in LA I noticed that parts of the plants were experiencing what looked like bleaching or loss of pigment. It was warm in LA, but not too hot, and for acclimation reasons I had put the plant in an area where it would get some direct but mostly filtered light. I thought the bleaching would be a temporary effect of the transition to a warmer and/or brighter setting, and that the pigment would return, but my mom just sent me some photos and it looks like those parts of the plant are still quite pale…about the color of the pale/yellow form of Euphorbia ammak v. variegata. This concerns me, but the cactus does appear to be (somewhat) “happy” as it is growing and the region of new growth on the top of the plant is the deep green color I’d expect. Can you explain what I’m seeing? This little guy is my favorite plant and I want to do whatever I can to keep him healthy and happy. I’d send a picture but my mom doesn’t have a digital camera. If you need a pic for proper diagnosis I can arrange for one to be taken. Thanks very much for your help! Hope all is going well at the jungle.

Best
Yuri
Department of Zoology
University of Otago
New Zealand

Yuri,

It sounds like the bleached parts are a sign of sunburn, it most likely happened by the north facing side suddenly getting rotated to face south after the move and the skin cells that were not ready for UV getting a good zap. It will take a long time to heal up and if it was a bad burn it may convert the burned areas to “bark” rather than green skin… but the chlorophyll may still recover. As long as the growing tip at the crown looks green and healthy, the plant will eventually grow out it though it may have scars.

Take care,

Hap

p.s. does your post-doc in zoology get you out to see the Tuatara? They are so cool! I want to meet one someday.

Echinopsis peruviana

Continuing my outsourced blogging from earlier today, from wikipedia:

Some uses for Echinopsis peruviana include:^[1]

• For dandruff and seborrhea or for a general shampoo, mucilage of the stem is used.

• Sore throat: Decoction of the stem.

• Antirheumatic: The stem is cut, soaked for a day and the next day used to wash the area of pain with this mucilage water.

• Vetrinarial: For getting rid of pig parasites, the cactus stem is peeled, smashed and let to soak in water overnight. It is then mixed with food given to the animal.

• Adherent in paints: The peeled stems are beaten and left to stand in water, filtrate is added to minerals such as lime or gypsum. The result is a kind of gum for paint.

• Wood: The dried stalks are very resistant to moths. The dried stalks are used to make scales and in the construction of houses.

Good to know. And still there’s more, on the ethnobotanical qualities of the plant:

It contains a number of psychoactive alkaloids, in particular the well-studied chemical mescaline, which it sometimes contains at higher levels than those of Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro cactus), although not as high as Lophophora williamsii (Peyote).

Echinopsis peruviana

I feel like outsourcing my blogging today. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about this spectacular ethnobotanical cactus:

A fast-growing columnar cactus native to the western slope of the Andes in Peru, between about 2000-3000 meters above sea level.

The plant is bluish-green in colour, with frosted stems, and 6-8 broadly rounded ribs; it has large, white flowers. It can grow up to 7 meters tall, with stems up to 20 cm in diameter; it is fully erect to begin with, but later possibly arching over, or even becoming prostrate. Groups of 6-8 honey-coloured to brown rigid spines, up to 4 cm in length, with most about 1 cm, are located at the nodes, which are evenly spaced along the ribs, up to approximately 2.5 cm apart.

A short-spined variant which is nearly identical in appearance to its relative, Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro cactus), is known. It is therefore possible that many misidentified plants are being sold (both as Peruvian Torch and as San Pedro), but since local variations as well as hybrids do exist (both cultivated and natural), this will obviously make proper identification difficult.

More later today…

…if we can identify a plant or two for them.

Q: Hi Peter and Hap,

I’m attaching some not good photos.

The red succulent I just wondered what it’s called. It grows great in the clay soil.

The biggest cluster of “little blue/green beans” is on the left side of my shadow in the vertical center of the shot. There are a few more above those and more in the center. And there’s a lone one below the big cluster. They have a spike-like texture to them & they’re the size of peas. I love them & would like to try them in the other, better soil.

Phyllis

A: Phyllis,