Now even the Macon (GA) Telegraph is getting into the act. Man, cactus must be popular these days that every podunk newspaper in the country is printing cactus bloom photos. And I’m reposting every single one of them for you.
Diana Baldrica, MCT. Horse-crippler cactus.
You know it would be easy for me to quote from the article too, but I don’t think you really care about what the Macon telegraph has to say about cactus, so I am saving you the trouble of passing over their text. You can thank me in the comments.
Well, the flowers are beautiful and the plants are easy to take care of, but the Los Angeles Times says no one cares.
Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times
Epiphyllum ‘Scoop of Raspberry’
The orchid cactus might be called the Cinderella of the garden world. Most of the year the plant, with disheveled, arched, trailing branches, is easy to ignore. But from February through June, magnificent flowers, some as large as 13 inches across, pop from the notched branches in brilliant shades of red, orange, violet, yellow and gold….
There are 13,000 hybrids registered by the Epiphyllum Society of America….
But mention epiphyllum and most people’s eyes glaze over.
Well, gee, mention 13,000 hybrids and of course eyes are glazing over. Mine are, and I like them.
Well, it may be a little too late for that, what with the pictures.
Hi, I called a few weeks ago about my cactus, attached are photos. I just moved from Richmond to Martinez and my cactus started turning a beautiful deep red color on one side but now it has a disturbing orange stripe down the center. Is it ok? Thank you in advance for your help.
Mona
Mona,
Your Euphorbia looks like it has both sunburn/sun-stress and a fungal infection. The red is sun and the orange/brown/black is a sign of a fungus infection. I suggest spraying it with Neem Oil at 1 or 2%
solution. This will hopefully stop the infection. Spray to the point of run off, in the evening, not morning or afternoon as the oil can add to the sunburn. Respray after a week.
Grant Street
Aloe nobilis with some Aeoniums in the background.
Some very scenic grass and rocks in the foreground. These aloes are just starting to send up bloomstalks, not yet visible in these photos. The rocks are just starting to sprout their own spring stalks, also not visible to the camera, or to the human eye. But what I like best about this photo is the child off-camera to the left who is riding her bicycle along the pathway created between 2 spectacular 25′ tall tree Aloes that have been growing here. clearly, for over 75 years. Wow.
More Newspaper Questions for you to digest, if you don’t mind. This comes from the Jefferson Post Argus World News and Telegraph Report Advertiser Supplement.
Tiffany asks, are there any cacti that don’t have those dangerous sharp spines? I have small children and like the idea of growing cactus, but naturally, I am concerned about their sharp spines and subsequent injuries.
Yes, there are cacti that don’t have sharp spines.
Well, that was easy. On to the next question, I always say.
Well, it’s not really a tale. More of a newspaper story. Really, even, it’s the Arizona Republic answering your questions. Let’s go to the tape:
I have a saguaro that has holes being made by a cactus wren. I know that is what cactus wrens do, but is there any way I can stop it or at least repair the holes after they leave?
This question is brought to me in one form or another about once a year, and it always sort of irks me a bit.
First of all, the wrens didn’t make the hole in the cactus. That was the work of a woodpecker or flicker. The wrens just move in after the original owners leave.
Cactus wrens actually prefer cholla cactus.
Second, unless the cactus is diseased or otherwise really stressed, the holes aren’t going to hurt the cactus. The plant heals itself from the inside by sealing off the hole with a polymer called lignin.
Third, you should be happy to have the cactus wrens around. And all the other birds, lizards, small rodents and everything else that might be attracted to your saguaro. Do you have any idea how many people would like to have something like that in their yards?
Just relax and enjoy your cactus.
That is a fantastic answer, so I hope Clay Thompson doesn’t mind that I quoted it in its entirety.
Hi Peter, Here are the pictures of the cactus I called you about on Monday, I will call you later this afternoon.
Thank you
Peggy
Peggy,
Your cactus is a Cereus, and it has a virus. Because it is so severe, it
does not look like your plant is savable. We recommend tossing it.
Quick, before the virus spreads. Do not put another cactus in that
location. Dispose of the pot. Hopefully it hasn’t already spread.
Sorry I don’t have better news,
Peter
Follow Up: Peggy hired us to come and remove the plant. In person, it was no better. Unfortunately the cactus was not savable. We were hired to remove the plant, and the pieces went straight to the dump. Oy, that was a virus.
Selkirk’s Mary Lawrie with the tiny cactus she bought 32 years ago and left it in the small toilet of her Castle Street home.
That is amazing! 32 years in a toilet, and it’s still alive! I assume she never flushed… Oh, wait, I think in Scottish-speak that must refer to the room, not the fixture… OK, so what else can you tell us, great Scottish Advertiser?
After 30 years, it suddenly produced a flower.
Nifty! Does Mary have anything to say about this?
“It has the most beautiful flower. It comes out first like a grey furry thing that grows and grows ’til it gets to about eight inches long and then it opens. It’s like somebody pulled your ear out and stretched it, that’s what it looks like. The flower is so heavy the plant can’t maintain the weight of it. It’s dead now.”
I can just hear her accent in that quote. Thank you Mary for your 30 years long persistence.
Thank you so much… This is encouraging to hear. Is there a better time to move them than others – spring, fall, would now be OK?
Now is good. You do not want to wait until it is too hot and the plants are in “conservation mode” or winter where the ground is cool and wet as that can lead to rot problems.
I understand I need to be careful on where I re-plant them to try and match the same sun exposure and conditions.? They are currently in a morning shade-corner in the back yard and I want to move them to the front where they will get?a?LOT more sun…?
As long as they are use to full afternoon sun you do not need to worry
about more light, afternoon sun is the strongest and hottest so if they
are getting that now they will be fine.
Should I keep them covered for a while?
If they are not getting full afternoon sun now and you move them then
putting some 50% shade fabric over them for a few weeks and then weaning them off shade will help keep them from getting sunburned. And yes make sure you mark the plants with which way is south and keep them orientated the same way when you replant.
Do you suggest I keep them out of the ground for a few days to let the roots dry??
Only if your soil is wet, which in your area shouldn’t be true…
And does the soil I plant them in have to be dry as well or can it be moist?
It should be kept dry for at least a week or two after transplanting. Some moisture is fine but do not actually water them.
Sorry for all of the questions, but I’d really hate to loose these native cactus.
Steve
Making SundaySauce’s Andrew Scrivani went searching for a cactus pad in New York. Hah! We get them at our local grocer here in Berkeley, but apparently it wasn’t so easy in a giant east coast metropolitan area.
I visited Mexican groceries in my neighborhood and only found the jarred version of the plant….
I… called a Mexican restaurant in the W. Village that serves Nopal… they had a private supplier…. He never called.
And then he gets an offer of 40 lbs from Phoenix. Oy, that’s a lot of pads.
A very entertaining story, indeed. You can also see one of Andrew’s photos I posted (borrowed…) this week. If I’m understanding this he not only photographs the food, he also cooks it. Now that’s what I call a good gig.
As an update to our previous story about the couple who ran from the police right into a cholla patch, here’s a quote the Arizona Republic got from one of the perps:
“I am so stupid,” Psomas said through tears as hospital workers plucked spines from his body. “This is what I get for trying to run from the police.”
Larry Wilson with the Pasadena Star-News put some Opuntia violacea into a galvanized trough for the LA Garden Show. That seems to be the theme of his blog entry at the paper’s blog, Public Eye.
I’m not sure where to look or who to ask, but I have about 8 Compass Barrel cactus in my back yard?that I need to move due to construction. The largest is about 3 feet high.
I live in Palm Springs and I have seen these growing in the local hills / moutains. I REALLY need some advise on how to move them or better yet a way to find an?arborists that I could hire to move them for me.
I would hate to loose them because I did not do it properly so I’m reaching out to see if anyone can help with advise or a reference.
Thank you very much in advance…
Steve
Steve,
Alas, my plant contacts in Palm Springs have all moved away, so I do not have anyone to recommend to move them for you. But the good news is barrels are fairly easy to dig and move, as long as you take the time to wrap them with carpet scraps (nap in towards the spines) and then wrap again in canvas tarps before you dig, so the spines don’t cause serious injuries in you and the plants and you have something safe to hold and carry with. The big trick with transplanting cactus, is to let the roots heal in dry conditions and not to water for a few weeks after injuring the roots. You do not need to get all that many roots as the plat will grow new ones, cacti regularly let their roots dry and die out to conserve water during dry hot weather and then grow new ones as soon as there is a bit of moisture. The other thing to keep in mind is big barrel cactus can weight hundreds of pounds, after all they are mainly water so make sure to bend those knees when lifting.
They have some tips for high-altitude gardening in Denver. “They” being Channel 9 News in Denver.
Plants grown in a greenhouse have yet to experience exposure to the full force of the sun’s rays. The leaves can burn even more easily than our own skin. The easiest way to get them ready for planting is to set them under a tree that’s leafing out. If the plants are meant to go into a sunny spot in your garden, gradually lengthen their time in the sun each day. This could take up to a week. It’s a bit of a bother but worth it in the long run.
Succulents and cactus grown indoors are particularly subject to sunburn. Be extra careful with them in exposing them to the sun. The scalds they suffer if you’re careless may disfigure them for months or even years. I put my collection under a shade cloth for a week or more to prevent damage.
I wonder why they don’t come up with better names for TV stations like they do with newspapers. Channel 9 News is a very dull name. Why not Channel 9 Denver Star News or Channel 17 Pacoima Globe and Press? I personally prefer the Channel 56 Bazooka News and World Report.
A Mesa couple was injured when they ended up rolling in cacti while fleeing from Mesa police Monday….
…bad check… getaway car… police helicopter… fled…
Both suspects were taken to a Mesa hospital after being hurt from rolling in Cholla cacti, according to the report.
I’m a little confused. The story doesn’t say why they were rolling in the cholla. Did they think this would scare the police away? Trying out a Brer Rabbit and the briar patch impersonation? Or maybe they thought this would help bolster their insanity plea later on. Or, or… maybe the cops had them up against a cliff and they jumped to escape and landed in a cholla patch. It could happen.
Everyone wants to know how to remove cactus spines. I say you should use a large pair of rubber-gripped pliers. Well, either that or pull them out with your teeth, being careful they don’t get transfered to your tongue.
The easiest way to remove glochids is with a pair of tweezers. With a dark background and the affected area in bright light, you can usually spot the difference between your own body hair and the straight, stiff, slightly thicker glochid. Once you spot it, just pluck it with your tweezers….
If you get too close to a jumping cholla and a piece breaks off on you or your clothing you will need to use a tool (such as two sticks – using them like chopsticks) in order to pry the cholla off without using your bare hands.
Oh, these tips are ridiculous. Really, the best way to remove a jumping cholla (Opuntia bigelovi) is with pliers. And to remove hundreds of glochids a piece of duct tape works best. A single small spine from any cactus can be removed with tweezers. We use the kind that have a magnifier attached right on them.
In Toronto they think if you eat nopales you’ll get spines in your mouth.
ANDREW SCRIVANI/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Tacos with cactus leaves has a catch – you have to pull the spines from the cactus before digging in.
Well, anyway, in the Toronto Star is an article that apparently was written by the NYTimes who sent a reporter to the Yucatan and came back with a recipe.
Taco Filling With Cactus Leaves
Adapted from Ana Sabrina Rivera del Río; in Spanish, these are Nopales en Ensalada
Time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ resting
2 pounds cactus leaves (nopales), spines removed, coarsely diced (see note)
Salt
3 tomatoes, peeled, coarsely diced and tossed with a pinch of salt
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Mexican oregano (preferably whole, not ground)
Panela or cotija cheese, for serving
In a saucepan, simmer cactus with 1/2 cup water and a large pinch of salt, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.
In a bowl, combine cactus with remaining ingredients except cheese. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving on tortillas; garnish with cheese.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Note: Wear gloves and use a paring knife to remove spines. Mexican and other Latino markets often sell prepared cactus leaves; use 1-1/2 pounds.
How do I know it’s delicious? I don’t. So there. Try it at your own risk, because I make no guarantees.
The LA Times sends their intrepid reporter an hour’s drive away to Joshua Tree NP armed with all the latest gadgets, and he survives.
The Times’ Dan Neil scans the gorgeous, punishing terrain of Joshua Tree National Park, site of his recent solo hiking and camping trip. He was armed with some of the latest in backcountry electronics — the tools of “e-survival,” as he calls it. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Apparently there were 2 people on this trip, the reporter and the photographer.
More from the article:
Going solo into the backcountry — or on a sailboat around Catalina, or on a mountain bike in Moab, Utah, for that matter — always implies a trade-off, the exchange of safety for reverie. Nearly always, the risk is worth it…
Is navigating always about being certain where you are, or is there magic in getting lost and finding your way again, much like life itself?…
Life abounds at Joshua Tree: jumping cholla, candelabra cactus, pinyon and juniper pines, lizards and rabbits and hawks, life everywhere. But it’s all so close to the margin. When a cactus dies in Joshua Tree, it doesn’t just shrivel but suddenly collapses, an ashy skeleton of itself. There are no fat jack rabbits. I take this as an object lesson.
These caudiciform shrubs can get up to 7 feet tall! I’m skeptical. But they do get yellow flowers all year round. And they’re easy to take care of, because if the leaves start wilting, well then it’s time to water, and the leaf pops back up and is the picture of health. In other words, it’s one of the easy plants that form a caudex.
Also notice how the bloom is actually quite long and tubular, with only the leading edge of the petals wide open.
The photoblogosphere has many photos. Blogs, streams, galleries, everyone’s taking pictures. So to help you indentify worthy photos to take the time to view, I’m starting a new link of the day feature focusing on Photoblogging.
Captain Suresh has a very nice flickr stream of cactus bloom photos. Some insects buzzing around the flowers too. I especially like the Ferocactus blooms.
Question: My Christmas cactus is about 4 years old and blooms nicely, but it’s getting too big for its pot. When can it be transplanted?
Answer: Anytime between now and midsummer would be a good time to give your Christmas, or holiday, cactus a new container.
Such a succinct answer. And very clear too. Of course, if you click the link you’ll find the rest of the less succinct answer. I like to stop at the first sentence, myself.
Jim at the Palm Springs Desert Sun spends a day in the desert to find the local Mojave Fishhook Cactus. And finds one!
With the discovery of this one, known to botanists as Sclerocactus polyancistrus, my list was complete. I had found and photographed every kind of cactus known to exist in the deserts of California….
(T)his species is rarely abundant even in favored habitat…. The other factor making it difficult to find a Mojave fishhook is that each specimen looks very much like a browsed clump of bunch grass.
Sounds like Jim has been busy finding cactus in California.
These are a very attractive white-spined small hedgehog cactus from the town of Philo, Texas. Just kidding, they’re found throughout Texas and Oklahoma. They seem to get about 6″ tall, and lots of fuzzy white buds that explode into happy pink and purple goodness.
I’m back and ready to blog up a storm. First I’ll need to go through all those emails stacked up. In the meantime, here’s a Berkeley Succulent photo for you to ponder.
Milvia Street
Aloe ciliaris and Senecio repens, plus I see an Echeveria “Perle von Nurnberg” too.
Alright, now that’s just about enough of that. If I’m dazzled by even one more Echinocereus grandiflora I’ll just fall off the face of the earth and never be heard from again. Think I’m exaggerating? Just try me. I dare you.
In the meantime, you can click on the picture to see the larger version, if you like.
