Cactus Blog 

Our first new California Ribes this year, and it’s a white-flowering California Ribes this year to add to our currently blooming pink and red flowering California Ribes.

Ribes “White Icicle”

California Native
Deciduous Shrub
Sun: Sun to Part Shade
Water: Low
Size: to 8ft.

Icy white flower clusters in early spring lead to dark blue hued berries in summer. The flowers attract native bees and butterflies while the berries are a good source of food for other local wildlife including birds. Hardy to 10F.

Cercis occidentalis

Southwestern US/California Native
Evergreen tree

Sun: Full to Partial
Water: Winter rain, summer drought
Size: 20ft.

Careful not to disturb roots when transplanting. Magenta flowers in Spring. From rocky soils at foothills. Bright green kidney-shaped leaves.

Aloe nobilis

Low growing, the rosettes will get to about 12″ across. We often see them in a dense cluster of rosettes. Not like the picture, which is a tray of single plants – a single set flat if you will – but they will naturally grow a large cluster, even sometimes mounding up higher than the single rosette size.

Botanically speaking, it is probably a hybrid aloe, possibly including some Aloe brevifolia parentage.

In full sun the tips of the leaves will have a rose-colored glow. Hardy down to about 20F, we’ve never lost any to winter here in the Berkeley area of the California coast.

Now through the 10th.

Our plants are at the Chive booth. We love Chive and sell all their products, and now they are selling our products too! At the Chive booth! in Philadelphia! PA!

According to CactGuy, Cactus Season has begun!

I think this means you can start fertilizing and watering.

Adenia glauca – a vining caudiciform with tons of little yellow flowers coming for spring.

Not only does it have a very solid caudex, it also grows a substantial below ground taproot. Such efficiency in a succulent! We do recommend keeping it indoor, or at least bringing it indoor if the temp is going to drop below 45F.

These are from the Northern, drier parts of South Africa. Not so much a winter-rainfall area as the Southern parts of the country.

You can actually grow this plant from cuttings, near the caudex, but you probably won’t get a new caudex out of it. Still, it is a pretty vine with pretty flowers.

I have recently seen this appear on my cactus it is hard to the touch. Could you tell me what it is and how to treat if I can.

Neal

Neal,

From the photo it looks like it could have been beetles chomping on your cactus, or a simple case of winter rot. Since you say it is now hard to the touch you probably don’t have to do anything, however I would spray with hydrogen peroxide and follow up in a week with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil (never use any neem product called Rose Defense) just to be sure. On the other hand if you see it spreading then send me another picture, a closeup in good focus.

Peter

Beautiful striped bromeliads among the orchids high up in the jungle canopy of a Kapok tree, from National Geographic’s Photo of the Day.

Yasuní National Park, Ecuador

Photograph by Steve Winter, National Geographic

From the bromeliads, ferns, and orchids that cover a kapok tree 160 feet above the forest floor to the jaguars that prowl below, Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park is home to countless plant and animal species.

Click through for the full picture.

Olea africana is a very successful Olive Tree for the Bay Area. They produce a most delicious small black olive, if you are willing to process them. The beautiful trees will grow about 20ft. tall and provide a really nice canopy for shade in the summer.

Olea europaea ssp. africana
African Olive

Mediterranean Native
Evergreen tree

Sun: Full
Water: Winter rain, summer drought
Size: Slow growing to over 20ft.

Pea-sized black fruit. Picturesque shade tree with glossy dark green leaves, brown on the undersides.

We bought some black bamboo about a year ago from you guys. They are doing great and wow does it grow fast!

I had a question about an agave that we’ve had a little while longer. It has been sporting these little yellowish spots on it lately and they seem to be multiplying. We’ve been watering it about once a month over the winter. This one and another one we bought are the first we’ve owned so I’m not quite sure what its ailment might be. (the other one seems fine aside from re-potting shock it endured a little while back)

Is this indicative of something wrong? Pic is attached. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

-Jared

Jared,
It looks like your Agave attenuata has taken some winter damage from the freeze we had in January. Over time these damaged leaves will die off and be replaced by new leaves that will come out of the center of the plant. In the meantime there’s not a lot you need to or can do.
Peter

First of all, let me just say that I love your blog. You guys are wonderful. I have gotten so much of my (admittedly limited) knowledge about succulents and cacti from reading it that I just can’t begin to thank you enough.

I have two questions. One I’m a little worried about because I suspect I won’t like the answer. In the second photo here, you can see my new Euphorbia Ammak up close… and there’s some discoloration, both pink and brown. The brown looks like it could be rot; it was just replanted, and it seems (see: right side of photo) perhaps someone at one point cut away some rot, which scabbed over. The brown is just at the bottom there; it does not continue up and is not soft or mildewy.

The plant itself is about 5′ and seems happy otherwise. The odd pink continues up the plant in a few vertical patches but ONLY one one side.

I am hoping you will say that the pink is just sunburn and the brown was rot that has apparently been handled, as the top looks good and has grown several feet past the brown at the base. If you do, I will do a happy dance. I love this baby and don’t want to have to lop it off at the top. But I’m a little worried these patches are something more serious. Boo!

Two, in the first photo (which also shows the euphorbia’s height), I would love your help ID’ing that beautiful purple plant in the hanging basket. I bought it when it was just a few spindly arms and, since repotting it, it’s grown and segmented quite beautifully, with tiny pink blossoms along the length sometimes blooming. However it does seem the segments are a bit thinner and I am wondering if I am not taking proper care of it. It gets some direct morning light and then a good deal of bright shade the rest of the day.

Thank you for any help you can provide. Love you guys! Wish you were closer! (I’m in San Diego!)

Lindsey

Lindsey,
The pink does look like sunburn – when it was repotted maybe it got turned around?

The brown does look like some rot as a result of the sunburn, caused probably by a fungus. It should be able to heal. I recommend spraying, out of sun, with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil – though don’t use anything called Rose Defense. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t continue spreading. If it does, it may be prone to a virus which can then spread quickly throughout the plant.

The hanging basket cactus is a Lepismium cruciforme and probably wants less direct sun than it is getting.

Let me know how it goes
Peter

Echeverias are easily hybridized, from Mexico, colorful and popular. Very popular right now. And… They are in the Crassula family! Crassulaceae, to be precise.

Echeveria “Blue Cloud” is a stunning blue succulent, indeed.

Echeveria “Afterglow” is one of those wildly colorful hybrids.

Echeveria imbricata is a long time classic succulent, and also the shadiest shade – tolerant Echeveria around.

Echeveria “Baron Bold” has caruncles.

Can anyone identify this succulent? @CactusJungle #succulents

Cheiridopsis candidissima

Fenestraria aurantiaca is the classic strange succulent in the Mesemb family. Related to the Lithops, these are also very low water plants. We recommend keeping them out of full sun and watering every 3-4 weeks. With more sun and more water they can grow quite big, relatively speaking, but then they are very rot prone and most people will find that a higher water level schedule will kill them. Harsh!

The Fenestraria genus includes only two species: Fenestraria rhopalophylla (with white flowers) and Fenestraria aurantiaca (with yellow flowers), which in time have gained various hybrids, with very beautiful flowers (red and orange).

It also appears that F. aurantiaca is no longer considered a separate species, but is a subspecies of F. rhopalophylla. So I guess I better get all my tags updated.

Mary sends along a shot of her blooming Madagascar succulent.

Nice!

This is a shot of the Alluaudia we had blooming last summer. Cheers! Mary

From Art Chang’s instagram feed, succulents from the Cactus Jungle. You can even see the frequent buyer card hiding in the box!

Don’t forget to follow my Cactus Jungle/personal instagram feed too. More succulent photos every day! More whippet photos!

*snap*

ta-da!

Brian adds the finishing touches on a custom mixed pot for a customer.

Nice!

Anne found an article on the Beeb letting us know that Nepenthes can sometimes glow blue.

Yes, blue.

How blue? Well, blue enough that it looks like the carnivorous plants have cold lips.

Arctostaphylos “Paradise”

The Manzanitas are looking very fresh on such a beautiful Sunday.

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis “Paradise”
California Native/Western US
Evergreen shrub

Sun: Full Sun
Water: Low, summer-drought
Size: 5’t x 8’w. in 10 years

“Large clusters of flowers of a lovely shade of pink in winter. Older foliage is blue-green and the newest growth is bronze red. Should be able to tolerate some summer water.”

Nice and red from all that sun!

Cacti Guy has been grafting Echinocereus onto Pereskiopsis to get them to grow faster. It’s kind of a strange sight.

And don’t confuse Cacti Guy with CactGuy who instead has a tumblr filled with photos like this one of a beautiful Manfreda.

Hi,

I have a plant that I purchased about 2-1/2 years ago from you. While I left it in the pot, it continued to grow and looked heathy. Last summer, I transplanted it into the ground in a sunny spot. It stopped growing, and developed a yellow tinge. Now, the yellow spots are turning soft.

I have a new raised bed with much better drainage and a bit less sun. My question is: can I move it right now, or must I wait until it warms up? I live in Sacramento. Is it too late to save? It is soft at the top of the plant, not near the roots.

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer,

Kathryn

Kathryn,
If when it was in the pot it was in a less sunny location, it may have sunburned from being put out into full sun, especially in a Sacramento summer.

And then in winter, it looks like you have automatic watering at the plant? If so that could make the problem worse in winter. It is possible that the soil was moist when we had our freeze in January.

So it looks like it is rotting from the tip. In general that means you want to cut the rotted tips off down to where you can see fresh clean green tissue on the inside of the plant. You will then have to protect the tips for a few weeks while they callous over. Given how far this has progressed, I would recommend doing the cutting now, turning off the water and protecting it from any rains, and then waiting until April or May to transplant it. Basically you want it to start getting better before you cause any transplant stress.

You should spray the cut tips with hydrogen peroxide to help them heal over. Watch for further rot and if needed spray with an organic fungicide like neem.

In the future it is best to water Opuntia subulatas in the ground very very sparingly. Once established you don’t have to ever water them unless you are getting over 95F.

Good luck

Peter

Me and the Jason on a sunny day at the nursery.

We get lots of snow in California. Or in parts of California. Like Lake Tahoe. They get lots of snow. Not us. Apparently they don’t get lots of snow in Yucca Valley, CA either, but enough snow that it sometimes snows there like when CNN reports on the snow covering the cactus in Yucca Valley.

Can you name all three?
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