Cactus Blog 

Aloe variegata in bud. Also known as the Partridge Aloe, or more precisely one of the 2 Partridge Aloes.

San Pablo Ave.
Aloe ciliaris in bloom.

Our latest addition to our airplant collection is the beautiful and expensive Tillandsia mauryana. I wonder who this Maury was that this species was named after? The species is from Mexico and was discovered, and thus named, by L.B. Smith. Maybe it was named after L.B.’s father? Maury Smith?

Here’s a link to an official sample by L.B. Smith from 1937 in the collection of the National Herbarium of the United States National Museum.

L.B. also discovered and named Begonia foliosa var. miniata which is a very pretty hardy landscape begonia with small leaves. Annie’s sometimes grows it.

It’s a Good Luck Beaver, by local artist Jeff Pidgeon, visiting our Happy Succulents.

The Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society took a visit to the African section at the UC Davis Botanical garden, and Bamboo and More was there to take all the blooming African Aloe pictures. It does appear to have been a sunny day, too.

Pseudobombax ellipticum, or as we prefer to call it, Bombax ellipticum. I’ve never seen one this size bloom, and just the one flower.

Nice!

Joe is joining our blog today! Please be welcoming to Joe. Say hi when you can. Like now would be a good time. Scroll down to his first post, and comment!

And you can visit his tumblr blog too, this is 4 my blog.

Rikki working on one of her signature terrariums.

Beautiful!

3 Adeniums and 1 Pachypodium.

First up we have three hybridized Adenium obesum flowers with very different colors. How do they get so many colors?

1. A fairly standard, but very saturated, solid pink.

2. A crazy bi-color. Most 2-color Adenium flowers are center/edge colored, not striped like this.

3. This one is closest to the true species. And you can see the 2-colored with the petals being white towards the center and pink along the edges.

And then we have a very lovely solid yellow colored Pachypodium rosulatum flower.

I don’t know anything about this painting. I found it on the Instagrams, photo by justinclemons.

If we assume this picture was painted in Texas, and the cowboy is from 1892, given the outfit he’s wearing, especially the trademark red bandana, plus the length of the horse’s tail, we can determine this picture was painted in West Creek, Texas in July and from that we can determine the species  of the cacti the horse is trying to avoid: Opuntia cowboyensis ssp. redtexbandanensis.

Good to know!

South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society Lecture
Sunday, Feb 10 1:30p
South Coast Botanic Garden Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

Peter Walkowiak from San Diego will give a hands-on demonstration on “How to grow and hybridize Euphorbias — Medusa and Caudex forms.” Peter has won many awards for his plants and will be bringing some of those to sell.

Actually that does seem pretty interesting, though not much to do with cactus at all. I guess my headline above is totally misleading – both for its sarcastic tone and the reference to cactus.

Crassula perforata have the tiniest of blooms. They don’t really look like much. They crowd together at the tips of a growing stem which will then benefit when you cut the spent blooms off. It’s hard to tell without a magnifier when they’re spent or still in bloom. I would guess the tiny flowers are only 2mm across, but then I don’t know the metric system at all so I could be wrong. Here’s a life-size metric ruler, so they say, that shows what 2mm is.

The macro photo is not so clear. But it’s the best I’ve been able to get. It almost looks like a watercolor. Here is the same photo with a watercolor filter applied.

Nice!

This time its the Fat Cactus in San Ramon that is now kaputz.

It had a nice sign, back in the days, though no cacti in front.

But don’t worry, it will be reopening as a hawaiian themed burger joint.

What am I even talking about? Keep me away from the blog!

Danger Garden visited the Cactus Ranch in New Mexico and photos ensued. I especially like the ghost Euphorbias. But there’s enough photos to last anyone in their right mind hours of fun and entertainment.

That’s a Dimetrodon about to nibble on a Lithops.

Bad dinosaur!

Grevillea “Magic Lantern”

Native to Australia
Evergreen Shrub

Sun: Full Sun
Water: Low, in well-draining soil
Size: 3ft tall x 4-6ft. wide
Mounding low shrub that often stays below 1ft. tall, but can grow up a bit with encouragement. Grey foliage and showy red flower clusters. Do not cut back in summer before blooming. Do not fertilize, do not overwater. Hardy to 28F.

Grevillea have their own subfamily, Grevilleoideae, in the Protea Family, Proteaceae. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville.

Apparently this idea is an idea for upcycling – otherwise known as re-using, but with a fancy name.

There’s no instructions at the Upcycle site. And it doesn’t tell you how long they will last in those tiny “pots”. Good luck!

CactGuy has found some very “colorful” cacti and succulents, i.e. they’re painted or dyed and will not be long for this world. Poor things.

We’ve seen them out and around at the trade shows, along with things like blue orchids. Oh the horror.

You can help restore cactus wren habitat! But only if you happen to be in Irvine this weekend, or are willing to drive there ASAP.

Cactus Wren Habitat Restoration
Saturday, Feb 2 9:00a to 12:30p

Help the recovery and movement of the cactus wren in the City of Irvine and surrounding open space areas. The project area is one of several that have been arranged in a line-of-sight fashion in an attempt to facilitate a rebound of cactus wrens. Volunteers will plant cactus using special tools. Bring water, snacks, sun protection, long sleeves, long pants, a hat, and good shoes. Tools, safety equipment, will be provided by Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Pre-registration is required.

They’re so cute! Those cactus wrens….

It must be winter-growing-aloe-bloom-season in the Bay Area!

Aloe africana is an African Aloe also known as African Aloe. It’s from South Africa, of course. The Eastern Cape. These are some very orange flowers. The plant itself is a single-stemmed, generally solitary tree aloe to 10ft. tall. The marginal spines are vigorous, though not so large or numerous as to be hazardous.

Want to know how to grow succulents indoor in New Jersey? Well if you want to grow them outside you are out of luck and not just because of the weather. Also because the class listed below is only for people who like to grow their succulents indoor in New Jersey which is also everyone who likes to grow succulents in New Jersey. Except for Sempervivums. Those you can grow outside too.

Barlow’s Flower Farm & Garden Center
Sea Girt, NJ,

Saturday, February 9, 1:00 PM

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon in our tropical greenhouse while you discover the versatility of using succulents as houseplants. Although many people don’t think of them as houseplants, they are extremely forgiving of under watering and forgetful plant owners. Their ease and variety of shapes and sizes make them ideal accents for the home. In this class, each student will create an 8” succulent dish garden to bring home, while learning about care, soil requirements, design, and maintenance.

Sounds like fun!

The Aloe speciosa’s blooms are coming along nicely. This particular bloom spike should last a couple more weeks.

This is apparently from an episode of the Power Rangers called Ep. 20: The Toxic Flower Cactus of Death.

Nice!

Euphorbia myrsinites

Native to S. Europe, Italy to Turkey
Evergreen herbaceous perennial

Sun: Moderate to Full Sun
Water: Drought tolerant
Size: 12″ tall x 12″ wide

Grey-green leaves, topped with sulphur yellow bloom sprays. Low-growing, creeping spurge. Deer-resistant. Hardy to 0F.

Don’t call them Bandaids.

Would you buy a pack of Cactus Band(ages)(aids) from a cactus store?

If so, would you pay $5.99 for a pack? What if I told you they came with a free toy inside? Would you buy it then?

I mean from us, a cactus nursery, not from a drug store or a toy store.

A cactus that attacks it’s owner?!?

Oh the Horror!

You can read the whole 5 page horror story about the attacking cactus. I especially like the part about it being a misunderstood cactus – a loving cactus that just loves too much.

Sent in by Trey at The Golden Gecko. Thanks Trey!