Cactus Blog 

Tillandsia duratii “Curly” lives up to its name. These are awesome.

Rhipsalis bloom.

We sold out of our first pack of Squid BART T-shirts from Gamago too quickly – so quickly that we only had one left when the monthly email went out.

But fear not, we now have more – although they are a limited edition so our current stock will be it.

Did I mention we now carry some interesting locally made T-Shirts? We do!

Toy Obama in a nest says, “Vote.” I’d listen to toy Obama if I were you.

Hi there —

Any chance you can tell me what it is I’m taking care of here (in the foreground)? I bought it at a yard sale in July because it gave me Dr. Seuss flashbacks. Think maybe I haven’t been watering it enough, as it sure looks fluffier & happier since the rain.

And don’t judge my cacti/succulent bench mess! I’m trying to figure out where everyone needs to be for this our first winter together. I sure wish the kids not from CJ were already repotted in your soil, but, ya know, if dreams were thunder & all.

Thanks a ton,
Cheri

Cheri,

You have a Senecio cylindricus (or possibly a Senecio mandraliscae). The plant looks happy and healthy, if a bit more Dr. Seuss-ey than is usual.

Peter

It’s that time of year when the Christmas Cactus start to bloom. We have some in bloom and some in bud. Nice!

Schlumbergera orssichiana Wow! That’s a big Christmas Cactus.

The baby is in a nest of Tillandsia usnoides! Awwww, so cute!

Go baby… Go baby…

I’ve started on a new project.

Our Terrarium wall is coming together nicely. Succulent Terrariums and Airplant Terrariums.

I should have the wall fully planted and completed by Wednesday. That’s my plan.

Now where do we put the organic seed racks for winter?

Jennifer sends along a picture of a double-blooming Sea Squill. The photo is hard to see, but the sight is awesome.

Urginea maritima

Stewart who lives in Alamo.

How did  I ever miss this?

It’s a Zombie Cactus! And it’s a pincushion! As handmade by SheWhoStamps.

I don’t know much about this, but we do have a couple of fairly rare specimens at the nursery right now. It’s called Cucumber Tree because it is. A tree, and a member of the cucumber family. The only tree in the Cucurbitaceae family that includes melons, squashes and cucumbers, but not the only succulent member.  There’s also this other caudiciform we carry, the better known Ibervillea lindheimeri.

Dendrosicyos socotranus

Dendrosicyos is a monotypic genus in the Cucurbitaceae. The only species is Dendrosicyos socotranus, the cucumber tree. The species is endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen, and is the only species in the Cucurbitaceae to grow in a tree form.

Would you like to see an old-timey photo of the tree in habitat in Yemen courtesy of Wikipedia?

Wikipedia

Nice!

Now would you like to see a closeup of the leaves? Here you go.

They do look a bit like squash leaves!

Cactus as a part of the traditional Dia de los Muertos celebration? Well it’s not traditional, but you might as well check it out from the Smith & Jones Museum of Folk Art.

You can tell it’s not traditional since those little cactus candles are modern candles – in fact they’re the same ones we sell!

In case you were wondering, here’s a more traditional Day of the Dead altar.

Impatiens niamniamensis “Hare’s Hybrid”

Winter is here so that means we’re bringing out more houseplants to go with all those terrariums. This is a pretty interesting one. It will get 2 to 3 ft. tall, shrubby, and is at least semi-hardy around here, although it is frost sensitive so we have it indoor. Not to mention it prefers shady conditions – part to full shade! While it is evergreen, and it does flower all year round, it also does want to be watered a bit more regularly than we should are able to accomplish what with all our cactus and succulents and the like. In general you should water once per week since it’s going into a shady location in your home and the soil won’t particularly dry out all that quickly.

Here’s the flower close up. I did some work on this photo – can you figure out where?

We have some spectacular new terrarium glass this year, including pieces from Roost and Chive – as featured in GQ this month! Woohoo! We’re very fashionable apparently!

Here’s one that Rikki has potted up.

She went with a bromeliad theme for this one. You’ll have to come in to see the taller piece with the orchid – it’s very colorful.

Terrariums are tough to photograph what with the reflections everywhere and all. I wish I had a setup to photograph terrariums and the like. Maybe next year.

Asclepias curassavica “Silky Deep Red”

Native to South America
Semi-Evergreen Perennial

Sun: Sun to Partial Shade
Water: Moderate
Size: 3 to 4 ft tall

Brilliant red/yellow blooms atop each stem in fall. Green leafy stems. Hardy to 15F. Can be grown as an annual; collected seeds can be planted in spring. Attracts Monarch butterflies.

You didn’t think I forgot my yearly post on the latest and the greatest in high tech cactus costumes, did you?

I would never forget!

We feature only the tastiest cactus costumes. The razzliest and dazzliest cactus costumes. The pastiest and brassiest. On to the costumes!

Up first:

Student in recycled materials cactus costume. Horizon School, Marin (CA).

And this one is an adult dressed as a cactus with a tail, as brough to to you by Coca Cola.

Finally this is a homemade Saguaro costume that is more cute than you all deserve. MORE CUTE!

Plant succulents in a container of your choice. Don’t know how? Join some other people in or near Detroit (Troy is near Detroit, maybe?) with succulents to plant and you too could end up with a succulent container garden of your own. If you’re in Detroit this Saturday. If not, then nevermind.

Succulent Container Workshop: Bring your own container or choose from a variety of different pots. 10 a.m. Sat. Telly’s Greenhouse, 3301 John R, Troy. Workshop: $5 plus materials. Register. 248-689-8735. www.tellys.com.

This is a pretty garden indeed. Mature! Probably been around a few years and tended carefully and often.

THERE are some excellent gardens in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, one of which belongs to Susan Lancaster and houses a series of installations that she has created, often out of found objects. Her collection of succulent species also fascinates, however; they provide a perfect foil for the architectural form of the works of art.

Influenced by South American designer Roberto Burle Marx, the 0.75ha garden has been designed as a series of winding paths that lead visitors past collections of bromeliads, cordylines, agaves, yuccas, strelitzias, tiger grass and bamboos. Blocks of plants are repeated throughout the garden to great effect.

Wonder where this “Sunshine Coast hinterland” they speak of is? Let me show you.

Wow! That garden is a regular oasis.

(more…)

Opuntia robusta

The Delosperma “Fire Spinner” is in bloom in the lovely Urban Farmgirls trough. The plants are so very green. The flower is practically too colorful.

It’s been a decade since the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to have this cactus listed.

 

Acuna cactus at Organ Pipe National Monument. Courtesy National Park Service

Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star

A small, little-known cactus found in Organ Pipe National Monument west of Tucson faces a “high and immediate” threat of extinction, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in proposing to protect it as an endangered species.

The Acuña cactus, topping out at about a foot high, is declining fast, having dropped in numbers by more than 50 percent since 1981, the service said….

The service also proposes to designate 53,720 acres, including 29,500 acres of federal land and 14,266 acres of state land, as critical habitat for the Acuña cactus.

That is one very cute little endangered cactus. Cuteness is not the only factor the government considers when reviewing petitions for listing of species, but it doesn’t hurt.

Phew! I thought today’s theme of cactus-themed bars and restaurants closing was a bad portent, but no! it’s not. It turns out while one cactus restaurant in Ohio closes another in Hawaii opens. Good fortune shines on us all!

Tina Yuen PBN

Cactus restaurant , which recently opened on Kailua Road in Kailua, Hawaii, is part of a trendy food scene in the Windward Oahu town.

Sweet!

It’s an interesting theme for a Sunday on the blog.

The Blue Ash outpost of Cactus Pear has closed, Polly Campbell reports:

Cincinnati will never be the same.

The Cactus Pear Southernwestern restaurant in Blue Ash has closed. However, the one on Jefferson Ave. near UC is still open.

Good to know!

Las Vegas will never be the same.

Northwest Vegas’ Chicago’s Cactus Club plans to reopen next February or March as Viola’s Tavern.

A consortium of the nation’s leading cactus doctors issued a new set of guidelines Thursday recommending that Americans drink at least 8 cups of water per year to maintain proper hydration.

Science!

Aster frikartii “Monch”

It’s a classic fall flower, and these are the stages of the buds.

Stage 1 is appropriately named the Stage 1 Bud.

Stage too is when the sepals have pulled far enough back that the petals are beginning to be visible. This stage is called Petaluma Charlie, and is named for a famed roadside diner where the buds grew wild.

The third stage is where the petals have poked through entirely but the face of the flower has not yet opened. It’s so colorful!

And now the flower is fully open and you can see that it is a classic disk flower from the Asteraceae family. We call this stage the Flower.