Cactus Blog 

I have a 16″ saguaro, about 20 years old (germinated from seed by a friend of mine). Last summer, it was accidentally knocked over causing a split about halfway up, one that looks to be about halfway through the cactus. Today, the saguaro is doing well, continues to grow, but I worry about the split. Is there some substance (silicon?) I can inject into it that will not harm the plant while filling in the cut and stabilizing the cactus? Thanks!

Jordan

Jordan,

Unfortunately trying to repair plant injuries usually just leads to rot and hidden infection. Since plants don’t really have the same type of active cell replacement and immune systems that animals do, they deal with trauma and injuries in a different way. The best that they can do is seal off the injury and sort of build up a layer of bark or scar-tissue to keep out infections and pests, they don’t seem to be able to replace damaged tissue with living, growing cells like we do. Being people with nurturing attitudes, we want to fix them and add band-aids like “prune-seal” or in your case silicone, but all that does is create a warm safe spot for fungi to grow where we can’t see it or treat it. It is best to just clean injuries when they happen and let the plant seal it off. Over time layers of dead cells will build up a woody-corky layer that will hopefully be strong enough to support the new growth above.I would just leave the split as it is, just make sure to keep water out of it and watch for any signs of infection.

Take care,

Hap

From Doug Savage’s Chickens Series.

The hummingbirds will finally be soooo happy.

Aloe ferox

It’s cold out there so dress warmly. And enjoy a cartoon over a hot mug of cocoa.

By Peter Joison. Found on google images, but no website for it.

Hi Hap,

Attached are photos of five cereus plants in our garden, all of which did great in the ground for five months but are now showing signs of distress.

Crested cereus — The first two shots are of the same plant, which has some black spots on top and the trunk has cracked open. This plant is located nowhere near the others.

Night-blooming cereus — We have two, located next to one another. The affliction is showing itself as dark sunken spots on the new growth. In some places these have become holes, all the way through the “fin” of the plant.

Lophocereus — Again, we have two of these, located next to each other but nowhere near the other cereus plants. Similar story — the new growth on top has lots of black spots, some of which are now sunken inward.

These plants are all on mounds, with good soil and drainage. The soil is still moist from recent rains, but not a lot. I’m really concerned that as we head into winter, we may need to strip away the pebble coverage and try to aerate the roots somehow.
The garden has about 30 or 40 plants and all the others look fine at this point. We only live a few blocks from your store — maybe we could pay you to take a look at the situation one morning. Many thanks,
Mike

Mike,

The crested top view looks like it was bruised and is now scaring up from getting whacked or bumped hard. The trunk view looks like beetle or rodent/bird damage, look in the holes and make sure there is not a grub eating the plant from the inside. They can really make a mess inside the trunk, pull them out with tweezers if that is what is going on and squish them. Clean and disinfect the cavity with Hydrogen-Peroxide if it looks “juicy”. Once it has dried out and looks scabbed you can treat with Neem Oil as well. If it looks like it will collect water you will need to make an additional cut in the tissue to create a drain channel. Pooled water will cause major rot issues.

The Lophocereus and Cereus are showing signs of slug and snail damage, which is leading to secondary infections. I recommend that you treat all the damaged areas with Neem Oil and scatter Sluggo through out the garden. Retreat with Neem after a week. If the infections persist there are more aggressive treatment options, but of course they are more toxic and take special handling.

We do make housecalls if you want to schedule one to confirm what I see in the photos.

Take care,

Hap

The latest in Mixed Succulent pot technology.

by Rikki

(gnome not included)

I’m not sure what to say about this photo. The link was sent to me by another company hoping I would post their product on the blog, which I am, so I guess…. Success!

But, but…

This is the most bizarre marketing photo I’ve ever seen. Not only have they photoshopped their product into a picture, but they photoshopped the room in the picture together from various pieces with the end result of a log cabin floating above the desert floor.

I recommend that next time they take a real picture of their real product in a real bathroom with a real toilet, and probably not a window on the desert. That’s my two cents.

But let me add one more thing… Send me more!

Well the Aloe ferox blooms are still not open. But luckily the hummingbirds have found a suitable replacement for now.

Aloe thraskii

Have you ever used a cactus as a pillow? Have you ever wanted to?

No? Oh. Never mind.

Just when you thought it was safe to google… Cactus Pillows! From BM Images. I think that Danish company doesn’t know how to name their company for the American market.

Can anyone name the plant for me? I will start off the guessing with Opuntia violacea.

I guess I just answered my own question. Oh. Never mind.

By the way, I didn’t actually google the phrase “cactus pillow” to find this. The company saw on the blog that we featured interesting cactus products (“great cactus art creations”) and decided it was safe to email me a link to blog for you. Do you think it was?

Christmas Cactus – i.e. Schlumbergera.

Wolfhound Edition

The lanky Scottish Deerhound who was the surprise Best in Show winner at Westminster Dog Show now has a litter of puppies ready to trot in her footsteps after retiring from the ring.

The five-year-old champion, known as Ch Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, made history as the first of her breed to win the competition in February – and now tails are wagging for her adorable first litter of nine.

Playing with the seven-week-old pups on a 50-acre farm in Flint Hill, Virginia, Hickory is already giving her brood lessons in how to become top dog.

Sighthound puppies are very cute. Awwww…..

This object is hard to figure out from the small photo – you need to click it to better see what’s going on here.

Yes, that’s right – it’s a cactus decoration holding cheese and other appetizers, hopefully including meatballs and mini hotdogs.

Just so you know it’s not very expensive, and it is available for purchase now. I dare you to click that link and order one and see what shows up in the mail just in time for your holiday party.

The Columbus Republic has an article about succulent fountains from a writer in California. I liked this picture:

Layers of blooming succulents dress up a courtyard fountain. (SHNS photo courtesy Maureen Gilmer)

But I can’t find where this fountain is located. Any ideas?

It’s a lot of Echeverias and Graptopetalums with a few Crassulas thrown in for good measure. It looks like it’s been growing like this for a few years.

By the way, if you’ve never seen the architecture collection in Columbus, Indiana, then you’ve missed this gem.

I don’t think we’ve ever gotten this question before on the blog. Lucky for you someone finally asked it. Thanks, Lauren!

Hello Cactus Jungle,
In the next month or so I am considering trying to grow some pincushion cactuses from seeds. Do you have any suggestions on the the type of soil or how I should set up the initial planting tray?

Several months ago I impulsively started growing some cactus seeds from a variety mixture (so I have no idea what they are officially). How many years does it take for more common cactus varieties to mature and how long should I wait before attempting to repot cactus seedlings?

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers, Lauren

Lauren,

We germinate cacti seed in our standard cactus and succulent soil. If it is rare or expensive seed we will sterilize the soil first by steaming it – moistening and putting in a microwave safe dish and heating until it hits 160 degrees. About six to seven minutes on high for a gallon of soil. We then let it cool with a tight cover on and then use it in our seedling trays.

We will scatter the seed on the surface and lightly mist. Then we top dress with a single layer of crushed horticultural charcoal, that we either smash with a hammer or run through a little electric chopper (Cuisinart) until it is like course sand. We mist that as well. Then we dome the seed tray and put under florescent lights that run 16 hours a day.

Most pincushion type cacti will germinate in just a week or two, other types can take months. Of course after germination is complete and they start getting some growth we ventilate the dome and lower the humidity, but they do need it fairly humid during germination and that first push of young growth. We usually leave the seedling in the germination tray until they are the size of large peas or small grapes. With some species that is 6 months; others it is a year or two.

The big trick on transplanting is to handle them very gently so they do not bruise and make them prone to infection. It helps to keep them dry for a week after transplant so any damage heals under dry condition.

Good luck and have fun!
Hap

The cactus is inflatable and then you can play limbo all night long.

Not only that, but 2 different companies make inflatable cactus limbo games.

TWO DIFFERENT COMPANIES!!!

Of course, the first one looks more fun, at least judging by the people playing with it.

The ongoing saga of the Aloe ferox blooms continues. Here we see the buds are in their last stage before opening, but not yet ready for the hummingbirds. Maybe tomorrow.

What to do in PA when it’s freezing cold out.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Succulent Plant Show: “The strangest and most beautiful succulents and cacti in the plant world” Monday, Nov. 28th through Friday Dec. 2nd, from 9:00 am. – 5:00 pm., at PHS Headquarters 20th & Arch Streets, McClean Library, 1st Floor. Tickets: Free.

From The Cactaceae Vol. 2 by Britton and Rose by way of  the Catalog of Botanical Illustrations, Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution

Plate Number: 1767

Cephalocereus barbadensis (Cactaceae) – Type; Collection: , U.S.A., New York Botanical Garden; flowering branch.
Artist: Eaton, Mary Emily – Date unknown – watercolor
Copyright © Smithsonian Institution

Pedilanthus tithymaloides is also known as the Zig-Zag Plant for obvious reasons, but did you know that another name for it is the Devil’s Backbone? Maybe because it’s poisonous?

It’s in the Euphorbia family (Euphorbiaceae) and recently some have tried to eliminate the entire genus of Pedilanthus and move all the poor unattended species into Euphorbia proper. But that will not work with me! The Euphorbia genus is already large enough that it doesn’t need to completely subsume this nice Caribbean species too.

We find these to be semi-hardy here in Northern California if you have it in a protected spot. Generally that means it’s hardy to about 32F. Indoor it’s prone to spider mites, so I recommend keeping it dry. But then it grows outdoor in hotter and more humid locations, so clearly I don’t know enough about this species. All I know is what I’ve seen with my own two eyes – spider mites indoors! Fewer spider mites when kept dry.

As for sun – they do best with very bright all day light, and some direct morning sun. But they can handle a full day blast of hot sun too, although I recommend afternoon shade if it’s getting over 95F regularly where you live. Why do I recommend this? After all, I don’t live where it gets that hot. It just seems like the right thing to do for a plant that grows prettiest without afternoon sun here at the coast.

The perfect gift for that special someone in your life – a cactus collector who doesn’t like plants at all and prefers vinyl transfers.

What a strange thing.

Alternanthera “Burgundy Threads” is by far our most popular new 2″ houseplant for terrariums. We’re almost sold out of our crop for this year! We have more growing, so don’t worry if you miss out right now.

It’s not a cactus, and it’s not even drought-tolerant. It’s a houseplant, silly.

I’m planning my famous Year-End Best-of 2011 Lists and wanted to open the floor to suggestions.

Which Best-ofs should I do this year?

Was 2011 particularly good for Euphorbias? Crassulas? Bamboos?

Thanks!

Thank you Hap, Peter, Keith & Rikki! I really appreciate all the efforts of the Cactus Jungle team in helping us complete the Monkey Forest Road project. (I’m the one that’s been visiting your nursery every morning until the project was finished. 🙂 Your succulents in the interior atrium created a stunning effect. I thought you’d like to see a couple photos. The Monkey Forest Road gallery / cafe (on Grand Ave in Oakland) opens next week! Come on by sometime.
Take care,
Alexis, David Thorne Landscape Architect

Salvia uliginosa is a bog sage from South America. It usually needs a bit more water than the other sages we carry, which are often California Natives or otherwise drought-tolerant.

Here’s another small picture for the weekend blog readers.

It’s a cactus guava mask product. I don’t know what it’s for. If someone wants to click through and read the info on the site, please leave an explanation in the comments for the rest of us. Thank you.

I think I will do a new feature here on the cactus blog, and I’ll call it weekend blogging because it’s the weekend here on my blog.

This feature will feature many different small pictures of things. With Links.

Here:

It’s a picture of prickly pear pads for a recipe for Huaraches – Stuffed Prickly Pear Cactus Paddles. It features manchego cheese, so you know it has to be good.

Happy Weekend, all!