Cactus Blog 

It’s Mimulus season again here in Berkeley as the Monkeyflowers all rebloom. Not quite as many flowers as in the spring, but a lot of flowers for a second flush.

These Mimuluses are all in the Jelly Bean Group. I won’t tell you which is Pink, Orange or Terra Cotta, but those are the listed colors.

Elena wants to know if we want her fairly large Opuntia saxitilis.

So you know, I don’t think that could have been dug up in one, or even two pieces. So pads it is!

Nice plant.

Blogging may be slow, or not depending on how I feel, while in Chicago for a nursery convention.

Here’s the skyline from navy pier this morning.

Calystegia macrostegia “Candy Cane” is one of the few vines we carry. Maybe tomorrow I’ll blog the other.

It’s a native vine that, like most Morning Glories, blooms a lot. It’s not invasive, like so many of the other Morning Glories. But it is pretty, like all the other Morning Glories.

The blooms are often a lot more striped than this photo would indicate.

It can take full sun in its native coastal scrub habitat, but would need afternoon shade inland. It can die back if you don’t ever water it around this time of year, but then we wouldn’t ever do that so it stays evergreen for us.

Shelly sends along a photo of her friend’s Euphorbia lactea Crest. She’s gotten a cutting off it.

Nice!

Karen asked a question about her crested euphorbia, and Hap started a long answer at the same time I had sent off a much shorter answer. Check out the differences between my answer and Hap’s.

Hello Peter – Once again I come to you for expert advice! My mother bought me a crested Euphorbia that has been grafted onto something. I think it looks too tall and am thinking about cutting it shorter…what do you think? The main stem is about 6 inches tall and I think it looks goofy and top heavy. If I were to cut it down, I would leave about 2-3 inches of stem and let it sit for 4-5 days before settling it down into your cactus soil. Yes? No!

Thanks for your time!! ~Karen

First up is my answer, the one that got sent to Karen.

Karen,
I would leave the Euphorbia alone. The crest will eventually catch up to the size of the stock, and it will grow faster if you don’t cut it
Peter

Could it have been any shorter?

And Hap’s answer that didn’t get sent?…. (more…)

Jason in the succulents.

Senecio cylindricus

Nothing particularly special about this plant, I just like the composition of the photo. It looks like a portrait of the individual plant.

So to speak…

The native perennials and wildflowers are looking really nice. They like it when Rikki waters them.

Today is National Middle Child Day and I plan on celebrating my being a National Middle Child by asking you to give me presents on my special day.

I like silver.

Here, have a silvery succulent.

Orostachys iwarenge, also known as Chinese Dunce Cap for its tall bloom spires.

Two whippets on one small dog bed? Inconceivable!

Echeveria elegans

This plant looks rather generic to me. Similar to a lot of other Echeverias, old-fashioned, straight-forward. But people love it! We can’t grow enough of it.

It’s hardy to 25F and can take your high wind location, not that there are any Echeverias that can’t handle wind since they’re so low to the ground. Moderate to full sun is best.

And when you talk to your plants, this species likes to hear about the old days, back when you were a kid and first learning to dig in the earth and you planted carrot seeds; when you would come back a couple weeks later and dig them up to see if you had carrots yet but you didn’t so you had to plant new seeds and start over; and how the hose didn’t reach quite far enough so you asked your dad for a longer hose but instead he gave you the watering can and told you to fill it up and walk it over. But you were clever – you got out the lawn sprinkler and turned it on and it reached far enough to water the carrots but you left it on overnight and boy was your dad pissed. But that’s OK because later that summer you dug up the carrots and they grew for you – just for you! and they were even more delicious than the carrots in the refrigerator in the plastic bag.

That’s what this succulent wants to hear you tell it. It likes that story.

Teacup Cactus with other tiny things if you look closely enough by weegreenspot from Portland, as seen on Etsy, a veritable source of cactus stuff and such.

Aeonium “Velour”

There are so many named Aeonium varieties and colors and hybrids and slight variations depending on the amount of sun that I’m hoping we have the right name for this one.

Our source for the name is this book by Rudolf Schulz.

By the way, enjoy this smores cage on National Smores Day.

More google fun, this time looking for cactus rings, and it turns out there’s a lot of them.Any of these would look GREAT! with a cactus hat! Who knew there were so many.

Let’s get the fun started!

Tall Cactus Ring by Noir at Karmaloop

Little pots of cacti by Barbara Uderzo for Alternatives Contemporary Jewelry (more…)

Hi Cactus Jungle crew,
I just noticed a dry scabby lesion on a Copiapoa hypogaea of mine (see attached photo). I’ve sprayed it down with neem oil, but are there any additional steps I should take?

Thanks,
Tony

Tony,

If the infection has scarred to “firm and crusty” the Neem should be enough to deal with it. If it is still moist and gooey it might help to clean it with 3% Hydrogen peroxide a few days apart and then retreat with Neem. The peroxide will help seal the damaged tissue as well as kill off the infection.
Take care,

Hap

I’ve been practicing my google skills. And today we find that you can buy a plush cactus hat in the hot times fiesta party decorations group from the american balloon company.

Do you want to see what it looks like? It’s awesome…. (more…)

I’m at the SF gift show and found these horrid little cactus boxes. I didn’t buy them, since I don’t think they would sell. But if you disagree let me know and if enough people think they would buy one then maybe I’d reconsider.

No Grumpy Cactus (Restaurant) for Dedham (MA).

This seems like an important function for this here Cactus Blog to perform for you. To let you know when restaurants with the word cactus in their names fail.

Let me know what other businesses with the word cactus in their name you would like to know about after they fail. It’s a service I will be happy to perform. Probably not on a daily basis, but maybe a monthly feature?

Here, have a photo of a Devil’s Backbone!

Pedilanthus tithymaloides variegata

Accuweather says you should,

Forget the Whales! Save the Pollinators

Indeed. They suggest planting native Milkweeds, Sunflowers and Berry bushes.

We agree. To encourage you, here are photos of California native milkweeds and sunflowers.

Asclepias tuberosa

Encelia californica

And a bonus Achillea “Paprika”

Now that’s how you attract native butterflies and bees.

These Echeveria shaviana’s sure put on quite the bloom show.

The rosettes under all those bloom stalks aren’t looking so great.

Hi Hap,
That Eulophia I bought last week is growing great, the new shoots are almost three inches and going fast. I forgot to ask when it was last fed and when I should give it another feeding. Very happy with this one, was on the wish list for a while. Thank you.
Brendan

Here’s the plant in question. Here’s a link to a flower picture too.

Pretty amazing!

Brendan,

The Eulophia petersii was fed late spring and could get another low strength dose any time now. Either orchid or cacti food is appropriate, just stay away from over-strength chemical types and make sure it is well balanced. Eulophia seems to do best when treated a bit more like a cactus than an orchid, but it does enjoy having some regular food like an orchid. Just make sure it dries out between waterings.

Take care,

Hap

Calandrinia grandiflora

These are a pretty reliable bloomer for us. So reliable, that I’ve probably posted pictures before. I wonder how many times I’ve blogged this plant in bloom? Probably once or twice before, so I don’t think I need to write anything about it all. Nothing! All you have to do is using the search box on the right and search for a previous post for this plant. Here let me do it for you. Click here to see the results.

Awesome!

Ferocactus gracilis coloratus

I bought a couple of these a short while ago. They are not flowering and look unhappy to me, pleas advise.

Thanks
Judyfoodie

Judy,

Your Bulbine frutescens looks like it recently was in bloom – I can see a couple recently finished blooms on the bloom stalk in back. But the real issue is why isn’t it blooming up a storm like they often do. Sometimes they do rest between bloom periods. And it looks like it’s not getting a lot of sun. In fact, the plant is looking very full in the photo, so I think in this shadier corner it’s decided to produce new leaves rather than blooms. I would get it out into more sun. I also recommend repotting it into the ground or a bigger pot, with fresh cactus soil and lots of organic nutrients.

Peter

Michele posted this on the Cactus Jungle Facebook Page.

Amazing!

It’s hoses and cable ties to form a basket that looks like a cactus. Here are the instructions on how to make one yourself from the artist.

Buddleia davidii “Buzz Pink-Purple” (also known to some as Buddleja) is a true dwarf getting only 2 ft. tall in a pot on your deck or patio and 3 ft. tall in the ground. It’s been tested!

In case you didn’t know the other Buddleias all get over 10 ft. tall. Now you know! (And the largest can reach up to 100ft…)