The LA Times has an article about crime in Tijuana, and I don’t know anything about that, but for some reason the article is illustrated with this lovely photo.
Above, a turkey vulture keeps watch over the Baja desert from atop a cardon cactus. Credit: Bill Evarts / For The Times.
That looks like a very old Echinopsis terschecki. The vulture is trying to scare away the photographer since the photographer, who we shall call Bill, is standing right on top of the mouse hole where the vulture was feeding from just a few moments ago. Harsh.
Plants for sale in New Zealand! Get ’em while they’re still spiny!
SANDRA CROSBIE/Feilding Herald
YOUNG GARDENER: Alyssa Copeman, 6, of Manchester Street School removes weeds from a hanging plant, in preparation for this year’s annual plant sale on Saturday.
Well those aren’t spiny! But they sure are succulent, all right.
OK, so get ’em while they’re still thick and juicy and succulent, if you’re in the area. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to get to New Zealand. Maybe from as far away as Fiji, but not Texas because that’s just too far to go.
The endangered cactus wren is now moving into urban environments, or rather the urban areas are moving into the wren’s habitat.
Urbanization turns large areas of wild land into cities and suburbs, and has a profound effect on native speicies, changing where they live and how they interact,” says Paige Warren, an urban ecologist…
“The cactus wren is usually associated with the desert, since it builds nests in the protection of cacti and other thorny plants,” Warren explains. “However, this native species was able to penetrate the urban ecosystem more successfull the phaniopepla, and has been seen nesting in satellite dishes and other man-made structures.”
Permits now available from the Tonto National Forest.
Rafting permit applications for the Upper Salt River Canyon Wilderness are now available from the Tonto National Forest.
The Salt River… flows through oak and juniper woodlands down into striking Lower Sonoran desert vegetation with its giant multi-armed saguaro cactus as well as cactus of every description.
Several side canyons reveal oasis-like microhabitats.
Russell says of his gardening taste: “I like to cut stems off flowers and just float the heads. Dahlias are particularly spectacular that way. I don’t particularly like long stems exept in French tulips. Succulents in concrete or ceramic planters are also a favorite. They require the lowest maintenance of any flower, and, if you forget to water them for two weeks, they are still alive and beautiful — they thrive on neglect.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
This story out of Tucson was just too juicy, and cactilicious to ignore, even on a Saturday.
Vandalism was reported at 7:15 a.m. in the 0-100 block of East Calle Tierra Sandia. A resident told police someone vandalized his inflatable ghost and his neighbor’s cactus. He said he found the cactus in his front yard. He told police someone splattered ketchup on the ghost and slit it.
From Texas, a state famous for its cactus, even if not as famous as Arizona and its saguaros, the local paper printed an article from the AP about how prickly pear cactus grow anywhere, not just Texas, and even in Italy. Who knew? Well, Italy has naturalized a number of food crops, like the tomato, and the prickly pear cactus, and the pasta tree.
This undated photo shows a prickly pear cactus in Italy. Prickly pear cactus is edible and attractive, and worth growing where you want something offbeat or unique in the landscape, no matter where you live. (AP Photo/Lee Reich)
That looks like a very productive plant with lots of bright red fruit hanging down for the picking.
Is this enough of a hearty article for you today? Am I done blogging for the day? Saturday is usually a quiet day here at the blog, but not always. What do you think, should I keep blogging today or is this it?
A full bloom of prickly pear cactus flowers paints the hills of Fort Richardson State Park with hues of red, yellow and orange.
They go on to tell their readers how they can grow the plants indoor or outdoor, in hot weather or cold, in good times or bad, when the Rockets are doing well or even when they lose their first game to the Celtics.
Apparently they tell you to bring the succulents indoors when it starts to get cold in the UK.
It’s better to leave succulents and pelargoniums out as late in the season as possible, but once frost is forecast in your area, get them indoors or under glass.
That’s good advice if you care to take it in the UK.
My advice if you live in the UK is to wear a scarf. Wool, preferably. I prefer stripes myself. Striped scarfs in the UK are a good idea.
I wonder what it means to put your succulents under glass in the UK?
Tommy Engeman of Bethany Beach has created 18 published stamps and 60 state stamps that started coming into circulation this summer. (Scott Nathan photo)…
“They have to be right … or what’s the point of doing it. If it’s a cactus, it has to be the correct cactus,” said Engeman.
Because it’s the start of the Christmas Cactus season in Chicago, according to the Sun-Times.
Now’s the perfect time to buy a Christmas cactus, a plant that looks plain at first but blooms at Christmas time if cared for properly….
Care must be taken not to underwater it, as a Christmas cactus is in origin a tropical plant, not a true cactus. Do not soak the soil after a dry period; only moisten the top few inches, since buds, flowers and even leaves can fall off if the roots are suddenly saturated.
Well! I’m shocked! They don’t know what they’re talking about in Chicago. The plant may be from the tropical jungles of brazil, but it is a true cactus. And you’d think they’d have a picture. But no, nothing.
The Environment Department in Alhaurin el Grande, in conjunction with the association ‘Free to Live’ (Libres para Vivir) and ACYSA, held a seminar recently about succulent plants… which took place in the local Casa de la Cultura.
Now you know. Now what will you do with this knowledge? Will you use it for good, or will you use it to make fun of those crazy Spaniards? I think we should turn this into a limerick contest. I’ll start:
A Spanish group once held a seminar
To study the future of plants afar
They poked at a cactus
Got poisoned and whacked us
So the group ended up drunk in a bar.
THERE are a whole host of reasons why succulents should take pride of place in your garden, one local aficionado says….
The Waverley Community Centre is providing the setting for the third year running (to the Cactus and Succulent Society’s annual show) and Ms Abbott said the uninitiated would be surprised by the array of plants on offer.
Picture: VALERIU CAMPAN N17WG83
I guess if you’re near Waverly, you might want to stop by and say hi. It looks like a nice selection in the picture.
However, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, so I may just take the weekend off and go to the beach instead. It has been hot here this week. Let’s hope it stays hot.
The burglar entered the house by climbing up to a first floor window and reaching inside a partially opened window.
The glass case was about 1.5in by 1in by 1in and was similar to a small fish tank.
Well, then again, maybe it wasn’t so scary after all. But look, the burglar REACHED INSIDE the open window. What would you do if you were sitting inside and all of a sudden a hand reached in your partially open window and grabbed a small case of cactus? What would you do?!?
From Gary, Indiana, we find out that they harvest cactus pears in Indiana.
It’s harvest time for “pears” at the Indiana Dunes State Park.
But these pears don’t grow on trees. Rather, this purple, olive-sized fruit grows from the bright-yellow blooms of the prickly pear cactus, a desert plant that, amazingly, has adapted to Northwest Indiana’s climate….
“I want to cut it in a circle, put white sprinkles in it and bread it to make it look like okra and give it to my grandma; she likes okra,” Zoe said.
Well, who doesn’t. Do you have a recipe for making cactus taste like Okra?
But seriously, who knew that Opuntias had naturalized in the sand dunes of Indiana?
We told you previously about efforts to keep people from stealing cactus out of gardens. Now the National Park Service is getting into the act of microchipping plants. This is good, but won’t actually help find the plants, only track plants that are already found back to their original source.
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
TUCSON (AP) — Anyone swiping a saguaro cactus from the desert could soon be hauling off more than just a giant plant.
National Park Service officials plan to imbed microchips in saguaros, Arizona’s signature plant, to protect them from thieves who rip them from the desert to sell them to landscapers, nurseries and homeowners.
I wonder if you can microchip a tomato plant? The possibilities to track your produce as it travels could be quite entertaining.
Yeah, but not in the US. Plus the windows don’t work. On the other hand, the new Honda Insight hybrid which will finally replace our model Insight we’ve had for 8 years is finally coming out. Took ’em long enough.
A letter writer to the Clarendon Sun has this radical suggestion:
After reading that “overgrown” cacti are causing accidents at Gion and Broad streets I’m appalled that they are even a problem. The county could simply drench them with vegetation killer after chopping them off at the base.
Oh my. I wonder what they do in South Carolina when their pets get too big…
This comes from a site called Finding Dulcinea. They call themselves “librarians of the internet.” I don’t know what that means. The article also has a picture of a Saguaro.
Peyote plants are smuggled by narco-tourists seeking their legendary hallucinatory powers.
Karl Gercens, Longwood Gardens horticulturist, tends to drought resistant succulents, some of which also are winter hardy, at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. Gardeners are learning that these easy care plants, like this group of prickly pear cactus, aren’t just for display in desert gardens anymore. (AP PHOTO)…
“They’re carefree, without any insect pests, and shrug off high heat or extreme cold,” Kelaidis said. “”Some kinds of sedum and hens and chicks will go on forever. That’s why they use them so much in commercial plantings.”
You know I’m feeling kind of carefree too. We’re looking forward to a Red Sox v. Cubs World Series and it’s sunny and warm today so you know, it’s OK that they have succulents in Pennsylvania and along the Jersey Shore. On a different day we’d stress out about the Jersey Shore, but not today. Today we’re calm and carefree.
In Manitoba, no less. You would think they would have a mpicture, but they do have this very nice description.
The cacti bloom in the Carberry sandhills. The delicate yellow blossom of the plains prickly-pear cactus is in sharp contrast with the prickly stems of this brittle plant.
One of the best places to view the prickly-pear cactus in full blossom is along the Quiet Voices Trail in Spruce Woods Provincial Park. These yellow flowers are plentiful and easily spotted among the mixed-grass prairie here. The pincushion cactus, with its characteristic violet-pink flower, is far less abundant.
I love it when papers print articles about a cactus in bloom, like it was some kind of miracle, which it is. Here we have the Memphis Commercial-Appeal printing an article about a bloom.
M. Shah Jahan, professor and chairman of the University of Memphis physics department, recently succeeded in producing this night-blooming cereus plant bloom, which last happened four years ago. The Queen of the Night blossom produces a scent that seems to combine the magnolia and gardenia, with a citrus strain and a hint of spice.
Why should we care? Well, for the first time I’ve ever read, the local paper tells you why you should care.
Previously I posted about RFID chips being placed in specimen cacti to help deter theft. It turns out cacti are not the only ones being protected. Here’s a headline I’m sure you never expected to see:
Tuesdays are good days for plant news. Garden news is better on Wednesdays, while Thursdays are prime for Sea Otter news.
Today is Tuesday, so we have plant news.
In Lansing, Michigan they have 9 reasons for you to buy succulents.
4. Many – Echeveria, in particular – develop their most intense foliage colors during winter months, when other plants are dormant or just look drab.
That’s a good one. Even for Lansing.
Washington DC has a new Succulents Fetish. What with the presidential race being so quiet these days and the economy humming right along, they have a lot of spare time in the nation’s capital to think about succulents.
“Succulents, especially the many hardy varieties, give you a longer season of interest (than many other perennials) because their foliage is so interesting.”
That’s a very similar observation to the last article. Hmmm. I wonder if we can find someone in Nebraska expressing the same sentiment?
No.
But we do have a cactus shaped building on the boards for Qatar.
Souvenir Refrigerator Cactus Magnet Now Available!
Oh, and the other major breaking news this morning is that the capitalists refuse to invest in AIG and want the administration instead to go all communist on them with a $75 billion bailout.
