Cactus Blog

Also known as the Kebab Bush.

Crassula rupestris

From South Africa, specifically around the areas in southern Namibia, the Richtersveld, Namaqualand Ceres Tanqua Karoo, Worcester Robertson Karoo and Little Karoo.

This is the first year we’ve grown this. It looks a lot like the various C. perforatas, but then I haven’t watched it grow for years yet.

They say it is hardy to 25F.

I think the picture says everything. I don’t really need to add a comment, do I? No, I don’t, but I will after the photo.

Moss bathmat! Moss! it’s a bathmat! Oh, the humanity.

(moss)

We can’t be sure whether an exotic cactus from Mexico might be growing in the Queensland outback, but if Bob Katter was a scrub bull, you’d be wary of him, fearing he’d been grazing on mescaline.

I don’t know what this means. I often have trouble translating Aussie into English. The article is about an election, and the fate of the independents. And the lead to the article is the cactus metaphor above.

Mystery!

A few months ago I blogged about some Shoe Cactus, women’s shoes that had been reprurposed as cactus planters.

Broadsheet at Salon has finally gotten ahold of one and it turns out it’s an art piece by Rachel Mahlke,

…to “show that there is danger and pain behind plastic representations of beauty” and to comment on American conceptions of femininity — but these creations are open to all sorts of feminist perspectives. Maybe you see a powerful juxtaposition of natural beauty with unnatural beauty standards, or a quirky fusion of crafty, D.I.Y. feminism with sex worker activism.

…Some will thrill at the idea of a stripper shoe bearing “baby aloe plants with serrated ‘teeth’ along their fleshy green leaves.” (Vagina dentata, anyone?!) Others — like those friends of mine with copies of “Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease Collection” – will identify more with the sweet and feminine look of this platform planted with a pastel succulent and an airy bed of light-green moss.

Cactus!

www.etsy.com/shop/giddyspinster

Here are some fruity pictures from around the webosphere.

Ferocactus acanthodes Photo from Cactus Art

Ferocactus cylindraceus Photo from Bird and Hike

Ferocactus wislizeni Photo from Cacti Guide

Ferocactus macrodiscus Photo from Cactus Art

We put together some mixed succulent pot centerpieces for Zeny for her husband’s surprise 60th birthday party, which I hear really was a surprise, and a big success.

Here’s another mixed pot Zeny put together from our plants.

Nice! They tell me the Senecio in back is already outgrowing the pot and may need to be cut back.

First person to tell me what this is in comments wins a $10 gift card.

CJ Employees not included, Ian.

This has come out of nowhere. It’s going to be hot today and tomorrow. Mid to high 80s at the coast hot. So here’s the thing. Your plants here in the Bay Area aren’t used to this right now. The cool summer so far, and the lack of a warming trend leading up to this, could cause problems for sensitive plants in all-day sun.

You’ll want to water today and maybe even tomorrow. And watch for sun and heat damage. Three days ago it was a high of 59, so a 30 degree swing can be a problem. Oh, the humanity.

This has been your public-service-announcement-bureau with today’s public service announcement. You may now resume your regular websurfing.

Sedum lineare

Well that didn’t last long. We’ve sold through our entire first crop of this cute green stonecrop in 2 weeks. We’ll have more hopefully next month. Maybe we should have planned to have more to begin with?

Aloe “hercules” and Yucca elephantipes and Cereus cv monstrose.

These are actually prickly pear flavored! Or available in mixed flavors. You need to buy in packs of 30, though.

I must say, it’s a dream come true. Now should I order 30, or go for 60?

I especially liked the drunk ocelot at the end. via digby

Local News! From the Muscatine (IA) Journal comes this lonely tale of a cactus in a front yard. It’s the perfect story for a Saturday morning.

Take a drive down Muscatine’s Fifth Street and you’ll see flowers, houseplants and even a cactus bed. What next? Cornstalks in the desert?

…Barb Phillips’ Muscatine home… features a large bed of effortlessly flourishing cacti, creating a sharp contrast to the colorful flowers and soft-leafed plants that are more typical of Iowa. Photo Cynthia Beaudette

Looks like Barb keeps her low-growing opuntia well trimmed. Very little is hanging over the planter edge into the sidewalk.

Lisa submitted this photo to Lucky Pet which Dani forwarded to us.

Crazy whippets.

(C)entral bankers, finance ministers, politicians who pose as defenders of fiscal virtue — are acting like the priests of some ancient cult, demanding that we engage in human sacrifices to appease the anger of (the) invisible (bond) gods.
Krugthulhu

UPDATE: Aztec ritual sacrifice, via Digby

Guys,
I’ve just stumbled across your blog, and being a cactus lover immediately spent the day reading it. In order to help you continue the great work, I have two questions for you:

1. What’s the best size pot for my Golden Column cactus? I’ve had it for about 5 years and find it awesome for intimidating neighbors.

2. Could you help me identify this cactus? I’ve had it for a few years and have always found it interesting, but never tried to figure out the name.

Also, if you guys have any advice on sprouting Draco Dracena seeds (or cacti seeds) it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

Paul,
Your Cliestocactus looks like it is fine in the pot it is in for another year or two and then you will likely need to repot to something at least two inches in diameter larger.

Cactus #2, Looks like it is a Mammillaria heyderi or one of the many subspecies of M. heyderi, however there are several other Mammillaria species that have a very similar look… like M. mystax. It could also be a hybrid, since there are a lot of them in cultivation. Do you know what color the blooms are?

Dracaena draco seeds have very hard shells, so they will need to be carefully scarified, (chipped, filed or rubbed between course sand paper until there are scratches in the shell) to help to get enough water through the seed casing to cause germination. Do not cover the seed with soil, but you can lightly coat with sand to help keep them moist, they need bright light for most of the day to germinate. We use high-output fluorescent lights on for 18 hours. Keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet, clear germination domes help, but watch for mold and excess algae growth. Keep warm, 75-85 degrees. Germination usually takes about 2 months but it can take longer, so don’t give up.

Cacti seeds have different requirements depending on types and where they grow in the wild. But the general rule is similar to the draco directions for large seed types and with small seed skipping the scarification process and just scattering on the soil surface and then lightly covering with sand or crushed horticultural charcoal. Keep moist, but not wet and under bright light. Some sprout with in a few days and others take months or longer. Plan on leaving the seedlings in the sprouting trays at least a year, since it can take them that long to get “fat english pea or small grape” sized which is when we usually reline them out to grow on.

Good luck,
Hap

It’s on the DIY network, if you get that. A show called Bath Crashers where they renovate bathrooms. I blogged the shoot here. Here’s the info on when it will air. I’ll remind you right before the 20th.

Floating Waterfall Tub

September 20, 2010
9:00 PM e/p

This bathroom transformation makes its way outdoors! What was once a dark bathroom with Seventies lava rock in the tub room, dated dark floors and golden swan fixtures gets completely gutted and is opened up by taking advantage of an unused courtyard and incorporating it into this bathroom revamp! The outdoor floating tub is the main event in this “crash!” The crew takes advantage of some outdoor real estate and opens the shower room into a garden tub room, where they set the freestanding tub in a shallow pond and create a serene waterfall that cascades behind it! Throw in a ceiling mount tub filler, modern privacy panels and slate pavestones and these homeowners are blown away!

Here’s a picture of the host, who designs and renovates the bathrooms on TV.

The last time Cactus Jungle got product on TV was almost 3 years ago!

Hi! I have an enormous cactus that is eating my house. I need to remove it but didn’t want to just throw it away, it’s quite impressive but unfortunately it’s ruining the foundation. Do you know anyone that would want this cactus? I attached a picture.

Thank you! Krista

Yowza, that’s a big Cereus!

I don’t know anyone in Southern Cal off hand, but I’ll post it on the blog for you. Also, we find Craigslist works well.

Peter

If anyone is interested, email me and I’ll forward it along to Krista in the 310. Just a warning, though, if you do go to cut it down, make sure you don’t let the giant branches fall on the roof, or yourself either. Just sayin’.

Hello,
We’re the women who were in on Sunday and were arranging, and finally purchasing the manzanitas, sage and the little euphorbia obessa. We could use your help.

While we were there we talked with Keith about what we think is a fungus that killed the tree that used to be in our front yard. The fungus appeared on the stump after we had the tree cut down (it was dead.) We’re concerned about planting the new trees close to this area, that they might also be attacked by this fungus.

Anyway, Keith said that we could send a photo of the fungus and he would try to identify it.

We’re going to have someone install these plants for us and would appreciate your quick reply.

Thanks for your help.
Lynn & Joanne

Lynn,

It looks like your stump is being eaten by a bracket fungi called Trametes versicolor, or “Wild Turkey Tail”. The brackets are the fruiting bodies of the organism that is actually inside the stump eating the cellulose. This species only attacks dead or nearly dead hardwoods so it is unlikely to be what killed the tree, but took advantage of the food source after it was dead.

So we do not believe this fungus would cause any problem planting a new healthy manzanita.

But it is a amazing and beautiful artifact.
Peter