Euphorbia Obesa

The Euphorbia obesa, as pictured above, is commonly called either Basketball euphorbia, Gingham golf ball, or Hottentot's hut. Euphorbias are a species of succulents that produce tiny flowers that lack petals. They also produce a milky sap that could irritate the skin or cause blindness if not handled with gloves. To stop the flow of sap on a "bleeding" plant, you can immerse it in warm water. This particular euphorbia is spineless and is usually olive green with pale green or mauve markings. It is slow-growing and becomes slightly columnar with age. Tiny leaf "flowers" come from the crown during summer months. It does well in the sun or shade but needs a dry winter during its dormancy.

Update on Pine Cone Cactus

My pinecone cactus is growing very fast right now. Remember that little nub that I called an offset before? Well, that would be the large "pine cone" at the base of the plant now! And there are three more growing at the top of the plant. I am excited that it is growing so fast!

My Five Agaves

Agaves are succulents which take the form of rosettes and can grow to various sizes. They range from blue-green (colder climates) to gray-green (warmer climates) and are accented with a very sharp spine tip on each leaf. They form a flower stalk at the end of their life. After the stalk dies, the plant dies and its offsets have been produced to take its place. There are more than 450 species of agave of which I have five. They are a dependable plant as they need very little water, a lot of sun and can withstand very low temperatures. I keep all of them outside throughout the year.

The Agave schidigera or Durango Delight is pictured above. This agave has white markings and light-colored fibers curling from the edges of the leaves. It will grow to be at least 2 feet in diameter. When it flowers, it will produce a stalk 10'-12' tall with dark purple flowers; however, this species does not produce offsets. It is native to the American southwest and Mexico at 3000' to 8000' in elevation as it tolerates lows around 15 degrees F. I water it a few times throughout the spring, summer and early fall. Careful! Not too much!

This is the Agave parryi var. huachucaensis or Huachuca Agave. Don't you just love that name? This agave is hardy to 0 degrees F and will grow up to 2.5' in diameter. Its yellow flowered stalk will also be around 10'-12' tall. The indentations seen on the backs of the leaves are formed by the previous leaves. I have kept this plant in a large pot in the hot sun since I got it. When I water it (which may be once a month now), I water it very well. I used to keep two of them on either side of our south facing front entrance until the HOA took care of that! Now they are poolside in the back happily getting full sun throughout the day. In the winter time, I will have to find a sunny spot for them as the backyard gets very little sun during that time.

The Agave vilmoriniana or Octopus Agave is a gangly but beautiful agave which grows up to 4 feet in height. Its stalks are also yellow flowered at 10'-12' tall. It can handle temperatures down to 20 degrees F. The two words I found that describe them well are "user-friendly" and "unarmed!" In other words, they are not really sharp. My plant is actually made up of several offsets which were made when the original plant suffered overwatering during the Las Vegas winter freeze of 2007. I do not claim responsibility for this overwatering as there were a few kinks to iron out with surrounding irrigation. The plant was transplanted into another location and after a short period of time, the offsets arrived and the original plant died off. I decided to leave the many offsets as they were and they seem very happy in partial shade and watering only about once a month.

Above you will find my Agave parryi var. truncata or Artichoke Agave. It could grow to 3 feet square ... or round ... and it is good down to 10 degrees F. If it grows old enough, its stalk will be 15'-20' tall with yellow flowers. I think it will probably not do all that because of where I planted it. Even though it gets a lot of sun in the summer time, it gets none in the winter. It looks nice in the landscape where I have it so this doesn't bother me. It seems pretty happy as there are now 4 offsets surrounding it. I plan to leave these offsets there where I hope to create a cluster of them. I give it extra water very rarely to offset the amount of shade it receives.

Last and definitely least, is my Agave americana 'Variegata' or Variegated Century Plant. I've seen old specimens of this agave in yards around here that are tremendous (maybe 5 feet tall.) After 20 to 30 years, the plant will make stalks around 25' tall with large cream-colored fragrant flowers. It is a good conversation piece. "Why is mine so ugly," you ask? Well, I only recently figured out that the birds have decided to mess with it. Some of the leaves broke and other leaves have pecking marks on them. Not to worry! The agave made a nice offset which I salvaged and now have growing in my "nursery" where I hope it will become big and strong.

Fake Saguaro & Golden Ball Cactus

The Pachycereus pringlei or Fake Saguaro Cactus turns red at the top in the spring time. They can get very large reaching about 6' to 15' tall and will sometimes branch out in a tree-like form. Only then will it make flowers.

Of course, mine is far from that point. I bought it as part of a beautiful cactus garden which very quickly outgrew its pot. I separated all the cacti and this one, I only recently identified. It seems to be doing quite well with a lot of sun and little water ... nothing special about its care. At this point, it is about 10" tall.

Another cactus that was in that cactus garden is my Parodia leninghausii or Golden Ball Cactus (or Yellow Tower or Goldfinger.) (It is pictured below. The small one to the left is a baby I picked up last fall.) If all goes well, they will form small towers about 12" tall and make clusters of probably yellow flowers at the crown. They lean toward the sun and love every minute of it.

I had another parodia which I had planted in the ground. It did very well the first winter but the second winter, I guess I overwatered it right before a very cold spell and, poof, it was all downhill from there. I hated that I lost it because it flowered a lot.

Jumping Cholla

I was waiting to do this entry when more than one flower of the Jumping Cholla, or Opuntia tunicata, was in full bloom but it never happened. Almost all the flowers bloomed one at a time! So, ... this is what each bloom on the hardy opuntia looked like. I was very pleased that this plant bloomed the first spring after I put it in. And, it's PINK! How exciting!

Yucca Rostrata

Yucca Rostrata is a native desert plant that needs very little water and a lot of sun to survive. It doesn't normally split into two heads but it is very pretty as such.

This is the second time that our yucca has bloomed in the 3 years that we have owned it. The blooms begin as stalks that come out from the center of the spray of needles. Slowly, the buds separate from the stalk and finally the buds open to a huge display of flower petals.

The entire process lasts around 3 to 4 weeks. When you think it's finished blooming, a little more bloom appears. Afterwards, the petals shower around the base of the plant and fill space within the spray of needles. Good luck on cleaning the petals out of the needles. I just leave them there!

Yuccas are in the lily family or Liliaceae. They are a desert plant and this one is commonly called Beaked Yucca. It needs well-drained soil, full sun and very little water. It could reach up to 12 feet high. Mine is 6 feet high so far! If anyone can tell me why the ends of the "leaves" are brown, I would appreciate it. I was wondering if the heat from the block wall wasn't so good an influence. Or, could it be that it gets the wrong amount of water? For more information on this plant, go to the "Backyard Activity" entry of this blog.

Note from 7/20/09: After writing the local paper plant guy, Linn Mills, I have learned that my Yucca is not getting enough water to push away the salts in the soil around the root ball. The salts draw water from the plant and leave it in a stressful situation. So, he recommended more water; more often and longer. Thanks Mr. Mills.

Butterfly Iris

Although this is not a cactus, I wanted to show one of my butterfly iris blooms. They are not very big, perhaps 3 inches in diameter. But they are very pretty. We have about 10 clumps of the irises in our yard. They should be separated but I have not done that because I don't have room for anymore.

They don't require much water and seem to prefer mostly shaded areas. In the winter, it is best to water very very little as they turn brown if they get hit with below freezing temperatures right after being watered. The next spring, then, they have to be groomed.

GG's Talents

Rumor has it that I am a very smart and talented dog. No, I don't sing very well and I don't dance like my Mom - even though I do have particular steps I perform when my Mom is trying to groom me. She might call them "evasive maneuvers."

My talents are of the musical variety and I use them to express myself whenever I'm feeling creative. First, my favorite musical instrument is the spring doorstop which is placed at my level throughout the house. I place my paw on it and pull. I am simply enamoured with the sound that it makes and the blur that appears when I especially pull it hard.

Second, I am learning to play the trash can lid. When I walk by the kitchen trash can, I can just reach out and press the lever that lifts the lid. It makes a cool sound and a few ripe smells come my way.

My third talent doesn't involve music. Yes, I am also an athelete. I can run and chase the ball as good as anyone but my favorite thing to do with the ball is play T-ball. I place the ball on the bottom shelf of a coffee table (there are several around) and then I hit it with my paw sending it in a variety of directions. When I really concentrate, I know how to send it straight to my Mom who is patiently waiting for me to return the ball to her so she can throw it again. My Mom is very patient and I think she loves watching me just to see what I will come up with next.

My fourth, but not final, talent is my ability to throw the ball with my mouth. I guess I have always been fascinated with how my Mom and Dad can throw the ball ... of course, they use their paw-like feature for this. I try and try to hold the ball with my paws while lying on my back but my muscles just don't seem to be able to go that direction by choice ... yet. Anyway, I have learned to throw the ball back to my Mom and Dad. This way, they don't pull my hair around my mouth when they try to roughly retrieve the ball with those unrefined paw-like features.

My Mom doesn't yell at me and has never hit me. She has re-directed my attention quite often. I know that but I'm easy. I'm pretty smart and very curious. (I think my dog Dad was a scientist.) I learn fast. My Mom knows that so it is difficult for me to be stubborn if I don't want to do something. My Mom and Dad are pretty special. I think I'll keep them.

Lithops, Gibbaeum & Frithia Pulchra

Lithops are an enigma to me. They are a very small succulent from South Africa. They consist of pairs of "leaves" living side-by-side almost flush with the soil unless it is watered too much. The white daisy-like flower, which I excitedly saw a few months ago grows up from between the "leaves."

So, why is it an enigma? This is my second lithops plant. The first one I kept for over a year and I THINK I must have overwatered it. I thought it would recover but, no matter what I did, it just died. The way I kept it for a year was that I would water it half as often as the other cacti and then only with 1 tablespoon of water. I would mist it with water quite often. I kept this up until I placed it outside. I thought that they had a growing season and that I should water it a little more. NOPE! Anyway, I decided to try again. This one, I have treated slightly different. I have not watered it any more but I didn't mist it enough, I think. I placed it outside a few weeks ago and, so far, I haven't noticed anything except that it is more wrinkled. I am watering it slightly more than normal but I am also trying not to water it too much like before. With Lithops, the watering dance is very delicate.

Here are some guidelines for Lithop care:

-Water when dry with 1 tablespoon of water from late spring to early summer.

-Stop watering during its summer dormancy.

-Give the plant just a little water if it begins to shrivel during dormancy.

-Resume watering in late summer to early fall.

-Keep the plant dry through winter and spring.

-Allow old leaves to completely dry up as new ones grow by not watering.

-Fertilize sparingly.

This is a type of Gibbaeum. I haven't seen this one flower but I have seen it develop new growth between the old leaves and watch the old leaves dry up. Supposedly, if you water them well in autumn, it will flower in autumn. Then you don't water much at all at any other time.

Frithia Pulchra, or Baby Toes, is a truly unique plant. The leaf tips have translucent windows which are able to diffuse bright sunlight. They will flower with clusters of pink and white blooms but I did not see this one bloom before it came to its own end. You see, these plants only live around 5 years before baby Baby Toes inherit the soil in which it is planted. If you look at the picture above closely, you will see a small baby peeping up in the middle of the fray. There are 2 or 3 more babies underneath a couple of the old wrinkled leaves. When I thought that I had lost this plant, I became very happy when I spotted the babies! I hope I can keep them alive!

They require light shade, a dry summer and thrive above 61 degrees Fahrenheit. This species is also called Fenestraria rhopalophylla.

Last Spring's Unbelievable Flower Display at Red Rock Canyon

During the Spring of '08, the flowers at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area were the best they had been for a few years. The timings of the winter rains and the rise in temperature has everything to do with desert color. This year we haven't been as lucky. Our rains were late and the rise in temperature was very slow to come about. But, if there is anyone out there who still believes that the desert has no color to offer, ... think again!

Some of the first arrivals were the huge joshua tree blooms. Every joshua tree in the area gave us these blooms that were about 7" by 9" in size. This only happens once every few years. This year there are NO joshua tree blooms.

Also gracing us with their presence were desert yucca blooms. Yuccas are even more prevalent in the Las Vegas desert than joshua trees and, last year, almost every yucca made a huge display. This year, I haven't seen even a hint of one.

The prickly pears bloomed last year and are blooming again. Although, so far this year, I have only seen the "hot" pink blooms of the hedgehog cactus.

I call this a puffy bush! I think it may be a type of acacia bush. I haven't seen it yet this year.

This is a desert sage. It is blooming this year as well.

Indian paintbrush can be counted on to appear as the first flower of the spring. It is very prolific in the desert.













Desert marigolds are also found everywhere.

You have to look hard to find the wavyleaf thistle.

The silver puff is also difficult to spot but they are there.

The agaves bloom once then die to allow their offsets to take over. I have seen many agaves blooming this year as well.












Evening primrose make a big display when they pop up.

Redbud trees bloom in the desert in April. They are found lining the dry creek washes soaking up all the water they can when the water comes down from the snow melt every spring.

Cliffrose is another flowering shrub that can be found anywhere in the desert. There is a lot of it in Red Rock Canyon.

Last but not least, the globemallow makes quite a showing in the Red Rock Canyon area. Mixed with the desert marigolds, it really brightens up the place! They are also blooming this year.

Fishhook Cactus

This is a Ferocactus wislizeni which is a fishhook cactus commonly called the Candy barrel cactus. Ferocacti are called "fishhook" because of the curving shape of the long spines that it produces. If you are to catch something in the spines, like burlap or your finger, it can be difficult to get the cactus to release it! The fishhook cactus does best if it is slightly neglected. It needs very little water and a lot of sun. It secretes a sticky substance which attracts ants so there are many ants among the roots that I saw when planting it. This doesn't create any problems if the plant is growing outside.

In the summer, this plant has produced orange flowers; more and more every year. After the flowers die off, a yellow fruit grows up underneath it. This past summer was its most prolific and these yellow fruits have been attached to the plant all winter. They are edible as is the whole plant. (I tried tasting the fruit and it is really quite sweet and yummy!) Inside the fruits are the cactus' seeds. They are very small and black ... similar to the size and shape of mustard seeds. I harvested 3 of the fruits for their seeds and began attempting to germinate them. We'll see how that goes.

Backyard Activity

First, I wanted to show you our Yucca rostrata or Yucca thompsoniana. We planted it as a large plant 3 years ago. It bloomed the first year but didn't the second after surviving the Deep Freeze of Winter '06-'07. Now, the third year, it is blooming again. This display is only the beginning! This yucca blooms whoppers!

Yuccas are in the lily family or Liliaceae. They are a desert plant and this one is commonly called Beaked Yucca. It needs well-drained soil, full sun and very little water. It could reach up to 12 feet high. Mine is 6 feet high so far! If anyone can tell me why the ends of the "leaves" are brown, I would appreciate it. I was wondering if the heat from the block wall wasn't so good an influence. Or, could it be that it gets the wrong amount of water? Desert plants can be confusing to a Georgia girl. In the desert, the norm is less water and brown COULD mean there is too much water; in Georgia, the norm is more water and brown means not enough water!

This cactus is an Opuntia which is the largest cactus genus including prickly pear, cholla, bunny ears or this one called Indian Fig. We planted this one 3 years ago next to this rock wall hoping that the heat from the wall would give it a good home. It started out with only 3 pads. It grew rapidly the first summer then was hit with the Deep Freeze. Some of the pads were frozen and I cut them off. The plant is very hardy and it grew again. I like the shape it is in now but its shape will be different by the end of the summer. It is fast growing and makes its own choices as to where it will make new growth!

New pads begin as little red notches that can be found anywhere on an old pad, usually on the edge. Right now, my Indian Fig has around 10 new notches but, tomorrow, it could add a few more.

The notches grow quickly into new pads as seen here on the left side of the plant. I rarely water this plant. I know it wants water when it becomes limp. That doesn't happen very often. If it is overwatered, a few pads will become bloated and die off.

More blooms on the Powder Puff Cactus.

Silver Torch

In the previous entry, you saw stage 1 of the Silver Torch bloom. Above, you see stage 2. The green ending on the red bloom opens out to allow a tiny flower with many spokes to begin protruding from the bloom. I assume this is for pollinating purposes.

In stage 3, the tiny flower begins growing out from the bloom with the green tip still opened out.

Stage 4, the final stage, is when the green tip closes up over the tiny spoked flower so that only the flower comes out from the bloom as if it is sticking out its tongue!

More Bloomers

My Cleistocactus strausii or Silver Torch stands about 5'9" tall right outside my backdoor. We bought it 3 years ago when the tallest column was only about 2.5 feet tall. It began blooming the very first spring with only one bloom. Now look at it! Yes, these are blooms! The very end of these odd blooms do open up for a short day or two and then the whole red thing falls off. The most prominent blooms in the picture above are about to open. This is also the first year that the shorter columns are blooming.

Silver Torches don't usually branch off like the shorter column did last year and we don't have an explanation as to why this one did. I have staked the tall column and the heavier split column with a piece of rebar and ribbon. The winds can get very strong here in Las Vegas and I just don't want to take any chances but the columns are pretty sturdy.

You can see where the columns get fatter and skinnier. The skinnier parts are where the cactus growth was during each winter season. I have been covering the cactus by wrapping it with burlap on nights when the temperature dips under 40 degrees but I have read that they can survive shortly in temperatures in the lower 20's. I don't care to test that theory.

As far as watering goes, thankfully, these cacti tolerate a little more water than the usual cacti. I have mine planted in area that insists on being more moist than I am comfortable with. Because of that I water the Silver Torch very rarely and, as you see, it seems to be just fine.

This is a new cactus for me. Although it said on the pot that it was a Mammillaria hahniana (or Old Lady Cactus/Birthday Cake Cactus), I believe that it is likely a Mammillaria bocasana v. rubriflora (or Powder Puff Cactus/Snowball Cactus). I have another cactus that resembles the former more than this one. Anyway, whatever it is, it is blooming!

Las Vegas Cockapoo says: Hi! You knew I wouldn't stay quiet for long! I just wanted to show you a photo of me when I was young ... last year. Here, I am 5 months old. Cute as all get out! (Not very modest.) Learning very quickly where exactly it is that Mom and Dad want me to do the dirty work and being introduced to THE BALL. Oh, the hair! Well, this was the style back in '08!