Exciting Spring Happenings !

I planted my Jumping Cholla, or Opuntia tunicata, in my backyard last spring. It gets its name because the very thorny stems seem to "jump" on you if you get too close. The spines, or thorns, have a natural reaction to curl and grab hold if anything that is water-based (like animals and people) touches it. I did test it!

There was one spot that I had tried several different plants in and all had died. So, I resorted to the cholla (choy-ya)since it was a native plant and seemed to be able to take all sorts of abuse! (In retrospect, planting the bugger was the hardest thing about having this plant!) It seems to just take care of itself. It suffered no problems all winter and, today, while I was "touring the garden," I noticed that it was budding. I counted 12 buds so far! Along with the buds, there are many new stems growing. (I had seen the new stems before.) I am so excited that I will have flowers!

The next surprise I got on my tour was from this spineless (or thornless) cactus which I am still trying to find the name to. I bought it last fall and decided to plant it in the ground as was suggested. All winter long, I watched it sit there kind of funny looking. Assuming that it was doing okay, I didn't water it hoping that the rains that we had this winter were sufficient.

(Three days later: I have just received an answer to an email I sent to my favorite cactus merchant. This is a Tephrocactus acculata or Pinecone Cactus. It is of the hardy Opuntia family which is the same as the cholla above.)

Today, I noticed a budding offset near the base of the plant and another nearer to the top! I have seen a mature specimen of this plant at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas. It had many offsets and was spread out over about 4 square feet. All the offsets grow straight up from the ground or as an arm off of the mother plant. I am very pleased with this new development.

Finally, even though it is not a surprise, I wanted to show the buds on my Argentine Giant Cactus. These buds began about 3 or 4 weeks ago. The off and on chilly weather has slowed their progress but I think faster progress will be made in the coming week or two. These buds will turn into the flower I showed on the very first entry of the blog. The flower will bloom one evening and be wilted by the next evening. Short-lived but spectacular!

I planted my Argentine in our yard 3 years ago. It has bloomed every spring. I will keep you updated with its progress.