Finally! The Argentine Bloomed!

The Argentine Giant Cactus finally presented us with a bloom in the summer of '09! Isn't it gorgeous? It only lasts a day.

Little Backyard Happenings

Well, this is our backyard. It is our creation and we have strived to nuture it to a well tended garden mixed with tropical palms, desert plants and trees and various native and non-native cacti. The pool design is my own. (Pools are a must in Las Vegas!)

I don't believe you have met my Organ Pipe Cactus. I bought it about a year ago and planted it in the ground right away. It seems to be pretty happy even though it gets sun only about 3 months out of the year. It has probably doubled in size since I planted it.







You have met my Silver Torch. It has grown even more since I last wrote about it. It is doing very well and bloomed profusely this spring and summer.












This is another cactus that you have not met. It is my Red Barrel or Ferocactus cylindraceous. It is also referred to as a Fire Barrel or California Barrel. It shows as bright red especially right after a good rainfall. It needs very little water out in the wild, however, I have learned that it appreciates a lot more care when placed in a pot. Someday, I hope it will make yellow flowers.

Guess what! My Argentine Pipe Cactus is blooming again. This is the first year that it has tried to bloom twice. I am hoping that this bloom goes all the way.

Several weeks ago, I cut off an arm from the Argentine that was hanging off of the main stem in a precarious way. I cut the arm to be square on the bottom at the advice of an internet expert and waited about a week for it to dry. Then I planted it in cactus soil, waited another week then started watering it. Voila! A new Argentine, portable version!

This is my Fishhook cactus. Remember that it was beginning to bloom? Well, it's still going!

Is my Cereus Serious?

Can someone please tell me why my Cereus peruvianus v. monstrose (did I spell that right?) is doing a back bend away from the light source?

Desert Rose

I have been waiting to write about my Adenium or Desert Rose because it was having some trouble with bugs throughout the winter and spring. The leaves were curled and malformed due to the critters and I even tried Neem on the plant numerous times to get rid of them. I suppose I shouldn't have but it did survive. However, the bugs survived as well. Finally, I found some information on a website to suggest how to get rid of them and to start with, it told me to remove all the leaves! Whew! By looking at the picture to the right, you can imagine how desperate I was to get this plant looking better! I pinched every last leaf off the plant. I suppose I did know that this plant reproduced leaves rapidly and that losing its leaves was something that the adenium does when it gets overwatered, too. So, in the back of my mind, I knew that removing its leaves was not going to kill it. ... Still...!

I began spraying the plant every day with water. Apparently, the critters don't like to be wet. (Ahh, too bad.) It wasn't long before leaf buds began appearing on all the limbs. Most limbs had two or three starters. I was holding my breath as to whether the leaves would form normally or not. I just kept spraying it down with the water trying to get every last millimeter of surface wet.

It may have only taken a month for the plant to reproduce all of its leaves. As you can see, they are normal for the most part. (I'm still spraying it every day.) If I have to go through the process again, I will. But, for now, I'm pretty happy! I will be even more happy if this bloomer would start producing some beautiful desert roses. I'll keep you informed.

Ferocactus Blooms

My fishhook cactus is blooming up a storm! I counted 22 buds on it a couple of weeks ago and they are blooming as we speak at the rate of about 3 to 5 at a time. The blooms last a day and the fruits are under the blooms. After it quits blooming, the fruits will grow a little bigger and turn yellow. The fruits are actually quite sweet tasting and can be eaten.

GG's Cousin Heidi

I am Heidi, a maine coon cat extraordinaire. I live with my Mom in Georgia. My Mom is tops. She gives me all a cat could want; a great house all to myself (oh yeah, and her), food everyday, a screen door to watch the birds in the morning, sometimes a bit of tuna, and really cool guests like Andrew, Mitchell and Aunt Kay.

Aunt Kay was just here last weekend. At first, I wasn't so sure she remembered me so I played it tough and hid just out of her sight for a few hours. She acted like she remembered me but I still didn't know for sure. And, did she remember how special I was? Well, soon I decided to put her to the test. I allowed her to pet me ... only at arm's length. She seemed to remember that cats only like to be scratched behind the ears and that's where she concentrated her efforts.

The next day, I showed my Mom how special she is by sitting on her tummy and doing the two-step. I know how she likes that. For the most part, I ignored Aunt Kay but, darned, if she didn't keep crawling up to me and acting like she knew me. Rubbing my ears and back. Playing with my tail and paws. Hmmph! The nerve! She just wouldn't go away! I chirped and chirped and chirped. (Funny thing was that she chirped back!)

So, the next day, Aunt Kay decided she would just go straight for my tummy. Whoa! Only my Mom does that! "Well, okay," I thought, "I'll let her do that just this once. Then, that's it!" I won't tell her that I kind of liked it! I let out a few chirps but I don't think I was fooling her.

Then, Mom brought out the "big guns!" She found my old toy, the fishing rod with the feather toy on the end of it. I forgot how much I loved that thing. Aunt Kay and I played and played. I caught it most of the time but Aunt Kay was pretty good, too. I was playing the two level version of this game which didn't seem to bother Aunt Kay even though I think it was making Mom nervous that I was on the coffee table during the game. I decided Aunt Kay was all right and she definitely remembered me so that night, I was waiting outside the bathroom when she finished her bath to say goodnight.

So, after four days, I decided I could share my space with this new female and, as I passed by her bedroom on the last morning, I noticed that she was busying around putting things in a suitcase. I entered her space and chirped a few times. Aunt Kay bent down to rub me seeming to be especially pleased. Later, I approached her at the breakfast table and thoughtfully laid down to offer my tummy to her reaching hand. "No, Aunt Kay," I said silently, "I was just getting used to this intrusion. Don't leave me until I am finished with you!"

Alas, that morning she did not return with my Mom. But, it's okay. I love my Mom and life is wonderful at my house.

Austrocylindropuntia Vestita

I haven't been writing a lot lately because I am finding it difficult to identify the few cacti that I have left to write about. I found this one quite by accident when I was looking for something else on the internet. This is an austrocylindropuntia vestita. It is a South American beauty whose name means "strange hairy thing." (Just kidding!) I bought it as a member of that famous cactus garden three years ago. It doesn't like much water but when it does need water, it tells you clearly by falling over. It seems to prefer being inside out of the worst heat.