Cactus Gardening

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii var. hislopii )

From Madagascar these wicked looking plants are hard to come by.

The Crown of Thorns can grow to 8 feet in height and will bloom all year long in full sun to light shade.

I have two of them now one with pinkish-red flowers and the other with yellow flowers.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)

It is said that the Saguaro can live for 200 years and may take up to 75 years to grow an arm. Many of a Saguaro's around my neighborhood community have several arms, which would make them quite old. When they built the community the builder replanted the Saguaro's along the common areas and drive into the community and as each week passes more seem to show up. The area is growing in new home builds and the law requires the builder to either sell or replant the Saguaro's.

Recently I purchased one that is a little less than 3 feet in height and grown in a pot. I hope to have it planted in a few weeks.

Take a look at the thorns on this plant!!! They are very sharp and grow in all directions.

I am not even going to attempt the task of planting it; I will leave that to my landscaper.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Old Man of Mexico (Cephalocereus senilis)

I happen to own two of these plants. I purchased them a few weeks ago and will plant them in about three weeks.

This plant is native to Mexico and can reach a height of 45 feet after many years. In it's native land it can take 20 years to reach a height of 2 feet.

It is covered with long white hairs and has long yellow thorns - so don't touch it.

When the plant reaches 15 feet or so it will bear 2" long rose-colored flowers that open at night.

The growth rate can be accelerated with supplemental watering and fertilizer.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Agave Multifilifera (Agave multifilifera)

From Mexico this Agave is a one of the smaller varieties growing 7 to 10 inches. The Agave Multifilifera heat tolerance is excellent and does well with full sun light. So in the Arizona Desert it should do well.

I have been told by a number of folks that this little guy does not need to be watered and the rain fall in the desert of Arizona is sufficent. However I have also been told that when the summer months come and the temperature stays over 100 degrees for days on end, a little water will help every 15 days or so.