The cactus garden I created this summer around
WP668, our backyard caboose, is flourishing. It has rained only very
briefly in San Jose, California the last six months. Once the rain starts
again, I will see how the new planting beds settle in. For now, everyone
seems very happy.
This summer, the Silver Torch (Cleistocactus Strausii) lost one of its three
spires to rot but the big spire now has
a fuzzy white baby. The babies around the Argentine Giant Cordon (Trichocereus
Candicans, Echinopsis) have about doubled in size since I planted them in
April. The blue and pink Bunny Ears (Opuntia Microdasys) I bought in
August looks good against the big boulder; I hope no one will touch it
there. Bunny Ears dropped so many glochids (tiny invasive spines) during
planting that I had to throw away the gloves I used. It took a week for all
of the glochids to work their way out of my skin – yuk! No new growth on
the bigger cactuses
Boris and Natasha but I hope they will perk up after it rains.
Boris is a Golden Barrel Cactus or Echinocactus grusonii. Natasha is an
Argentine Saguaro or Trichocereus Terscheckii. Photos:
Cactus bed
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WP668 Caboose and Cactus bed
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Last Aloe Bloom
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Argentine Giant Cordon
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Silver Torch baby
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Bunny Ears
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Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson
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