Accessible Gardening: ...so what are you up to?, 1 by Agavegirl1

Agavegirl1 wrote:
Hi gang, :D

Back and have some time. I envy you guys getting out to do the Fall projects and planting.

The lilies sound amazing especially the yellow one with the green throat and red spots! Now that\'s one I\'d love to have. It would die here in this heat. The neon plants are fun too. See, you guys get all the good stuff. Boo-hoo for me. Oh well, everything here is a lovely shade of brown and/or sickly yellow right now. *LOL*

Let\'s see: The weather men are lying to us. They say it is 90-97. Nope my and others in my area have thermometers reading 95-103 right now. Everyone\'s Agaves are shriveled and closed tight on themselves despite being watered and the lower temps. Yes these temps are a respite from 110+ and 118, and 122 all summer long.

P.pears have shriveled pads. Both P.pears and Eve\'s Needles are \'bending\' and \'waving\' like algae under the sea. A lot of the Agaves have thin and elongated leaves, and Trichocereus and Chamaelobivia have developed an elongated \'onion\' dome shape or are tapering to a very narrow point at the top instead of maintaining the normal columnar shape.

By now these plants should be reveling in the nice sunshine that isn\'t hitting them like a laser beam, the humidity, the lack of rain and just hanging out being happy. Even the cacti gurus and experts with obscene encyclopedic knowledge are having the same issues and are perplex as to what\'s going on as their plants look the same.

It has been such a long, hot, stressful summer and such bizarre, A-typical weather that none of us or the plants know how to respond accordingly. Water is not the answer as it does not solve the appearance problem and plump them. Too much water will only rot these desert plants\' roots.

As far as anyone here can ascertain they are just in a state of shock and being catatonic. My worry is these temps will persist and not give the plants the \'cool down\' and rest time they need to acclimate and transition into our winter and chilly nights (by our and our plant standards). It seems as though it will go from summer to winter with no fall. We are all hoping this is not the case. *sigh*.

Carrie........feel bad about your fall doldrums. I remember that. As of right now I\'ll trade you. You can come here and be in the sun for awhile. I\'d relish a few gray days and a few days in super crisp outdoor temps. I long to put on some boots and a sweater and go look at the leaves. Cold enough to just see your breath and need gloves and a mid weight short coat but with no snow or frost on the ground or where your teeth are chattering so hard you feel as if they\'d break. A nice fire to sit in front of. Ahhhhh....I am so jealous.

As it is I\'m sweating my butt off, still wearing sun hats and shorts and alternating between running the air and not, Sounds like paradise until you realize there is no beach and no relief!

Jim......sorry the critters are at your plants. :[
Not sure why. I\'m fortunate in that I don\'t have that problem as I now live in a suburban-urban area. A lot of people out here in different areas with lots of trees in their communities or in more rural areas have problems with squirrels, chipmunks, and prairie dogs getting at the plants\' roots and rabbits eating the p.pears. I still don\'t know how they get their faces around the spines or avoid getting the glochids in their noses.

As for your crab cactus, hmmmmm. Austrocylindropuntia subulata monstrose if it is the one I sent you. I called it a crab cactus because in the summer the new growth has little tips that turn red in the summer and look kind of like crab claws! It could be a variety of that or another Eve\'s Needle. To abbreviate the Austro subulata is a type of Eve\'s needle that stays small about 1-3 feet and just clumps. Regular Eve\'s needles will get taller and branch.

Also if you look at the word Austrocylindropuntia you\'ll see Opuntia in the last part. That\'s your p.pears. Don\'t know how this plant got associated with that family but could also explain why the critters are finding it so tasty. I\'d say put it in the green house or in a pot in a higher location they can\'t get at.

BTW the plants in the pics from our anniversary...yes, the pole cacti is amazing behind Dave. That is a Totem Pole cactus or Lophocereus schottii forma monstrose also sold as Pachycereus schottii variety monstrose. It is a common, not rare plant out here. It is zone 9B-11 specific and hardy to only 9B. Most of them now days are grown from cuttings. Its roots will not take if it is below 70 degrees! Definitely a sun lover and one for my climate. May make a good greenhouse plant for you.

The super rare one was that freaky looking thing in the first and second pics that looks like a natty half dead tree. It is called a Cirio. Proper name is Fouquieria columnaris. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. *shrug*

Aside from being set behind on weed mesh removal from my back yard (shovel rock aside, pull up weed mesh, shovel rock back and rake to make pretty) due to temps and other things I am now dealing with bugs.

Grrrrrrrrrrr. Let\'s see. We already have fire, flood and drought. Then we had ants. We presently have moths. The newest thing is crickets. My neighbor\'s pole cacti is just covered with them. Ewwwwwwwwwww. Since it is my neighbor good chance it may be my pole cacti next. *sigh...eye roll* I don\'t think they\'re harmful to the plant but they\'re nasty and who knows what they\'re doing? Laying eggs? Attracting other bugs? I dunno.

Oh well that\'s what...6 out of 7 plagues? Only one more to go! LOL

Talk to you guys later.
Hugs,
AG

I think I\'m going to make this my new Avatar. It is from the Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson. (sorry, gotta turn your head sideways)