I had the fun of visiting Arizona several weeks ago and went to the Saguaro National Park. What a place! I was mesmerized but the plants. Here are a few pictures.
The crested one was near the entrance of a Desert Museum. Its near the park but a private enterprise. The patio shot is part of the national park. The last cactus was interesting because of the irregular distribution of the spines.
Here is another interesting Saguaro. I thought of it as a 'female' though the curves just show some interruption in the normal growth at the time.
This message was edited Feb 25, 2015 11:03 PM
Great pictures! I wish I lived out West!
-Will
I suddenly had a thought: Do these cactus that live several hundred years and grow 40 feet tall show the weather patterns with their shape? Like tree rings - wide in good years, narrow in bad years. Do cactus grow wider in good years and narrower in bad years (resulting in the curvy outlines)?
I don't know the answer to your question DaisyPlantLady but I would doubt it to be yes. I base that on the fact that the curvy cactus in the photo was the only one like it and if it were caused by weather conditions I would think all the others would have some curve or change in growth too and they didn't.
In the cardón cactus that we have here, you can tell a good year from a bad year by the amount of vertical growth a plant adds, but that effect becomes less visible over time as the trunk gets more treelike. I would imagine that saguaros might work the same. Lovely pictures, Helen. What a fun trip.
You can note freezing weather on some saguaros. The plant will taper where it is frosted and go back out later. Also branches that are pointing downward show the effect of frost.
Thanks Baja, I enjoyed the desert very much. So different from the Georgia greenery. Its a long drive but definitely worth it. I haven't driven out west in a long time and it was fun and of course very interesting.
Thank you so much for sharing. A dream trip for me!
Very nice. I enjoyed your photos. Wish I could have gone. :)
Well the saguaros should be coming into bloom in the coming months maybe it's time to pay a visit to some family out there ;)
Don't just visit Saguaros. There's a whole desert of beautiful cactus blooms out there. My personal favorites are the barrel cactus growing in the ravines in the mountains of Southern California. Purple! My favorite color.
Daisy
I planted this 40 foot beauty in my yard 30+ years ago. It was about 7 feet tall at that time. I have since planted a few (5) more in the yard with the smallest being 3 feet high. They are a very interesting plant; expanding and contracting as water is more or less plentiful. My larger ones serve as maternity wards for Gila woodpeckers.
I love your pictures 48flash. You certainly have some beautiful plants. And the woodpecker nest is fun. I love having birds nesting in my yard. Eastern Bluebirds and Chickadees have been busy lately in the nest boxes I put out.
I agree. Great Saguaro!
Hi 48Flash, Good to hear from you again! I love your saguaros ... and the birds as well! I don't have a saguaro, but lots of my neighbors in Sun Lakes do!
