A few good plants
Friday, August 21, 2009
I'm not sure I planted these prickly pears right. They're not leaning over like the other species is. I guess that is a good sign. 
No idea what this is. There is a lot of new growth on top.
Again, no idea what this is, but it has doubled in size.
6 comments:
There's no real right or wrong way to plant a prickly pear... quite frankly, if you just lay a pad on the ground somewhere, it'll sprout.
The second plant could be any one of several species of Cereus - Most likely it's the cultivar called 'totem pole' but I'm only saying that because it's the most common. There are other varieties, but it's a monstrose form. Most monstrose forms don't bloom, or if they do so rarely it's not worth talking about.
The final plant is a Mammilllaria elongata 'copper king' They have small blooms, in the spring. I seem to remember them being white, but they may be yellow... individual blooms aren't that impressive, but they tend to bloom in rings around the plant stems, and can create quite a display. They're quick growing, for a cactus. Other varieties of this species have white or yellow spines.
I've got a couple prickly pears that started from a dropped pad-they are amazingly tough plants! You have some nicely colored pads planted!
Chris, your collection of plants is growing nicely. I see that last cactus alot in garden centers...looks like fuzzy fingers to me..lol.
My copper king has never bloomed-had it for a few years!
Claude - As always thanks for the input. Because I obtained all of these desert plants at once, I've no idea what most of them are.
Dee - Thanks!
Lynn - Thanks!
Pudgeduck - I am always pleasantly surprised when I see a desert plant bloom!
Hi, Chris--Sorry to post a totally un-gardenish comment here. I'm afraid my knowledge of plants is so scant all I could say is, "Ooh, that's pretty," or "Better not sit on that cactus there."
Anyway, you recommended Gregory Maguire to me when I blogged about reading recently. I thought I might try to find some of his books at our local used bookstore. Do you have any recommendations in particular? I'm looking at his stuff on Amazon, and there's a lot to choose from.
You can email me at cbethblog@gmail.com.
Thanks! Hope you're well!
Beth
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