I love to see photos of the succulents in their native habitat.

After living in Arizona, I was always fascinated by how colorful the desert can be at times. Your photos really show that color.
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The photo that really snagged my attention was your photo of the Coastal Cholla for todays popular photo. I had never thought of Cholla as being pretty but that one definitely is!

Thanks for starting this thread and for sharing your photos.

My pleasure. I was pleasantly surprised to see everything so vibrantly alive down there after several months of drought. As you can imagine the place changes dramatically after a couple of good winter storms. The best time to go (as far as plant life is concerned) is in the spring after a proper rainy winter. That's when you get to see stuff like this (and flowers galore of course).



Our native cholla (which grows right up the hill from the house) is extremely dangerous. Both humans and canines know from experience to keep a safe distance. It really is the worst cholla I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. The only realistic use for that plant in a garden would be to create a barrier that no sane person would ever try to cross.



The chollas we had to deal with in the central desert have the same barbs but longer spines, more like toothpick size, spaced wider apart. Making them easier to remove.

That Coastal Cholla is beautiful, but definitely looks deadly! We have a prickly pear that is similar and horrible to remove when we get them in us. It's Opuntia aciculata, I believe.

Beautiful pictures Karen! So many blooms.

I wish I could see these amazing plants in their native habitats! So many great images Karen and Baja!

Karen, Can't say what's worse. I have the hardy yellow ones here and it is very painful and some tiny red spines just can't get out. Forms a blister days later and takes several months to fully remove. Just hate them.

Yes, I've had some I couldn't get out. They just had to get infected and then they came out. It amazes me that rabbits and other animals actually eat these things!

Awwww......Cacti Kisses. You know they don't mean anything personal by it. It is just our kids' way of saying they love us.

Little secret I learned when it comes to p.pears and glochids. Rub your hand/fingers/whatever in the dirt! Yep. If you get glochids stuck in your fingers just rub them very vigorously in some dry dirt and that should get the little buggers out. Works like a charm for me.

You really can't beat p.pears for mass blooms and a wave of color in the yard. So very pretty despite their meaner qualities. In a way you can't fault them or chollas for that either considering every critter around wants to take a bite out of you.

Speaking of color, here's some from our sunset last night. View from my back yard. It was 80 yesterday! That's our May temps.

Hoping....hoping and praying for that rain that was forecasted today. They said 40%-60% of showers late today into tonight and possibly a 20% chance of rain tomorrow. If not, this will mean we've had only ONE DAY of measurable rain in 5.5 months! I'll also have to go out and water on Thursday. I don't want to do that. I'm tired!

We got our rain!
Rain started last night about 9:00 p.m. We had a good, steady soaking that lasted all night. It is still raining this morning. YIPPEE. Hopefully it will stick around for the day.

Happy for your rain @AgaveGirl1

We got less than an inch but it was real rain.

Before and after pics in the public garden here... change is underway.

Aeonium



Aloe

It always amazes me how fast the cacti and succulents can change when it rains after a long drought. Very nice pics, Baja!

Aside from some flowering Mammillarias there is not very much going on in my yard. Plants are mostly wondering where all the rain has been...

However, the Aloes in Boyce Thompson Arboretum - which is located a ways out of town at higher elevation - are in various stages of blooming. Very impressive. Here a couple of A. Ferox type tree Aloes showing their winter color and beautiful inflorescences:



For those of you who live in the neighborhood, BTA is definitely worth a visit at the moment!

mcvansoest said:Aside from some flowering Mammillarias there is not very much going on in my yard. Plants are mostly wondering where all the rain has been...

However, the Aloes in Boyce Thompson Arboretum - which is located a ways out of town at higher elevation - are in various stages of blooming. Very impressive. Here a couple of A. Ferox type tree Aloes showing their winter color and beautiful inflorescences:



For those of you who live in the neighborhood, BTA is definitely worth a visit at the moment!

Dang. I wish I didn't have the flu.

Hey guys,

The one day of rain did some wonders for my yard. Could use more of course as we are in great need but I am still very grateful for that one day. Things responded accordingly by getting greener and blooming. The mornings have been cool so we've also had dew the last three mornings. The plants have been capitalizing on that moisture as well.

Aloe vera kicked into full gear with their blooms and hummingbirds are going insane over them.


Quartet of winter blooming Mammillaria.



Agaves adding on new leaves and height




Hard to tell, but trust me.....the Ming Things have added onto themselves with new growth and they even got a little taller.



Haven't had a chance to get out and do anything fun like go hiking or to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Envious of those that have. Just glad I had some time to get out in the yard and do a little weeding and take care of things.

So what has everyone else been up to?

Lovely pictures, especially the flowering aloes and the urn-shaped agave (pic#4 in AG's set). I planted one of those here, but it gets zero water (from me) and looks totally sad at this point, especially in comparison to the fulsome beast you have. I have never seen one of those in such great condition.

Aloe trees in bloom here (these two actually side by side)...



And some unfortunate grazing. The bunnies totally devoured a Ferocactus robustus (barrel cactus with 10-12 heads) that I planted a couple of years ago. No picture necessary because there's nothing left (except lots of bunny poop off to the side). That kind of blew my mind because the spines on the plant are vicious. They seem to have solved the problem by attacking the plant from below.

Here a picture of a succulent Euphorbia that the bunnies actually ate. Normally they just nibble off a bit and decide it's not for them, but these must be times of extreme desperation with the prolonged summer drought. I'm not sure that size portion is survivable, in one sitting. The plant will grow out of it no problem. Second Euphorbia (recently installed) growing nearby is apparently less interesting to them.

I need advice: My flapjack succulent has sent up a long flower stalk.



This probably means that the blooming portion of the plant will die (which is okay since there are pups to replace it).



My question is: can I cut off the stalk and callous the leaves on that stem to propagate new plants. Or is there something going on at a cellular level that would prevent them from rooting?



I've never tried this before because this is the first time the plant has bloomed. Advice would be appreciated.

Grandma Char, I'd go for it. It should work. I haven't done it with that particular plant, but it works with many others that grow in a similar fashion.

I figure, what do I have to lose? Right? I'll try to cut out part of the stem with each leaf.
Will post results.

Yes, it's worth trying. I love propagating succulents and having lots of plants to share with others.