After sustaining some early casualties, the brigade seems to have recovered and is doing quite nicely.
First the Saguaro one year ago:
That's the Saguaro on the left and the neobuxbaumia on the right.
More on the neobux later.
The Saguaro today.
Well okay, a couple of days ago:
That's some eulychina breviflora on top and the Saguaro on the bottom.
Now the Saguaro may look like they've progressed a lot, but let's compare them to the neobuxbaumi:
Okay, that one is something of mutant, for the others are in the back.
I'm not sure why only one of them has seemed to have taken to the skies.
Maybe it's been doing some intervals while I'm not looking.
Here's the agave:
That survived a leaf attack a while back.
I'm getting my still ready.
I didn't say that.
The much anticipated opuntia:
This one popped out a couple of months ago after the first batch was eaten during a rodent attack.
I may put a cage around this one.
It's starting to look plump and delicious.
The opuntia it seems, are seasonal, like they sprout only after winter or something.
I've read of folks freezing the seeds to simultate those conditions, then planting them later.
Very strange.
Actually not so strange as all these cactuses and succulents seem to grow during the winter months.
I mean it's not like we have winter months here, but I noticed more growth during that time.
I guess it makes sense, the plants slow down growth activity during the summer, when water would be scarce, and hit the gas during the winter when there is less sunshine and moisture can be used for growth rather than survival.
This is all very new and untropical like for me.
It's interesting to see nature in action and how even plants evolve to survive in a particular climate.
I mean even when relocated to a much different place, the growth pattern remains the same.
Except for that mutant one.
The X-Cactus.
I'm a little frightened by that one.
Anyways, I don't think I would have noticed this in grown plants; seeing them grown them from seeds is pretty interesting.
In a watching paint dry kind of way.
2 comments:
Thanks for the updates on the cactus clan. I used to have a bunch of cactus until they froze one early September night when we lived in Wisconsin.
Opuntia opuntia (yes, that's the scientific name) is winter hardy into central Wisconsin. I've never eaten one, but I'd like to try sometime!
I really miss my echinocactus!
I think I got the opuntia with the edible fruit, though I think I threw a bunch of seeds in there so I can't be sure.
At this rate, I'll know in about ten years.
Maybe.
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