When I planted the beginning of the cactus garden back in mid-June, we all marveled that I had to remind myself NOT to do anything to it except for a light watering every three weeks. I cancelled a couple of those waterings because of our summer rains. In spite of what seemed like neglect to me, the little plants have been thriving.
Here they are in mid-September, after three months in their adobe soil (with half sand mixed in for drainage). I've put in "before" pictures, too.
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| Echinocereus triglochidatus (good grief!), "White Sands" before |
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| ... and three months after. Although the camera angle was different, you can see that there are maybe twice as many rows of thorns on the sides, indicating lots of growth. I'm glad I have these photos for comparison. Cacti are like kids, they grow, whether you notice it or not, from day to day |
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| Mexican fire barrel cactus, before... |
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| ... and after. Not such dramatic growth as the first one. |
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| Euphorbia? It was really small in June... |
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| You have to look hard to see the original part of the plant. It's grown so much that it might actually needs staking, although I've never seen that done with a cactus. I like the way it throws its shadow on the adobe wall. |
8 comments:
Amazing! I loved seeing your cactus garden. They are fascinating plants. I like the part where you don't have to do anything to them, too.
Very cool Cacti, Clair. Did you ever get a "Steve" of your own from the Farmer's mkt? :)
Great photos, Bluebird!
They really are trouble-free, Judy. Becky, we actually did get three Steves (explanation here). We are waiting for all the work crews to finish with the house repairs before attempting to plant them. I'll do some "before" pictures of them, too, because I think that they are going to be really big.
I had a pink flowering cactus in college. It sat on my window edge soaking up the sun/rain.
Loved seeing your Cacti,they are a plant I like very much,but they will not grow here in Ireland,it is to wet and cold for them.Even in the house they do not do well unfortunately.
Look forward to watching yours grow and to see the flowers,I know that some of them have magnificent blooms.
Great macro, Clair! I notice the shadow right off, when I viewed your post this morning at work. Of course, I have to come home to comment, because...the internet police patrol regularly. Looks like you did a great job holding yourself back from over-watering! Everything's a lesson, isn't it!?
While hiking with my dad, I once tripped on the mountain scree and went tumbling down to land seat down in a barrel cactus the size of an ottoman.......when my dad stopped laughing, he pulled me out, I bent over, and he proceded to remove quite a number of spines.
When I see your sunset skyline, I become incredibly mountain-sick, especially at this time of year. By now, the leaves in Cloudcroft are beginning to turn...elderberries are ripe. Apples getting there. Evenings crisp, noontimes sunny. purple haze on the hills, and cottonwoods turning gold from the crowns down...I miss it so much. Enjoy.
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