Post pictures from your yard today

[Meangreen94z]

Yikes, that many plants in ground and it's not a permanent location! You moving houses again or moving plants around the yard?

Here are a few - I keep saying I'm not going to keep things in pots anymore. We can all see how that's going. I'll put it all in the ground I promise.
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Full sun bed in the front yard is looking pretty good - got a bunch of survivors, including even a bunch of Aloe (karasbergensis, littoralis, tomentosa, lavranosii, gariepensis, hereroensis).
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A. immaculata is another survivor, and this little corner of one of the front beds is doing well and shows my vision pretty well...lots of small interesting things. The Senecio vine is totally dead but its corpse is still providing precious shade...
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Starting to think I should have put this in the ground rather than the bed. Oh well, probably not going to dig it up again...probably.
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Food garden has gotten wrecked this year. Just replanted some tomatoes for fall (probably a waste of $) and we have pumpkin sprouts (probably too late). The grapes survived and the Ceiba behind looks much better this year than last.
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Yeah, it’s taken longer than I hoped to buy. We moved out here during the pandemic, then prices skyrocketed. I’ve been patient and prices have steadily dropped the last year. In the beginning of next year we will get serious . I didn’t originally intend to put much in the ground, but hardiness is drastically reduced in containers. I would say a 10-15°F difference in some cases.

We lost our vegetable garden as well. All the fruit trees/bushes were constantly watered to keep alive.

Your aloe look surprisingly good for how hot/intense Tucson has been. They deflate, dry out, and burn here even in most day shade.Between that and the winters Ive only kept a few specimen.

[Meangreen94z]

Looking good Melt and Mean.

It looks like we are finally getting break from the heat... they say highs barely above 100 or just below for the coming weeks with lows hitting the high 60s at the end of the forecast, but solidly in the 70s starting Wednesday...

Then I can finally start seriously watering and seriously cleaning up the devastation... Just took what was left of my Aloe 'Spiney' out... even the two small offsets had succumbed... got a replacement plant ready - Aloe wickensii which made it through the summer in a pot at almost no water so I have high hopes for that being OK in the ground.

I have not been in my side yard in weeks so I am not sure how bad it will be - that side yard gets only morning sun so I think it will be OK - the entry to it is currently blocked by Bougainvillea growth, which appears to have loved the crazy heat and almost no water of the last few months....

Four major victims in the front yard. Asperrima, 'Saw Tooth', americana variegata and 'Mad Cow'. jury is out on a couple (titanota 'white ice' being the main plant of concern atm).

Best performers despite some summer scorching: Agave sobria, 'Green Goblet', murpheyi 'Rodney/Engard', zebra, my neomex and havardiana also made it through but have some persistent scale in their crowns.... so now that it is cooling down I can finally go at it with some pesticides, spraying with just the water hose has not worked.

In the back no major Agave losses - just a dwarf agave desertii and a cerulata clump that I am not sure will pull through - am a little concerned about my striated weberi that I got from Gee.S, but it still appears solid. A few cacti and as said Spiney as the major Aloe victim. Have not really looked to carefully at the potted stuff in my shade structure. There sobria was also a star with regards to dealing with this heat.

Clearly the message is to grow Agave sobria...

Pictures to follow after the major clean up.

Yeah it’s been a steady drop, but we’ve missed out on any rain. Maybe later this week. For the summer the squirrels and I believe a loitering rat left everything alone, with the drop in temperatures instinctively they’ve started to dig/chew into some my Yucca seedlings. I put out poison, but the rodent seems unaffected despite consuming. I’m going to buy a trap.

[Meangreen94z]

@Meangreen94z loads of excellent material to start your new permanent garden. Can't wait to see it being developed. Is the FR x lechuguilla suckering?

@mcvansoest sorry to read about the damage you guys have gotten from the extreme heat. I am surprised your deserti is among the ones mostly affected. Always thought this one was bullet proof in the AZ sun.

Thanks, hopefully I have success with what I’ve assembled. I have both a man made version of that hybrid I bought years ago, and a possibly natural occurring variant I picked up this spring. Both have produced offsets.

[nsp88]

Starting to think I should have put this in the ground rather than the bed. Oh well, probably not going to dig it up again...probably.
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How would you even move something like that without killing your hands or breaking down tons of spines?

[Gafoto]

Starting to think I should have put this in the ground rather than the bed. Oh well, probably not going to dig it up again...probably.
1000012196.jpg

How would you even move something like that without killing your hands or breaking down tons of spines?

Growing desert plants is a blood sport. No two ways about it.

I’ll have to grab a shot of the beds tomorrow. All the little 2.5” pots are really starting to fill out. Most of these are seed grown. I tell my girlfriend they will all go in the ground…eventually. There’s always room for utahensis!

I’m glad I have a few that have taken off or I would be a bit bummed at the progress. The growth rate for var. eborispina on average is glacial. Some of the var. nevadensis grow respectably fast and var. utahensis from the Pine Mountains can grow quite quickly with some water.

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[nsp88]

All the little 2.5” pots are really starting to fill out.

I'm going to have to get a tray of pots going like this once I get enough seeds started and old enough to repot. I don't know why, but I find the setup very satisfying. Nice

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Anyways, what are these circled ones?
1 has some serious teeth
Are 2 and 5 the same? V-R?
What about 3 & 4? They look different, but they both have a lot of leaves for such small sizes, it seems like.

@Meangreen94z Man, your yard amazes me for being a rental. I'm in the process of setting up a raised bed in the back weed/dirt patch of our apartment, and am worried what the landlord will say.

[Gafoto]

All the little 2.5” pots are really starting to fill out.

I'm going to have to get a tray of pots going like this once I get enough seeds started and old enough to repot. I don't know why, but I find the setup very satisfying. Nice
agave tray.jpg
Anyways, what are these circled ones?
1 has some serious teeth
Are 2 and 5 the same? V-R?
What about 3 & 4? They look different, but they both have a lot of leaves for such small sizes, it seems like.

@Meangreen94z Man, your yard amazes me for being a rental. I'm in the process of setting up a raised bed in the back weed/dirt patch of our apartment, and am worried what the landlord will say.

1= Agave chrysantha from 7000’ on Mt. Lemmon
2 and 5 = Agave schottii from Windy Point on Mt. Lemmon
3= Agave utahensis var. eborispina near Hiko, NV. This one was actually a bulbil from a broken flower stalk.
4= Agave utahensis var. utahensis from near Leeds, UT.

A bunch of the utahensis were sprouted last winter so they’re 18 months old or more.

[Melt in the Sun]

How would you even move something like that without killing your hands or breaking down tons of spines?

In this case I used a long and skinny cardboard box. Slipped it over the top like a tube, dug the plant up, and then closed the bottom! It worked very well and yeah some spines were broken, but not enough to notice.

[mcvansoest]

Looking good Melt and Mean.

It looks like we are finally getting break from the heat... they say highs barely above 100 or just below for the coming weeks with lows hitting the high 60s at the end of the forecast, but solidly in the 70s starting Wednesday...

Then I can finally start seriously watering and seriously cleaning up the devastation... Just took what was left of my Aloe 'Spiney' out... even the two small offsets had succumbed... got a replacement plant ready - Aloe wickensii which made it through the summer in a pot at almost no water so I have high hopes for that being OK in the ground.

I have not been in my side yard in weeks so I am not sure how bad it will be - that side yard gets only morning sun so I think it will be OK - the entry to it is currently blocked by Bougainvillea growth, which appears to have loved the crazy heat and almost no water of the last few months....

Four major victims in the front yard. Asperrima, 'Saw Tooth', americana variegata and 'Mad Cow'. jury is out on a couple (titanota 'white ice' being the main plant of concern atm).

Best performers despite some summer scorching: Agave sobria, 'Green Goblet', murpheyi 'Rodney/Engard', zebra, my neomex and havardiana also made it through but have some persistent scale in their crowns.... so now that it is cooling down I can finally go at it with some pesticides, spraying with just the water hose has not worked.

In the back no major Agave losses - just a dwarf agave desertii and a cerulata clump that I am not sure will pull through - am a little concerned about my striated weberi that I got from Gee.S, but it still appears solid. A few cacti and as said Spiney as the major Aloe victim. Have not really looked to carefully at the potted stuff in my shade structure. There sobria was also a star with regards to dealing with this heat.

Clearly the message is to grow Agave sobria...

Pictures to follow after the major clean up.

Yeah it’s been a steady drop, but we’ve missed out on any rain. Maybe later this week. For the summer the squirrels and I believe a loitering rat left everything alone, with the drop in temperatures instinctively they’ve started to dig/chew into some my Yucca seedlings. I put out poison, but the rodent seems unaffected despite consuming. I’m going to buy a trap.

Yeah rain has been mostly absent here too, not so much the complete Phoenix area, but we have just been unlucky not to get any or only relatively little when rain did come through. Like tonight there is definitely weather going on around us, and rain was forecast but nothing so far...

[Gafoto]

The "fast" growing utahensis from various locations:

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var. eborispina from near Hiko, NV

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Near Mountain Springs, NV which presents as var. nevadensis (top) and Cowboy Canyon close to the Red Rock Canyon scenic drive (bottom). The Cowboy Canyon population is one of the most interesting because there are plants that could pass as var utahensis, var nevadensis or var eborispina all growing next to each other. Really variable plants, I'm excited to see how more of them develop. They seem to be a very toothy locale.

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Meadview, AZ. These guys are nice and green. Mesa Garden seed so I only have a handful. Another Mountains Springs plant in the back.

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A plant that looks generally like var utahensis from near Leeds, UT (top left) something purchased from etsy sold to me as eborispina a couple of years ago (top right). Looks more like something from Peach Springs or Meadview, AZ. Internet sellers sometimes don't always keep the best records... The leader of the pack of the var nevadensis from Mountains Springs (bottom).

[Melt in the Sun]

The best of the Ferocactus flowers, IMO...

[Gafoto]

Those are really smoldering. What species is that plant?

[Melt in the Sun]

Can't believe I forgot to include that! I call it F. recurvus, which a quick google tells me is a synonym for F. latispinus. I have the latter and it's a much smaller plant and flowers are solid purple (also blooming now).

I'm not one for detailed taxonomy so do with that what you will. This is a big plant, far faster growing than normal latispinus.

[Bananaguy]

Mean that’s a ton of agave/plants. Going to your house is like me visiting Tony at PDN. You have more than he does haha. When you move again will you just dig them up and put in pots or Tupperware containers?

On the other hand my yard looks like a tropical rain forest with all my banana plants. Have three decent sized xeriscape gardens but all small stuff that has lived in pots for years so not much time in the ground. Always had a hard time posting pictures so don’t anymore as only have my phone.

[Tom in Tucson]

Can't believe I forgot to include that! I call it F. recurvus, which a quick google tells me is a synonym for F. latispinus. I have the latter and it's a much smaller plant and flowers are solid purple (also blooming now).

I'm not one for detailed taxonomy so do with that what you will. This is a big plant, far faster growing than normal latispinus.

Sometimes knowing the difference between what many view as a synonym makes a big difference. Ferocactus latispinus is quite different than Ferocactus recurvus (Ferocactus latispinus subsp. spiralis). Ferocactus latispinus grows at a much higher altitude, and (as you said), have quite different flowers. Ferocactus recurvus will occasionally suffer from frost damage during colder Tuscon winters, but Ferocactus latispinus typically does not.

The differences in their looks are also a reason to not "lump" them.

Ferocactus latispinus



Ferocactus recurvus

[Melt in the Sun]

Thanks for the detail Tom! The spine patterns are certainly different - I remember looking specifically at that when I was trying to find this plant amongst commonly available regular F. latispinus. F. recurvus has far fewer lateral white spines - my plant only has one pair of thick ones while your photo has two or more, but latispinus has many times that.

I've not covered mine in many years, but we haven't gotten below mid-high 20s in many years either. 30 at my house this morning.

[nsp88]

How would you even move something like that without killing your hands or breaking down tons of spines?

Growing desert plants is a blood sport. No two ways about it.

I just saw an old photo from a trip to Costa Rica several years ago where we went camping in Corcovado National Park. I saw a photo of this tree and all I could think of was your "blood sport" comment in regards to my asking about melt in the sun moving his tree. This would be another gnarly tree to deal with. I'm sure these trees have caused a lot of bloodloss.

[jam]

This would be another gnarly tree to deal with. I'm sure these trees have caused a lot of bloodloss.

It could be Astrocaryum standleyanum

[Meangreen94z]

Acrocomia aculeata is another spined palm in that region.It looks Astrocaryum standleyanum spines generally point downward, where as Acrocomia point outward like the picture

[Meangreen94z]

I bought a new house outside Austin, almost 1/2 of an acre with the majority in the backyard. Currently it’s mostly cedars and 1 oak in the rear, that will be changed.

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Native Yucca rupicola in backyard

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View nearby

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[Gafoto]

@Meangreen94z that’s a lot of room for Agave.

[JoyinAlb]

@Meangreen94z I’m excited to see the progress.

[Meangreen94z]

Thanks, there will be plenty of room. I need to remove a few of the Cedar trees first.

[jam]

Thanks, there will be plenty of room. I need to remove a few of the Cedar trees first.

Looks excellent. Are you planning to leave some cedars to provide some mid day shade?

[Meangreen94z]

Thanks, there will be plenty of room. I need to remove a few of the Cedar trees first.

Looks excellent. Are you planning to leave some cedars to provide some mid day shade?

I will keep 2-3 initially but plan to phase other species in to replace them. They are the dominant species in Central Texas and choke everything else out. I have a Live Oak in the rear and 2 in the front. I will keep those.