Whippets12 Jun 2015 10:13 am

Whippet

Berkeley Succulents&Cactus&Nursery11 Jun 2015 07:37 pm

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Cactus Jungle

And a bonus mystery cactus flower!

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Nice!

Drought&Plants11 Jun 2015 09:02 am

It’s now time to talk about the drought. Mandatory reductions in water use are being implemented across the state, and are hitting hard in many communities in the Bay Area.

So here’s the thing – it’s time to reduce watering your plants, and the best way to do that is to replace your moderate and water-intensive plantings with drought-tolerant plants. Of course, pretty much everything we carry at Cactus Jungle is drought-tolerant, so we like to think we are a good resource for reducing your water use. But I want to be clear – you do have to water your cactus and succulents and natives and other drought tolerant perennials. Even if planted in the ground! Drought-tolerant, sure, but this is a record breaking drought! There is no residual moisture hanging out in your soils for the plants this summer. Please, a little water. Not too much, not too often, but once per week in the first year for new plantings and every 2-4 weeks for older plantings! When we get back to our regular wet winters, someday (it will happen!) then you can leave your succulents alone for months.

So what water should you be using? We’re using the bucket method at home – a bucket to hold the water in the shower as it’s heating up.

Here are some resources:

 

Plants10 Jun 2015 08:12 am

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Yucca rostrata
Big Bend Yucca
Tree to 12ft+, multiple heads, flexible leaves. Texas. Hardy to below 0F.

Berkeley Succulents09 Jun 2015 09:08 am

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Page Street, Berkeley

Agave and Anigozanthos make for a nice drought-tolerant landscape. Colorful too!

National Parks&News08 Jun 2015 07:11 am

People think that because cactus and succulents may come from a desert that they can handle the California drought. But it’s a record drought! Even desert plants need some water. For instance, the Joshua Trees…

920x920[1]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the California desert, Joshua tree seedlings are shriveling up and dying before they get the chance to put down strong roots, and ecologist Cameron Barrows wants the details.

The University of California, Riverside scientist knows that hot weather and lack of rainwater hurt the iconic species…

Whippets05 Jun 2015 08:48 am

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How-to&Questions&Reader Photos03 Jun 2015 12:32 pm

I have a couple of cactus that are in need of serious re-planting. And I want to make sure it gets done right.

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I have included some pics. Looking for any advice on the best way to go about this.

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Tom

Tom,

Those are some impressive looking cactus! I assume you are not going to try to replant the whole clusters, but rather are asking about taking cuttings from the fallen branches. Generally we recommend take tip cuttings and about 2-3ft. in length. Use a serrated blade, like a bread knife. Take a clean cut at a slight angle. Spray the cut end with household Hydrogen Peroxide and then set it aside in a shady location for a week or two so that the cut end callouses over.

When you are ready to plant, if it’s in a pot use fast draining cactus soil. Plant it 4 to 6 inches deep into the soil and stake it up. Don’t water for another week or two. Then start regular watering (every 2-3 weeks in the Bay Area, more or less depending on where you live.)

Peter

Nursery02 Jun 2015 10:00 am

It’s Cactus Jungle in the SF Chronicle. And by inside I mean on the front page. Nice!

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Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle
Laura Wehrley (left) looks for succulents at Cactus Jungle nursery in Berkeley, California, with assistant manager Jeremiah Harper (left back) showing plants on Monday, June 1, 2015.

California on Monday officially began its unprecedented push for water conservation in cities and towns, marching out orders for hundreds of communities across the state to make reductions of up to 36 percent.

The rest of the article is behind a pay wall, so if you are a subscriber you can read the whole thing! You know, some people even still get the newspaper delivered right to their front porch at home. Nice!

Photography31 May 2015 08:50 am

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There have been a lot of new hybrid Salvias recently. The Desert series and the Dancing series, S. greggii and S. microphylla hybrids are nice.

This one is Salvia “Dancing Shadows”.

Plants28 May 2015 08:56 am

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Adenia glauca

South Africa

Large stem caudex with taproot; viney w/broad leaves.
 
Hardy to 40F 
Full Sun
Cactus Soil
Low Water

Airplants&Science26 May 2015 08:23 am

From Scientific American we get a Mexican Bromeliadt, only recently described!

EB0316E8-2472-429E-860C2247F519158F[1]

Tillandsia religiosa, a solitary flowering plant with rose-colored spikes and flat green leaves, grows in rocky terrain in Morelos, Mexico. T. religiosa has long been known to native people of the region, who incorporated it into nacimientos (altar scenes depicting the birth of Christ) at Christmas. Yet scientists have only recently described it.

Photograph by A. Espejo

Beautiful.

Plants24 May 2015 01:54 pm

So many hardy alpine varieties!

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Sempervivum “Rita Jane”

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Sempervivum arachnoideum

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Sempervivum “Green Wheels” seen through a red filter.

Cactus23 May 2015 10:09 am

Bloomberg News has.

California’s Drought-Stricken Elite Trade Lawns for Luxury Cactuses

-1x-1[1]

…The designer’s intransigence put the Annenberg garden ahead of the emerging fashion for low-moisture, naturalistic landscaping on luxurious properties. Burnett embraced aloe, a spiky, flowering succulent that’s a favorite of hummingbirds, and he planted barrel cactus by the hundred….

Well that sounds expensive! But we’re here to help you out. We can plant barrel cactus for you by the singles. If you need hundreds we do have hundreds growing, but I suspect there aren’t a lot of you looking to replace your lawn with hundreds of barrel cactus for the drought. (but let us know if you are….)

Photography22 May 2015 08:13 am

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Echeveria lilacina

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Echeveria setosa v deminuta

Now appearing at Cactus Jungle!

Questions20 May 2015 12:16 pm

Hello Peter.

Here’s a pic of a cactus I keep inside.

Euphorbia lactea crest

The dark green growth is shooting up from the variegated “ghost” , should I remove it and replant it? The white part isn’t showing new growth, I think the green is stealing the limelight.

Thx again, Karen

Karen,

Wow – that is a very green sport from that Ghost Euphorbia. I kind of like it, but if you want it can definitely be cut off and replanted into another pot. If you’re stopping by here we can do it for you.

Peter

Plants19 May 2015 08:35 am

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Echeveria agavoides

 Stemless rosettes to 8″; variable often with red tips
 
Hardy to 20F 
Full Sun to Part Sun
Cactus Soil
Low Water

Berkeley Succulents18 May 2015 09:01 am

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A nice window box of succulents on College Ave in Berkeley.

Sedum, Pelargonium and the popular Sempervivum tectorum greenii.

Misc17 May 2015 07:11 am

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They’re not really muffins, they’re cupcakes. But I like the title Cactus Muffins better than Cactus Cupcakes.

Photo taken from Amy Sedaris’ instagram feed, for some reason, though I suspect she did not make these nor even photograph them. That’s my guess! I could be wrong!

Questions16 May 2015 10:15 am

Hello, you once posted a picture of a vine that looked like grass, but it is no longer in your photo data? I am trying to find it but can’t remember it’s name. Does this ring any bells? I thought part of the name had something like tweedia in it but not the tweedia with the blue flowers.
Thanks, 
Jamie (in SF)

The one you are looking for is called Mormon Tea, Ephedra tweediana. I guess the Tweedy part is the memorable part of the name. Although ironically Ephedra is sometimes used for memory.

Peter

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