I have a sore throat and cough, so did not go to the Christmas celebration to which I was invited. Instead I spent the day working on an area of my front garden near the driveway. I removed all the pots and straightened up the gravel area.
I drastically pruned an
Opuntia macrocentra cactus I have shown here before, which has been turned into a pack rat midden, severely damaging the plant. This clone has very long spines, black at the base and white at the tips. The stem segments (called pads by hobbyists and cladodes by botanists) turn from dull green in summer to bright purple in cold weather. It is a very hardy species if grown on a raised and extremely well-drained mound. Hardy succulent growers grow it far north into the US.
I have about 30 cuttings, from quite small to quite large. I'm guessing it would bloom in a standard 1 gallon nursery container, but it would sprawl well past the container rim at blooming size. It needs full sun in summer, and as much winter light as possible. Indoors in the warmth it probably wouldn't turn purple in winter. If anybody wants cuttings, PM me. I don't mind holding them until warmer weather. They will have rooted by then. I recall gngrhill wanted one. I will take most of the extras to the January meeting of the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society.
I moved an 8' x 3' / 2.4m x 0.9m bench to the spot. I put my winter-growing bulbs on the bench.
Due to our very warm and dry fall and early winter, things have just begun growing. Lachenalia rubida (Hyacinthaceae) is always the first Lachenalia to flower. It doesn't look good this year due to the late start. The inflorescence should be three times as long, with at least 20 flowers. Many Lachenalia are very fragrant, but not this one. The plant with frilly leaves next to it is an Oxalis.
I have a lot of different South African bulbs including Albuca, Lachenalia, Moraea, Oxalis, and four big Drimia (Urginia) maritima. Most I have grown from seed imported (with proper permits) from Silverhill Seeds in Cape Town. I grow them in builder's sand in polyfoam drinking cups. The longer they can stay growing in the spring, the bigger they are the following year. Sun on plastic pots forces them into dormancy very early. Most are in 20 ounce cups, which are 6" / 15.25cm tall and 3" across at the top.
It was getting dark when I finished, so these are very poor photos. I will try to get better photos in the light.
The pots on the ground are either rain lilies (Habranthus and Zephyranthes) or various forms of garlic. The vermin leave those alone. My soil is too rocky to plant garlic, so I have to grow it in a raised bed or containers.
In this photo you can make out the Lachenalia rubida in front of the large terra-cotta pot. I had saffron crocus in the large pot, but they didn't flower the past two falls, and their leaves haven't emerged this year. I suspect they are gone. If that is the case I will put something else in there.
Christmas 2017 chores
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