Trip Photos II

After a good visit with our friends in Western Nebraska, we left as a little snow fell...

but not before we got a good looking over by some deer.

Back to the freeway and some lower level snow near Colorado Springs.

Finally, after staying the night in Raton, New Mexico, we headed off toward Taos and got a good looking over by some pronghorns.

Not much in the way of cactus on this leg other than the usual opuntias and chollas.
More tomorrow.

Trip photos I

During the next few days I'll be sharing some photos of our travels during the past couple of weeks. After leaving Oregon and Idaho, and the corner of Utah, the weather turned quite cold and blustery in Wyoming.

It was here that we did our only real cactus explorations. And it was cold exploration.

The Pediocactus simpsonii  was the first to show up, very obvious with these bright blooms. Actually, it took quite a while of walking in the cold wind before we spotted them, as the grasses provide excellent cover. And did I say it was cold!?

But looking down at your feet sometimes brings rewards. The one on the right is Echinocereus viridiflorus, not quite ready to bloom.

...but plentiful!

...and cold! After a brief visit to Nebraska, and some snow flurries, we were ready to head south.

Back from our Trip

Just a quick note to say that we're back from our road trip - 4800 miles of driving through nine western states. Too tired to post tonight but will be back at it tomorrow. Luther

Haworthia pumila

This is a seed grown specimen of Haworthia pumila, the seed collected at Mower's Station. It becomes more impressive the older it gets.

I probably won't be able to post for a couple of weeks as we head out on a 4000+ mile road trip. We'll be visiting some friends and then going to about 12 different wholesale cactus and succulent nurseries in Arizona and California. I'll post some pictures of the trip when I get back. Until then...

Enjoy your plants!

Maihuenia poeppigii

This is certainly one of the most strange and unusual plants in the cactus family. From higher elevations in Chile and a few places in Argentina, it is quite hardy and can survive hard frosts and a fair amount of rain. It's possible it could even be used in green roof construction.

In habitat, it forms mats up to a meter across and produces long yellow fruit which is edible.

Jovibarba heuffelii 'Gold Bug'

These plants- Jovibarba heuffelii - are similar to echeverias and are grown in a similar manner. There are three accepted species within the genus Jovibarba and heuffelii is the one which doesn't produce babies in the same manner as the rest of  the semps and Jovibarbas. In this case, division requires that the plantlets be cut apart with a clean, sharp knife.

This is the cultivar 'Gold Bug'. The color will vary considerably during different times of the year, but right now they're just glowing with color. We will be offering these at the June sale of the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society and on line.

Enjoy your plants!

Happy Easter

Just a quick note to wish all of you a Happy and Blessed Easter!

This is a shot of our backyard pond from the pathway to the greenhouses.

Echeveria leucotricha 'Frosty'

There are a couple of Echeverias which go by the epitaph 'Frosty'. One is a form of Echeveria pulvinata, which has also been named 'Suave' (as pictured in our catalog here). The one pictured today is a natural form of Echeveria leucotricha, which was named 'Frosty' by Dick Wright. It's a large grower and quite impressive.

Incidentally, the pink flowered plant in the background is flowering currant.

Haworthia bayeri

Lynn-Marie took these photos today while working with the plants. We'll be offering some of these plants pretty soon. The first is Haworthia bayeri from EA937 seed. We posted a picture of some of these about a year ago and they've grown quite a bit since then.

This group of H. bayeri is from DeRust. Grown from 1/4 inch seedlings sent to us by David Martin, they've been growing on nicely and showing their own characteristics.

Enjoy your plants!

Adromischus marianiae var. alveolatus

This picture is from our archives, but I don't think I put it up here before: Adromischus marianiae var. alveolatus.  In our climate we find these little jewels to be a bit slow growing, but they're worth it. Amazing fat leaves.

We'll have some new photos up tomorrow night. For now, we're preparing for our annual wholesale buying trip. A trip like this can get a little spendy, especially with the current price of gas.

Enjoy your plants!

Bryophyllum daigremontianum - Mother of Thousands

This is the much maligned (by nursery growers) "Mother of Thousands" (or millions!). Though it's looked upon by growers and many others as a weed (and it is indeed an invasive weed in areas where it can winter over), it's nevertheless a source of fascination and admiration for many. When they flower, the mother plant dies, but not before it has produced enough babies to populate every pot in the greenhouse. A one-plant population explosion. And it's reported to be very toxic to children and small pets if ingested.

But the inner child in us still likes it. Call us insane if your will.
We might as well like it, since we'll never eliminate it's presence in the greenhouse.

OCSS Show & Sale Update

I haven't had much free time for the last few days and so I haven't posted. The is just a not that the first show and sale of the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society is scheduled for the Portland Nursery on Division Street, June 16 & 17. More information, including a downloadable flyer, is available at the OCSS web site.