Rauhia peruviana

The name pretty much gives it away: this is a bulb from Peru! A member of the Amaryllidaceae family, it should be grown in well-drained soil, watering when the leaves are growing and providing bright light. Mature bulbs can get up to six inches in diameter. The flowers are green.

Red Cactus Flowers

This photo's a little dark, but it has two, very contrasting cactus flowers in one pic: Aporocactus 'Oakleigh Conquest' and Cleistocactus tupizensis.

At this time of year it's hard to keep up with all the plants which are flowering. Our plants here in Oregon flower a little later than they do in California, but as the sunny days become more common, so also the flowers. And it is getting warmer, with another weekend in the high 80s F predicted for Saturday and Sunday.

Mammillaria spinosissima

What a beauty. This is Mammillaria spinosissima, also known as "Uno Pico". It also is liking our bout of warm weather (though there's frost warning out for tonight).

Enjoy your plants!

Gymnocalycium doppianum and Rebutia albipilosa

It got warm today. And though it's supposed to cool off for a few days, the forecast is for hot this weekend, maybe even reaching 90F. This is not normal here in May, but all I can tell you is that the cacti are loving it...

and so am I. I've had enough of cold and wet. Here we have two plants which are celebrating the warm weather in fine fashion: Gymnocalycium andreae v. doppianum (Syn: Gymnocalycium doppianum) at the top and Rebutia albipilosa at the bottom.

Sinningia leucotricha and cardinalis

I was able to get out to the greenhouses today to take a few photos. I'll start off with two nice succulent tubers. First, Sinningia leucotricha with its felted, silvery leaves and pinkish-red flowers.

And secondly, Sinningia cardinalis with larger, green leaves and bright red flowers.

These both come out of dormancy with a tremendous show of flowers and then the leaves continue to grow larger throughout the summer. Outstanding plants.

Oregon Cactus and Succulent Society May Meeting

No photos tonight. Just a note to members and friends of the OCSS: Our May meeting has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 20. We will begin gathering at around 10:30 and eat lunch at around noon. This is a joint meeting with the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Society (Seattle area and Washington Sate). Locals are asked to bring a salad and the OCSS will provide the sandwich makings. Cascade will bring drinks and deserts. We will be meeting at the home of our president, 20126 SW Tenino Ct., Tualatin. See you there!

I couldn't resist. Here's another photo from Mexican Hat Nursery.

More Random Succulent Images

A few random images tonight, this time from Grigsby Cactus Gardens in Vista. Enjoy.

Trip Photos VI

After leaving Riverside and Mexican Hat, we usually make a stop at California Cactus Center in Pasadena. This nursery tends to cater to a more upscale crowd and prices generally reflect this reality.  However it's a great place to see what the current designers are doing with succulents.

The next leg took us to Ojai and Santa Barbara and then on up to San Francisco, where we took a trip down memory lane and revisited Sausalito, across the bay from San Francisco, which was one of our stops on our honeymoon (today is our 44th anniversary). 

We then stopped at Lone Pine Nursery (didn't take any photos) and back over to the Sacramento Valley, through the hills (Mt. Shasta below)...

and - finally - to everyone's delight - back home. Very tired. But satisfied.

(Oh! and there are two very patient and tired dogs in that photo, packed in there like sardines! And they know when we're getting close to home when we're several blocks from home.)