December 2022 Arizona plant haul
While buying plants wasn’t the primary focus of my recent Arizona trip, that doesn’t mean I came home empty-handed. I don’t think I could if I tried! But almost half of my purchases were for friends; buying plants for others is actually just as much fun as getting plants for yourself.
This morning, I spent some time separating the plants according to what is for whom and I photographed them on a table in front of the garage door—a better background than what I usually settle for. As you’ll see, most of the plants are cacti, plus a handful of agaves, and one lone aloe.
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| Plants for others. Top row, left to right: Echinopsis ‘Apricot Glow’, Echinopsis ‘First Light’, Euphorbia canariensis. Bottom row, left to right: Mammillaria guelzowiana, Ferocactus latispinus, Ferocactus fordii. |
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| Plants for others, left to right: Echinocereus dasyacanthus, Cheridopsis caroli-schmidtii, Echinocactus texensis |
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| Cactus for myself. Top row, left to right: Echinocereus dasyacanthus, Echinopsis ‘Apricot Glow’, Euphorbia canariensis. Middle row, left to right: Echinocereus stoloniferus, Ferocactus schwarzii, Echinopsis ‘Diehl’sche Hybride’, Echinopsis ‘Cracatoa’. Bottom row, left to right: Ferocactus gracilis, Thelocactus rinconensis, Ariocarpus retusus, Astrophytum capricorne ‘Quadricostatus’, Mammillaria vetula subsp. gracilis. Very front: Epithelantha micromeris. |
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| Variegated Ferocactus hybrid from Bach’s Cactus Nursery (5 gallon pot). Nobody I asked knew what the exact parentage is, but based on the length and straightness of the spines, it’s likely Ferocactus emoryi var. rectispinus is one of the gene donors. |
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| Agaves for myself. Top row, left to right: Agave margaritae, Agave × dianita, Agave chazaroi. Bottom row, left to right: Agave dissimulans, Agave weberi ‘Striata’ |
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| Agave dissimulans closeup. This is a large agave which doesn’t look all that attractive as an adult, but I love the spination on this seedling. I’ll keep it in a pot until it becomes ungainly. |
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| Mystery aloe from Bach’s Cactus Nursery. They didn’t know what it was. It was in a tiny 1" (!) pot, yet has a 4" stem. |
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| Mystery aloe |
Plants for others ↷
I also picked up an assortment of rocks. Some came from the side of the road, others (the petrified wood and the colored rocks you see below) were from a rock shop in Quartzsite, AZ.
The chunk of petrified wood shown in the photos below weighs about 70 pounds. According to the guy at the rock shop, it’s a Woodworthia arizonica. Related to the Araucaria of today, this tree flourished during the late Triassic (200 million years ago) when Arizona had a tropical climate. I picked this particular round because it had fossilized bark as well.
I also bought some smaller pieces of petrified wood...
...as well as a few rocks with quartz and chrysocolla, a copper mineral:
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| Quartz |
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| Chrysocolla |
I’ll work all these pieces into the garden over time. The rocks will “tell” me where they want to go :-).
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Love your petrified wood Gerhard- and the rocks too. Have you ever been through Petrified Forest National Park ? Mighty scenic area there in northeastern AZ.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to Petrified Forest NP in 30 years. I barely remember it. Would love to go back and explore that part of Arizona in general...
DeleteA fantastic haul, not that I would have expected otherwise. I'll be interested to see how that tiny Astrophytum capricorne does as it matures. The petrified wood and rocks will be impressive additions to your garden too.
ReplyDeleteI think the Astrophytum capricorne will be fine. I brought home one even smaller last year and it's still alive.
DeleteI really like the dark Euphorbia canariensis, its gorgeous, and that 70 pounds petrified wood rock... Amazing!
ReplyDeleteChavli
Euphorbia canariensis wasn't really on my radar until my friend Kyle asked me to pick one up for him. Now I have one, too.
DeleteYou finally purchased some petrified wood. In previous trips you have admired it but never seem to have brought any home. Look forward to seeing where it ends up in the garden. Quite the load you came home with. Best of the season to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteI had some smaller (much smaller) pieces of petrified wood already but nothing that would compare to my new find. I'm so happy I got it. That rock shop in Quartzsite is awesome, and their prices are hard to beat ($2 per pound).
DeleteYou got some awesome plants there--and the petrified wood--so cool!
ReplyDeleteA fascinating Aloe--perhaps when it flowers you will have some clue to its ancestry.
I hope so. I'll post a photo in the various aloe forums on Facebook as well. Somebody is bound to recognize it.
DeleteNice haul
ReplyDeleteQuestion: When you pick up rocks from the side of the road, do you find a less trafficed state road or do you actually pull over on the Interstate?