Succulents and More™

Summer has been hanging on tight, like a stubborn rash that won’t go away. Will it ever end? , that’s the Shakespearean question. But even the persistent daytime heat can’t negate the fact that fall is close. You can tell by the light. The sun is lower in the sky, and the early evening glow is pure magic, almost making me forget the havoc this endless – and relentless – summer has wrought. Here are some photos I took over the last few days to show you what I mean. Small Dioon caputoi next to the bamboo in the front yard Agave ‘Blue Glow’ with Eriogonum nudum ‘Ella’s Yellow’ Hechtia argentea ... ...and Dioon argenteum looking like liquid silver View of the larger succulent mound inside the front yard fence Yucca linearifolia bottom left Yucca queretaroensis × filifera towering over the smaller succulent mound Leucadendron ‘Jester’ and Yucca queretaroensis × filifera Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi , with Aloe lukeana top left and Ferocactus herrerae on the right Corten cactus p...

As you know, I’m a big agave fan. Out of the 270+ agave species, Agave utahensis , especially varieties nevadensis and eborispina , are among my favorites – and highly sought after by collectors. In 2022, I had the opportunity to see both in habitat in the mountains outside of Las Vegas ( nevadensis post here ; eborispina post here ), but I’m not an expert. Guest contributor Dan Zarrella is . His enthusiasm for this species is bar none. Dan lives in the Las Vegas area and has spent years exploring the Mojave Desert. His YouTube channel contains 75+ videos on Agave utahensis . In addition, h e shares his field observations and his experience growing Agave utahensis on his website Mojave.lv . He also sells choice seed-grown Agave utahensis through Mojave.lv ( nevadensis for now, eborispina coming soon) to support his Project Eborispina, a multi-year effort to survey and document eborispina populations in southern Nevada. This is a long post, but it’s an important one because it hi...

While the second half of September will be all about a major project in the backyard (more on that in an upcoming post), the first half was mostly this and that. Let’s face it, so much of gardening is exactly that: a string of odds and ends. That suits me very well because I’m a putterer at heart. ⤵ I’ve been trialing Artemisia pedemontana , a low-growing wormwood with bluish-green silvery leaves. I planted it in a cactus bed that doesn’t get much irrigation and fully expected it to croak during the multiple heatwaves we’ve had this summer. But the opposite happened: It has thrived and spread, still remaining just a few inches tall. Its compact size and spreading habit make it the perfect plant to unify heterogeneous planting schemes (which pretty much describes our entire garden). Artemisia pedemontana is hard to find (the UC Davis Arboretum will have some in their upcoming fall plant sales ) so I decided to take some cuttings. Another surprise: The cuttings rooted exceptionally fas...