This and that, late October 2024

After a long, hot, destructive, and depressing summer, all I want is to put the misery behind me and move forward. I’ve pulled out all the aloes and agaves that rotted as a result of the heat domes we had in July and August (some mentioned here, but there have been others as well) and I’ve done some replanting, as you’ll see later in this post.

In addition, I’ve removed a few other plants that simply didn’t do it for me anymore. One of them is Agave ‘Ripple Express’, a variegated form of ‘Mr Ripple’. I had high hopes for ‘Ripple Express’, but I was never quite satisfied with how it looked. Two years ago, maybe even a year ago, I would have simply accepted it for what it was and moved on. Not so now. When a plant doesn’t play its part, it gets replaced.

Agave ‘Mr Ripple’

Agave ‘Mr Ripple’

You can guess what happened:

I took advantage of our first curbside yard waste pickup of the season

I replaced ‘Ripple Express’ with a Jeremy Spath hybrid, Agave bovicornuta × parrasana. It’s just a puny thing right now, but in a year or two it will look like this. In addition, I moved Agave shawii × isthmensis a little to the left so it has a more prominent (and sunny) spot.

The 2nd agave I dug out was a dwarf form of Agave palmeri. Space in our garden is very limited, and this agave was simply too generic-looking to warrant such a prominent spot.

Agave palmeri (left) crowding Agave wocomahi (right)

Agave palmeri waiting for curbside yard waste pickup

Now Agave wocomahi (which I love) has room to breathe.

Toward the back of the bed, I removed a Berberis fremontii. I love this desert shrub, but it was getting too large for this spot. I knew this would happen when I planted it five years ago, and the time had come. This freed up space for a couple of new aloes, Aloe macleayi and Aloe penduliflora, plus Aloe tomentosa × trichosantha planted to the left of Agave wocomahi.

Now Agave wocomahi (which I love) has room to breathe

I also did a hard prune on the ‘Black Lace’ elderberry. The 4 ft. fence behind it will soon be moved towards the house by about 3 ft., freeing valuable planting space behind the elderberry. I’m (not so) patiently waiting for our contractor to fit us into his schedule.

‘Black Lace’ elderberry and a bunch of aloes. After the fence has been moved back, I’ll plant about a half dozen more aloes.

Around the corner, I started to trim our Acacia aphylla. Troy McGregor told me that it can take a hard pruning. This YouTube video by Australian horticulturist Attila Kapitany will be my guide when I continue next week (our next curbside yard waste pickup is in early November).

Pruning the lower branches of Acacia aphylla (and Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’ behind it) has created enough space to plant a medium-sized agave (Agave ‘Blue Ember’)

Another yard waste pile

Abutilon palmeri (filling the left half of the photo below, bordered by a Jerusalem sage on the left) is a wonderful southwestern native that needs very little water. I pruned it often, but it really wants to be in a bigger space.

Abutilon palmeri circled in yellow on the left

Wish granted. I cut it way back, dug it up, and moved it to the far side of the Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa). There it can grow as large as it wants, even into the driveway to the left. Two weeks later, it’s looking good, and I’m cautiously optimistic it will survive the move.

Abutilon palmeri after the move

The spot previously occupied by Abutilon palmeri is now home to a new Baja fairy duster hybrid (Calliandra ‘Mexicali Rose’ by Civano Growers). It’s similar to ‘Sierra Starr’, a hybrid with the same parentage, but a bit more compact and more densely branched. We have a ‘Sierra Starr’ on the inside of the fence (off to the right in the photo below), and it’s done very well.

Calliandra ‘Mexicali Rose’

Replanting in other spots in the driveway bed:

Aloe ‘Birds and Bees’ (check out what it will look like one day) and Agave potatorum from habitat seed

Newly planted: Aloe comosa, Aloe cheranganiensis, Aloe volkensii var. multicaulis

Newly planted to replace rotting aloes: Aloe squarrosa × Aloe glauca var. spinosior (center) and Aloe hereroensis (right)

Newly planted to replace rotting aloes: Aloe suprafoliata (yellow form) × Aloe arborescens (yellow form) and Aloe squarrosa × Aloe glauca var. spinosior (right)

More room for new plants:

Room for another aloe (still to come)

Room for a few more cacti (still to come)

The peak of aloe flower season is still a few months away, but a few early bloomers are pushing inflorescences:

Aloe suprafoliata

Aloe lukeana (two separate plants)

A few more odds and ends:

The ‘Harmony’ kangaroo paw I cut back hard in late August has already grown new leaves

I love love love this Mexican tulip poppy (Hunnemannia fumariifolia) that has been blooming for months now. It’s a volunteer that seeded itself in just the right spot.

I know I posted a similar photo recently, but I just can’t help myself. My favorite early evening sight in the front yard: Dioon argenteum and Hechtia ‘Silver Star’

And finally, a preview of what’s to come: a deluge of sycamore leaves from next door that will go on for at least three months. I’m toying with the idea of throwing bird netting (something like this) on this bed to see if I can trap the leaves. Worth a try?

© Gerhard Bock, 2024. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.