I used to buy cactus and agave from High County Gardens in Albqq, NM. I just went to their site and every cactus, agave and yucca plant is out of stock. Mesa Garden used to supply them with cactus. I hope they are able to get back in the saddle when it comes to Yucca, agave and cactus. They always sold larger plants that Mesa Garden.
I planted 12 different agave plants about two years ago. They are thriving in Sparks Nevada. I had to severely cull the sprouts from runners from the NM agave because they were overtaking my garden. Every yucca plant I have tried also does amazingly well in my area. The Yucca glauca becomes a weed quickly. Thus, I have killed all of the Y. glaucas.
My garden has seen a few losses of cactus from the heat. Last year I replaced the top cover in my garden with river pebbles. Those pebbles get very hot in the sun and kill seedlings and agave shoots. I inspect my garden each day for new seedlings. I scrap the pebbles away from the new plants which prevents their deaths. That is all for now.
Out of stock
Out of stock
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
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CactusLover
- Posts: 140
- Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:33 am
- Location: Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Re: Out of stock
Mesa Garden won't be supplying anyone with plants any time soon. Apparently, they reached their capacity for plant sails at the end of July. Which I think is ridiculous considering they didn't ship plants all winter until March. If they don't ship plants this winter either, it means nobody can buy plants from them until March, 2018. Not digging new owners right now.
Once bitten by the cactus collecting/growing bug, there is no known cure!
Re: Out of stock
CactusLover. You may be right. But I did find a neat web site a couple days ago. I think it was called Hardy Cactus.com. They had a collection of Opuntia with beautiful and unusually colored flowers. They had a few nice Escobaria and Echins. too. I no longer have to buy cactus unless I want something I do not have. My garden is full with about 500 cactus. They produce a few new cactus from seedlings each year which I baby until I can transplant them. I also have had a dozen Opuntia come up from seeds-naturally. It's strange because I have not had any Opuntia in my garden in years!
The seedlings from all the cactus types are mostly hybrids. The hybrids do very, very, very well in my garden. They do better than the originals I got from Mesa Garden. BTY, I grew up a few miles from Mesa Garden in NM. What I'm doing living in NV is a mystery.
PS: I am going to let the Opuntia grow.
I have a Yucca in my garden about 20 years old that has a single trunk. I measured it 2 years ago at 12 feet. I do not have a pole longer than that, so I do not know exactly how tall it is, may 12 to 16 feet. It has never put up a flower stock. It may be the tallest Yucca in Northern NV. I tried to measure it using trigonometry but failed badly.
The seedlings from all the cactus types are mostly hybrids. The hybrids do very, very, very well in my garden. They do better than the originals I got from Mesa Garden. BTY, I grew up a few miles from Mesa Garden in NM. What I'm doing living in NV is a mystery.
PS: I am going to let the Opuntia grow.
I have a Yucca in my garden about 20 years old that has a single trunk. I measured it 2 years ago at 12 feet. I do not have a pole longer than that, so I do not know exactly how tall it is, may 12 to 16 feet. It has never put up a flower stock. It may be the tallest Yucca in Northern NV. I tried to measure it using trigonometry but failed badly.
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
Re: Out of stock
I think you have summed up the germination of the very hard and tough Opuntia seed NM. They are not too easy to germinate until the seed coat has degenerated and the germination inhibitors have washed out of them, which explains why those left over Opuntia seeds in your yard are now germinating many years later. If seeds do not germinate the first year we are often told not to throw them away, but keep watering the pot every year in the hopes some will eventually do. However we usually run out of patience before that and eventually dump them. Some seed however does need aging or abrading before it will germinate. Unlike cactus collectors nature does not bother whether seed lies around for five to ten years or so in the ground before germinating.
Hybrids usually do grow better than species due to so called "Hybrid Vigour".
https://homesteadontherange.com/2014/09 ... rid-vigor/
Hybrids usually do grow better than species due to so called "Hybrid Vigour".
https://homesteadontherange.com/2014/09 ... rid-vigor/
Re: Out of stock
DaveW,
That makes sense. I have had difficult-to-germinate seeds in other cactus types. I never throw the seeds away, however. I dump them into a pot or a yard planter. I started using pots about two years ago. I also use elevated, off-the-ground, concrete tree rings to plant cactus. They work wonders. It gets the planter off the hot ground and discourages insect invasions from the ground. I use rings stacked two or three high. The bottom ring is filled with fist sized rocks. The top ring is filled with soil that drains quickly.
One of my first cactus was a White Sands Echin. Trig. It grew well until I decided to alter the garden where it was planted. It almost died and got worse over a period of about four years until it was obviously on its death bed. I dug it up, trimmed the surviving roots. I trimed off the sick stems. I placed the plant overnight in an insecticide and fungicide solution, let it dry and then planted it in the elevated tree ring planter. It regained health over the next year and now has put out a new stem. It has fully recovered. It is almost impossible to overwater a cactus planted in the tree ring planters. I use the small rings, but they are no longer made. I get them at yards sales whenever I see them.
I recently built a couple of planters which are elevated off the ground using garden blocks. This allows air to circulated under the planter which keeps it cooler. NV has gotten hotter over the past five years. The winters are milder. I think the tree ring planters are an answer.
As a matter of fact, I will go and take some photos of the tree rings. I'll be back in a few minutes to post the photos. (I use a Samsung camera that I bought for $2 at a yard sale. Best camera I ever had.)
That makes sense. I have had difficult-to-germinate seeds in other cactus types. I never throw the seeds away, however. I dump them into a pot or a yard planter. I started using pots about two years ago. I also use elevated, off-the-ground, concrete tree rings to plant cactus. They work wonders. It gets the planter off the hot ground and discourages insect invasions from the ground. I use rings stacked two or three high. The bottom ring is filled with fist sized rocks. The top ring is filled with soil that drains quickly.
One of my first cactus was a White Sands Echin. Trig. It grew well until I decided to alter the garden where it was planted. It almost died and got worse over a period of about four years until it was obviously on its death bed. I dug it up, trimmed the surviving roots. I trimed off the sick stems. I placed the plant overnight in an insecticide and fungicide solution, let it dry and then planted it in the elevated tree ring planter. It regained health over the next year and now has put out a new stem. It has fully recovered. It is almost impossible to overwater a cactus planted in the tree ring planters. I use the small rings, but they are no longer made. I get them at yards sales whenever I see them.
I recently built a couple of planters which are elevated off the ground using garden blocks. This allows air to circulated under the planter which keeps it cooler. NV has gotten hotter over the past five years. The winters are milder. I think the tree ring planters are an answer.
As a matter of fact, I will go and take some photos of the tree rings. I'll be back in a few minutes to post the photos. (I use a Samsung camera that I bought for $2 at a yard sale. Best camera I ever had.)
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
Re: Out of stock
I tried to upload photos but the MAC of mine is virus free and has lots of power.But it cannot easily handle photos. MAC stand for Most Agonizing Computer. It is almost useless for photos.
I will go to my Windows 10 computer and try using it for photos.
I will go to my Windows 10 computer and try using it for photos.
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
Re: Out of stock
Yes raised beds are often used in wetter places too since they raise the cactus roots above that of the surrounding ground and stop them getting waterlogged. They can also be filled with more appropriate soil for succulents than the surrounding ground.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1600
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1600
Re: Out of stock
First photo a Opuntia with long white spines, came up wild in my garden.
Second photo example of tree well planting.
Second photo example of tree well planting.
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
Re: Out of stock
Well folks, I've tried Google, MS IE and DuckDuckGo and still cannot upload a photo.
Living at the extreme limit of the Sierra Nevada Mts. where cactus can still grow.
Re: Out of stock
Have you read the following link and tried that?
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25028
I load images directly off my computer. Images for web use however need resizing in pixels and the file size to be reduced. Seldom can you load an image direct from camera since they are too large. Modern cameras are really overkill for web use as a computer screen only has the resolution of an about 4 megapixel camera, therefore you will not see any difference onscreen at resolutions much above that. An image from a 36 megapixel camera will look no different on screen to one from an 8 megapixel one, or a mobile phone these days. A quality camera lens will probably make more difference to a screen image these days than the camera.
Those extra megapixels are only of use for cropping the picture or printing it out, therefore the massive file sizes they produce will not usually load to forums directly. Digital projection is even worse. Most amateur digital projectors only have a resolution in the 1-2 megapixel range. As they say "a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link" and if that is a final reproduction of only around 4 megapixels that's all you will get, therefore you can cut the file sizes down drastically without any loss of quality on screen.
This image is only 800 x 595 pixels and has a file size of 98kb so you do not need massive file sizes. As you can see under the picture the uploader has even cut that down to 82kb
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25028
I load images directly off my computer. Images for web use however need resizing in pixels and the file size to be reduced. Seldom can you load an image direct from camera since they are too large. Modern cameras are really overkill for web use as a computer screen only has the resolution of an about 4 megapixel camera, therefore you will not see any difference onscreen at resolutions much above that. An image from a 36 megapixel camera will look no different on screen to one from an 8 megapixel one, or a mobile phone these days. A quality camera lens will probably make more difference to a screen image these days than the camera.
Those extra megapixels are only of use for cropping the picture or printing it out, therefore the massive file sizes they produce will not usually load to forums directly. Digital projection is even worse. Most amateur digital projectors only have a resolution in the 1-2 megapixel range. As they say "a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link" and if that is a final reproduction of only around 4 megapixels that's all you will get, therefore you can cut the file sizes down drastically without any loss of quality on screen.
This image is only 800 x 595 pixels and has a file size of 98kb so you do not need massive file sizes. As you can see under the picture the uploader has even cut that down to 82kb
- Gumnocalycium stellatum.jpg (81.78 KiB) Viewed 1156 times