Shady Glen doesn't always live up to its name, so the plywood board you see here went up Labor Day night when the heat wave started. It was there mostly for my Copiapoas -- they're fine with the sun they get, but when the temps go above 95, sunscorch becomes a real possibility. Thanks to my removable drip tray pulling double duty as required, the Copiapoas are just hot and happy. The other denizens of Shady Glen don't mind this temporary accommodation either. I should be able to take the board off now, but I do have another reason for keeping it up. I'll explain why in a moment...
On Wednesday afternoon the blazing heat was accompanied by a brief summertime shower. Not nearly enough to give the cacti more than a sip, but it was bad timing for one -- and I certainly didn't expect that I'd come home from work to this:
That's an Echinocereus viridiflorus I got from M2G back in May. Rot? A fair assumption, and the proper response would be to immediately unpot the plant and assess the damage. Unfortunately I didn't have time to deal with it, so all I could do was to wait until the weekend. Perhaps not so unfortunate after all -- the trouble spot has the same firmness as the rest of the plant, and it's already starting to form a callus.
I shot the first photo this morning when a tiny shower was underway, so I moved the viridiflorus to a protected place in anticipation of some actual rain due to arrive this week. If the callusing process continues, I'll move it back out to its position on the top shelf after the rain clears out, and it should be ready for a good watering in a week or two. I know that cacti can be remarkably resilient, but with this one I may be seeing it in a way I haven't experienced before. If I'm right, I'll post a follow-up progress report. In the meantime...
My local forecast has a 60% chance of rain Monday night and Tuesday, so that'll give the collection a decent shot at a late-summer soak the natural way. Perfect for the cacti on the top shelf and Sun Valley. However, since Shady Glen wouldn't get as much, I'll keep that board up so the plants in there that need it will get watered tonight.
I really hope the rain will come in as promised -- for you SoCal growers who keep your cacti outside, I'm sure they'll love it!
Cheers, everyone!
