Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

oldcat61 wrote:I didn't "raise" him, just saved him from a closing down florist last August. He'd been stuck in a 14" pot for at least 30 years. Broke the pot, washed the roots to tease them apart & he's now planted in a 2ft by 2ft by 3ft deep bed. The bed is open to the NJ sand at the bottom. Very scary process of moving him & replanting. That's why I'm still worried. Sue
I understand, Sue -- still a great accomplishment. I appreciate the trauma you are experiencing and I wish for you a good outcome.
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oldcat61
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by oldcat61 »

Thanks - I'll take any advice or good vibes I can get. I feel such a responsibility for keeping him alive/happy. Sue
Last edited by oldcat61 on Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

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The demise of Saguaros in habitat.

It is mostly the giant multi-arm plants that die of natural causes. Some simply die of old age
(depending on the source, estimated to be well over one hundred years old). Because of their bulk
-- thirty foot+ (10 meters+) mature plants with multiple arms weigh several tons (mucho Kilograms)
and are sometimes blown over due to the high winds that often accompany our summer thunderstorms
They then rot away on the ground (it takes a long time). Some plants (young and old) succumb due to
injuries resulting from humans who damage them by shooting guns, arrows, spears (and throwing rocks)
etc. at them. While such behavior is despicable (and unlawful) at any time it is especially harmful
during the rainy season when such wounds often result in the start of fatal rot. Fortunately during
arid conditions (most of the year) the wounds soon heal although the plants are left with unsightly
scars. It is interesting to note that most mature plants in habitat are naturally pock marked by
Woodpeckers who hollow out their nests in the sides of (usually) branch stems (later occupied by pygmy
owls, etc.) -- they only do that in the dry seasons so they do not induce rot -- Nature doesn't miss a trick!


The falling giants come crashing down to the desert floor and soon start to decay. But again, like everything
in Nature, their demise does not result in waste of valuable resources. The decaying vegetative parts provide
nutritious food for a host of lizards, insects and small rodents and the hollow stem interiors become a cozy
dwelling place for their predators -- esp. scorpions, spiders (tarantulas, brown recluse, black widow, et al).
and constrictor snakes (desert king snakes and gopher snakes, etc.). Nothing goes to waste. Eventually all that
remains is a skeleton of "woody ribs". They also do not go to waste, for as they slowly crumble away the smaller
fragments are used by birds and small rodents to build nests, etc. Native American people have used Saguaro ribs
in constructing dwellings (especially roof supports) for countless generations -- now they are quite popular for use
by builders of modern "rustic south-western" homes. Saguaro wood is not very hard but it quickly dulls the edges
of woodworking tools due to the high concentration of silica -- you can see the cut surfaces glinting in bright sunlight.
Some thicker ribs also make great walking sticks.


I will be including, from time to time and randomly, photos of desert animals
and xerophitic plants that live in association with Saguaros.



Image
Skeleton of fallen giant

Image
Close-up of section of Skeleton of fallen Saguaro

Image
Close-up of section of ribs of skeletal Saguaro

Image
"Wiley Coyote" with standing Saguaro skeleton

Image
Watchful Tarantula

Image
Scorpion on the prowl

Image
Desert king snake

Image
Close-up pic of desert king snake

Image
Saguaro revenge!
Last edited by jp29 on Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:12 am, edited 3 times in total.
James
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K.W.
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by K.W. »

Good evening, James,

what wonderful photos! =D>

An extra "thank you" for the valuable information about the life and death of Saguaros.

Revenge of the Saguaro is my favorite. . . :)
I have a bad character. . . :-k :wink:


Kind Regards
K. W.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

oldcat61 wrote:Thanks - I'll get any advice or good vibes I can get. I feel such a responsibility for keeping him alive/happy. Sue
If the (God forbid) worst happens, Sue, preserve the skeleton -- they make unusual and unique house adornments -- or maybe make some walking sticks out of some ribs then you will always have some fond remembrances of your beloved plant. Of course, let us hope that doesn't happen in your lifetime.
James
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

K.W. wrote:Good evening, James,

what wonderful photos! =D>

An extra "thank you" for the valuable information about the life and death of Saguaros.

Revenge of the Saguaro is my favorite. . . :)
I have a bad character. . . :-k :wink:


Kind Regards
K. W.
Thank you, K.W. I think you have great character :!: :D
James
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

Gila Monsters (beaded lizards) -- the only venomous lizard in the U.S.

By way of explanation for the following photos: Bach's Cactus Nursery (all of these
pics were taken there) encompasses ten acres. The front five acres are pristine
Saguaro habitat (completely undisturbed) with the remaining acreage graded to include
a large display C & S garden, in-the-ground plants and twenty four greenhouses. To the
rear of the main greenhouses is an extensive citrus tree grove -- Grapefruit, Orange
and Lemon trees.


As far as I can determine there are three Gila Monsters that live on the property.
There used to be another one, but it drowned in a greenhouse sump pump well. They each
have their own territory. They can be fairly well distinguished by their different markings.
I am not an expert on these lizards by any means (I rely on the expertise and knowledge of
the herpatologist major college students who work for Dan for information). They subsist
mostly on bird eggs and very small mammals (of which there is an abundance) I have given
them names for ease (?) of identification.


I will be including, from time to time and randomly, photos of desert animals
and xerophitic plants that live in association with Saguaros.



Image
"Big Boy" out for a stroll in the Saguaro habitat area

Image
"Big Boy" resting in the shade of a Ferocactus wislizenii in the Saguaro habitat area[

Image
"Melo Max" is resident under the seed growing greenhouse

Image
"Disco Dancer" hangs out in the Orange Grove (lots of quail eggs there)

Image
"Disco Dancer" also likes to hide in the Orange Grove

Note: "Melo Max" and "Disco Dancer" may be the same animal -- so there may be only two resident.
James
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Brunãozinho
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by Brunãozinho »

Again, a big thank you James. Thats the kind of stuff we can fully enjoy with commenting (guiding) like yours. It is rather different than the usual information we can read in other occasions. Lovely animals. Chollas look specially beautiful to me, maybe because they are not common here. Are they commonly cultivated and appreciatted there?
Bruno
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

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Brunãozinho wrote:Again, a big thank you James. Thats the kind of stuff we can fully enjoy with commenting (guiding) like yours. It is rather different than the usual information we can read in other occasions. Lovely animals. Chollas look specially beautiful to me, maybe because they are not common here. Are they commonly cultivated and appreciatted there?
Thank you, Bruno. I too see great beauty in Chollas. I especially like the dense stands of Cylindropuntia bigelovii (sensu lato) that populate many south facing foothills here -- they do indeed look like groups of "golden teddy bears" (but ferociously armed) -- I will take and post some pics shortly. Although sometimes used locally as landscape plants, I don't think Chollas are widely cultivated by hobbyist growers here.
James
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

It seldom snows here in Tucson but when it does, Saguaros, Mesquite, Agaves, et al bearing
a mantle of snow make for an unusual sight. Following are pics I took one December morning
a few years ago. The light was bad.


Image

Image

Image
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cortez753
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by cortez753 »

Do the saguaro's actually freeze when this happens? How long do conditions like that usually last?
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jp29
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by jp29 »

cortez753 wrote:Do the saguaro's actually freeze when this happens? How long do conditions like that usually last?
No they don't, "cortez753" -- it think it is safe to say that just about every mature Saguaro in habitat has experienced snowfall like I depict in those photographs numerous times during their lifetime. But snow doesn't last long in the Tucson area -- it is usually a two day event at the most. What usually happens is a wet cold front comes in dropping the temperatures into the freezing range for a few hours in a twenty four hour period -- then it rapidly departs and the temperatures quickly return to the normal wintertime range of approx. 60°F (approx. 15°C) days with plenty of sunshine and 40°F (approx. 4°C) nights -- and that rejuvenates the native cacti. They never seem to be much affected by snow -- it is a part of their rhythm of life. We often go several years in a row without any measurable snowfall.
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Brunãozinho
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Re: Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro) in habitat

Post by Brunãozinho »

Thanks for the info. It is interesting to know that even the younger Saguaros are hardy enought to withstand the snow for a little while.
Bruno
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