Echinocereus poselgeri aka Wilcoxia poselgeri

Echinocereus dasyacanthus

Echinocereus dasyacanthus




Echinocereus poselgeri



echinocereus poselgeri



echinocereus poselgeri

Spring Flowers - Escobaria tuberculosa

Texas Claret Cup

Escobaria tuberculosa



Horse Crippler (Echinocactus texensis)



Echinocereus dasyacanthus

Gymnocalycium quehlianum var. albispinus

Echinocereus dasyacanthus, I have had maybe a dozen of these plants over the years, they seem to struggle with humidity and are prone to rot when we get too much rain.



Gymnocalycium quehlianum var. albispinus - Hardy and reliable bloomer, may bloom three times a year, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Gymnocalycium quehlianum var. albispinus



The delicate blooms of  Dyckia velascana, look like little candy corns.

Echinocereus fasciculatus




Echinocereus fasciculatus

Echinocactus texensis



Echinocactus texensis



Echinocereus dasyacanthus





Echinocereus fasciculatus



Echinocactus texensis

Question Mark

Echinocactus horizonthalonius



Echinocereus dasyacanthus (center) and a fruit on the Horse Crippler cactus.



Polygonia interrogationis, Question Mark Butterfly, likes to land in my compost pile.



Echinocactus horizonthalonius,

Dasyacanthus and the Rattlesnake

Texas Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus Dasyacanthus) purchased in Alpine,TX at the One Way Nursery (now apparently out of business).

I believe the common name "Rainbow" is derived by the multicolor rings on the stem of the cactus.  The colors may have something to do with the variable growing conditions from year to year.  This particular cactus does not have much color variation but I have seen many that do (see pictures in more recent postings).



A not so friendly visitor to my back yard oasis.  I found this Western Diamondback Rattlesnake engaged in a pitched battle with our resident Rock Squirrels.  Rock Squirrels are the natural nemesis of the Rattlesnake apparently sort of like a Texas version of the mongoose.  Who knew these pesky plant destroyers had a good side.  (Rock Squirrels are fond of tasting each new plant in my garden, often by digging them up and taking a bite out of the roots).



Here is an early attempt at a dish garden. 



The garden did well for a while but then was over run with Red Spider Mites and possibly something that ate at the roots of the cactus.  I noticed that nothing seemed to be growing and then one day several of the Coryphantha became cactus shells almost over night.  Once a cactus begins to decline and loses its ability to retain water often it can become a shell almost overnight.  In Big Bend we saw several large cacti that evaporated leaving only the interlocked spines holding its original shape creating an "invisible cactus" effect.