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Author	Topic: Winter time in the desert
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-30-2006 06:14 PM Both of us are from back east and used to shovel snow, but now we live in the southwest and during winter we do other tasks. This week is cleanup time - trimming cactus and removing unwanted growth. We are fortunate that the city provides pickup of weeds, tree trimmings, etc as long as we put it next to the street for the grappler to access. Doesn't sound like a big deal unless you have as much cactus as we do, pretty much covers 1.6 acres. Here is what we have accumulated in about three days of work.
Tom Santella Prowler Junkie Posts: 1484 From: Sandy Hook Ct. USA Registered: DEC 2002	posted 01-30-2006 06:39 PM Here, the city provides trucks with plows to push and scrape all the snow into our drive ways and mailboxes. I will trade the cactus cleanup for the snow cleanup. You got it MADE!!!...........It's not that bad, if it was I would be there with you. Besides ,winter gives me some much needed "down time". ------------------ BackinBlack
ALLEY CAT Prowler Junkie Posts: 36093 From: Mesa, Az Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-30-2006 08:53 PM Norm - if thats prickly pear cacti along the edging,,,,,it should be in the trash also. The Devil himself put that stuff here on earth,,,,nothing worse! Have Pat chop it up!
ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 From: Cincinnati, OH Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-30-2006 09:48 PM What season does it get "pretty" in the desert? Fresh snow is pretty, Spring is pretty with all the fresh green and flowers, the Fall is pretty with the leaves changing color. What happens in the desert, seriously? I don't know if things bloom or does it always look brown.
ALLEY CAT Prowler Junkie Posts: 36093 From: Mesa, Az Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-30-2006 11:00 PM Ed - in the spring,,,,flowers in the northern part of Az. bloom,,,,,fall season,,leaves fall up north also [except evergreens] In the dry desert,,,,,we watch tumble weeds blow around, lol.
ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 From: Cincinnati, OH Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-30-2006 11:17 PM Is the northern part desert? or are you talking up by Flagstaff? It can get really dreary looking here in the winter, but it has been so warm in Jan. that some plants are poking up out of the ground, especially bulb type plants but I think the grass looks greener than it did a few weeks ago. This is bizarre, to say the least. My buddy played golf six times in Jan. I only played 3 times but there have been several other days that I could have played.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 12:45 AM quote: Originally posted by ALLEY CAT: Norm - if thats prickly pear cacti along the edging,,,,,it should be in the trash also. The Devil himself put that stuff here on earth,,,,nothing worse! Have Pat chop it up! Yes it is, I have tons in the back also plus other type. You don't wan't too touch it This message has been edited by pumpkin on 01-31-2006 at 12:48 AM
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 12:51 AM ED, the desert comes alive in the spring,all the desert plants bloom.Its really pretty. Will post some pictures. This message has been edited by pumpkin on 01-31-2006 at 12:53 AM
ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 From: Cincinnati, OH Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-31-2006 07:50 AM Norm, please do. I am not familiar with that at all and I would like to see it. Do the flowers last a day, a week or a month? Most perennial flowers around here only last several days.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 11:03 AM quote: Originally posted by ed monahan: Norm, please do. I am not familiar with that at all and I would like to see it. Do the flowers last a day, a week or a month? Most perennial flowers around here only last several days. We have several different desert plants in our yard, and they mostly bloom in the spring. The blossoms usually stay for a few days, but depending on the plant they can last one day (barrel cactus) or as long as a week or more (prickly pear). Some of the plants stay green year round but others appears to be dried up pieces of sticks (ocotillo) but are just beautiful when the rains come. We have a saying in the area that when the mesquite bush starts to get green that there will be no more frost. The roots are so deep that when it gets warm enough for the mesquite to start growing, you can start to plant your vegetables garden. Here is a view from the roof facing east. Another facing south. As you can it isn't too brown More picts to follow.
MIKE GATLIN Prowler Junkie Posts: 4307 From: Flushing, MI Registered: AUG 2000	posted 01-31-2006 11:09 AM Norm, Maybe you overdid the weed killer. Looks like you got the grass too!
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 11:14 AM The variety of cactus is enormous, there is one type of plant (century, agave) that blooms once in its life and then dies. The bloom grows so fast you can almost watch it grow. It usually grows one foot a day and will take about 20-30 days to fully grow, so it can get to 20-30 feet tall. This usually blooms in April and will remain standing for up to a year. It will eventually dry up and needs to be disgarded. Prior to blooming the plants produces babies and you will get several new plants, so the process starts all over. It cans take years before it blooms. The century plant is much smaller, 2 feet across (pictured above) but an agave which is from the same family can be as big as 5-6 feet across before it blooms.
ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 From: Cincinnati, OH Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-31-2006 12:24 PM That is pleasant looking. I did not know if you ever got green stuff or if it stayed brown most of the year. It is fairly bleak looking here in the Winter but stuff is actually starting to green up a little. We could have a terrible year for plants/trees with this goofy weather pattern.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 04:48 PM Cholla - bloom April thru June. There are many variations of cholla, these have a purplish flower and some have yellow flowers. The blossoms close at night after the sun goes down and will open up again when the sun rises. They do this several days then the blossom dries and will fall off leaving the fruit. On this particular plant the fruitwhich contains seeds also dries up allowing the seeds to fall to the ground and later germinate. Of all the cactus we have these are probably the most dreaded, they are real nasty to remove from your skin if you happen to get too close. Of course, we have had a few encounters with cholla when pruning the plant. When the plant dies, the meat of the plant is often eaten by ants (at least we think that is what is doing it) and the remaining stalk is a really neat piece of wood. Have seen them used for knife handles and picture frames.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 05:12 PM Another type of cactus we have is an Ocotillo, they bloom early spring then they get leaves on the branches after a rain. This leafing can occur several times during the summer depending on the rain. Most people think the plant is dead most of the year and it certainly looks that way, but it is just beautiful with the red flowers and the green leaves. The Ocotillo is pollinated by hummingbirds that like the honey nectar it produces. They feed on the flowers during their travel north from Mexico to the mountains of the Western US. The plant is easily grown from seed and cuttings and sold as nursery stock. The shrub is often used as "fencing" because its spines stop people and animals from passing through. At one time we had over 100 of these plants that we used as a border between us and the neighbors. They can grow to be very tall, 10-20 feet is not unusual.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 05:51 PM Another beautiful desert plant is the mexican bird of paradise. They need a little more water and can be hurt by a winter freeze. They grow very large, so trimming them is something that is done. They normally bloom later in the spring or summer. They do bloom a couple of times during the season. The seeds are poisonous, so we don't try eating them As the pods dry on the plant, you can then gather them for planting. They will self-plant so you can have all sorts of plants without a lot of effort.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 06:20 PM quote: Originally posted by ALLEY CAT: Norm - if thats prickly pear cacti along the edging,,,,,it should be in the trash also. The Devil himself put that stuff here on earth,,,,nothing worse! Have Pat chop it up! AC, you are right about prickly pear, but it can also be beautiful when it blooms. Prickly pear cactus has multi functions though. The leaves/pads (called nopalito) are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. We tried them and they are sort of like eggplant. The fruit (after the blossom dries and falls off, called tuna) are also edible. The nectar from the fruit is used to make jelly or wine. We have made both and the jelly is just great. The wine has a little kick to it, had some tested and it was 9% alcohol. We also have several varieties of prickly pear, another is called cinnamon cactus. It usually blooms in the spring and we have seen it bloom twice in the year, whereas most other prickly pear bloom only once a season. The blossoms close at night and reopen at sunrise. This usually occurs for several days then they dry up, fall off and this leaves the fruit. The fruit turns purple and about late August or early September they are ready to be pulled off the plant so that they can be used for making the jelly/wine. The only draw back to the fruit is the birds love them and this can cause the ground to be spotted with purple droppings.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 01-31-2006 06:27 PM quote: Originally posted by ed monahan: What season does it get "pretty" in the desert? Fresh snow is pretty, Spring is pretty with all the fresh green and flowers, the Fall is pretty with the leaves changing color. What happens in the desert, seriously? I don't know if things bloom or does it always look brown. Okay, Ed we have many more types of cactus but this should give you a good idea that although it is dry and looks drab most of the year, it can be very colorful. After living in the desert for the past 40 years we have gotten used to it. The quiz on what you have learned will be given tomorrow. Please study hard and be prepared for the quiz
ed monahan Prowler Junkie Posts: 33595 From: Cincinnati, OH Registered: JUL 2000	posted 01-31-2006 07:53 PM Thanks for the lessons. I have never been in the desert in the Spring. It is pretty colorful, more than I imagined. I guess you don't plant too many annuals since they would burn up pretty quickly in that heat.
ALLEY CAT Prowler Junkie Posts: 36093 From: Mesa, Az Registered: JUL 2000	posted 02-01-2006 05:59 AM Norm - I had one of the above in my front yard for many years,,,,it just sat there, small. After the rains one winter,,,that thing went wild and grew over 15 feet tall in about ten days. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it grow! Chopped it down a month later,,,,,looked out of place afterwards.
MIKE GATLIN Prowler Junkie Posts: 4307 From: Flushing, MI Registered: AUG 2000	posted 02-01-2006 06:49 AM Larry, is that the spot you planted your magic beans?
ALLEY CAT Prowler Junkie Posts: 36093 From: Mesa, Az Registered: JUL 2000	posted 02-01-2006 07:04 AM Mike - no beans,,,,the thing just took off growing. 15 feet in ten days amazed me,,,,but it looked ugly and out of place. I liked your line about Norm using too much weed killer in the back yard, lol. The desert landscaping looks sharp and easy to care for,,,but it's not. I had the same for a few years,,,,but the cacti catches all the blowing trash paper items,,,then the bees and bugs,,,,then trimming. I had enough of that,,,,,took it all out and planted gravel
DR PROWLER Prowler Junkie Posts: 4079 From: TORONTO,ONTARIO,CANADA Registered: JUL 2002	posted 02-01-2006 09:04 AM Hey Pumpkin...thanks for the insight on the cactus...very informative. We're having record breking warm temperatures up here...no snow at all and temps in the 40-50 degrees for about 2 weeks.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 02-01-2006 09:24 AM quote: Originally posted by MIKE GATLIN: Norm, Maybe you overdid the weed killer. Looks like you got the grass too! Just like many people that move to the southwest, we tried to bring color to our area. Planted trees and grass in addition to the cactus. After many years, we gave into the theory that less color is fine and less upkeep is not bad either. We replaced the grass and shrubs with gravel and lava, but kept the trees for shade. Looks clean and very little maintenance but best of all no more watering, mowing, watering, mowing . . . . Now we have more time to take the cars out.
pumpkin Prowler Junkie Posts: 7907 From: Las Cruces, NM, USA Registered: DEC 2001	posted 02-01-2006 09:45 AM quote: Originally posted by ed monahan: Thanks for the lessons. I have never been in the desert in the Spring. It is pretty colorful, more than I imagined. I guess you don't plant too many annuals since they would burn up pretty quickly in that heat. We're not into planting flowers but can say that many of our neighbors do and the flowers do flourish. I guess roses must be pretty hardy because there are plenty of them growing in full sun. We have great soil and it will grow anything as long as you put the water to it.