Friday, May 11, 2007

It's Here--With a Vengeance!

No question about it, summer is here. It was 106 degrees today, fourteen degrees above average. Luckily I changed my irrigation controller yesterday so my garden was prepared for this record heat. Many folks never touch their controllers after their landscape is installed, especially if they don't have grass. Plants suffer from too much or too little water, depending on the season. Controllers should be adjusted in spring, summer, fall and winter for optimum plant care. I use a guide specifically for our Arizona desert.

"There is no spot of ground, however arid, bare or ugly, that cannot be tamed into such a state as may give an impression of beauty and delight."

- Gertrude Jekyll


3 comments:

yoxx said...

hi there ;)
i enjoyed visiting your valley of the sun and learn a lot as to cactus ;)... its good to see you.
greeting from indonesia.

juliet said...

i also have mooncactus, four of them all potted together. there is a pink, yellow and orange and i wanted to ask about the red ones. i have a red one and i brought it home it had one black little spot on it, well over time it has developed a couple more i was wondering from your experience with them if those black spots are bad for the cactus on top? if there is anything to get rid of that please help!?

Aiyana said...

Moon Cactus, specifically the graft portion, Gymnocalycium mihanovichii portion, is susceptible to fungal infection, usually from over watering. Once a fungal infection starts, there's not much you can do. Try using a Q-Tip dipped in alcohol and see if the black spots rub off, or if they are squishy. If so, the cactus will eventually rot and you will have to get rid of it.