Foliage Follow-up, new spikes!

Is there any better package than one that arrives full of spikes? I think not. Well, unless one arrived full of large sums of cash, but so far I haven’t experienced that one. In November the miserable gardener (if you’ve not yet visited his blog you really should) sent me a care package with three kinds of cylindropuntia and a maiheuniopsis, cuttings from his garden in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado.

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa “a really nasty thing that has a tendency to share its spines with anyone, especially as a cutting” (love that description!)

Cylindropuntia imbricata which he’s pretty sure is white blooming, if so then it’s going to be gorgeous! Check out a picture and a great story here.

Cylindropuntia imbricata x davisii…

And Maihueniopsis darwinii which “forms a cushion, or mound; this is from very high elevations in Argentina, in Patagonia I think, and sat in pure ice water for half of last winter.” Here’s a link to post on his blog with a picture of its “very serious spines”…which indeed are very serious!

I unpacked the plants and potted them up for the winter, as I was doing so the C. echinocarpa captured the sun and magnified it’s light times at least 100.

The best part is its still glowing, even indoors.

A little burst of warm spiky sunlight to carry me through winter’s dark days.

Thank you for the spikes Bob! And thank you to our hostess for Foliage Follow-up, Pam. Visit her blog for a round up of all those participating in the foliage fun this month. I wonder if anyone will “out spike” me?