Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society

When most people think of the desert, they think dry, brown, and dusty. It can be all of that, and more. For example, the photo to the left (a tricocereus) was taken right here in Tucson, just a day or so ago. Not quite brown and dusty is it?

In fact, right now a number of things are blooming here in the desert, although they are mostly cacti of some sort: prickly pears, chollas, and even the saguaros are starting to bloom. And what is nice is that cacti bloom every year without fail. It doesn't matter how much or how little rain we get, they bloom. That, and the minimal care that is needed, make cacti one of the best landscape plants for Tucson in my opinion. To make it even easier, you should get native cacti. That way there is no wories about the plants getting too much sun. Yes, too much sun. The first year we lived in Tucson, we went out and picked up a number of cacti from one of the nurseries in town and nearly all of the cacti ended up dying from sunburn. Ah well, live and learn and pass it on.

To avoid problems like acclimitization, I generally buy cacti for the yard from the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society (click on the title) sales. They offer up rescued plants at terrific prices, and for the most part you can just put them in the ground, cover them with shade cloth for a season, and you're done. If you're looking for great blooms, check out the hedgehogs (echinocereus spp.), you won't be dissappointed.