Out Arizona Way

[ezdays]

Time for another round of what things are like here in the desert:

Cactus

A common screen image is of the cowboy riding along a desert trail with tall cactus in the background. Somehow, the saguaro (sa-war-o) cactus has long been identified with everyplace in the west and that’s not entirely true. I have seen movies and even cartoons, where saguaros proliferated the countryside in every western setting, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming and any place with a cowboy riding a horse in it. Nope, if you’re looking at these statuesque cacti ("cactuses" is now also correct), you can be sure that the scene was shot somewhere in southern Arizona or possibly in the northern or Baja peninsula of Mexico. Lots of movies are shot around Tucson, even "Oklahoma" was shot there (corn but no cactus). We are in the Sonoran Desert; the only place that this cactus grow naturally. Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, the saguaro is that very tall skinny cactus with arms protruding upward. Some grow up to 45 feet high and can take 200 years to reach maturity.

Although I have seen a great many different cacti, I can’t say that I’ve seen them all. Not hardly, since there seems to be over 2000 varieties. We've had a lot of different types in our yards, but one type that we don’t have now is the cholla (choy-ya), or, “jumping cactus." These mean little buggers have some very spiny parts that seem to jump at you when you come close by. These spines burrow deeper into you skin and as you can imagine, you’ve got a real painful challenge getting them out. When we lived in Scottsdale, we had a few of these near our driveway, and occasionally I’d brush up against one while getting into the car. Complete disaster, I would rather be knocked unconscious than endure removing a couple of dozen hooked needles that were pinning my pants to my leg.

Most cacti do have needles and it’s hard to believe that birds can be found perched on them, but they walk on top like an Indian priest walking on a bed of nails. To be sure, some, like the cactus wren, burrow deep into the saguaro to nest and as protection from other creatures that are not as adept as they are. The other amazing things about these plants are the beautiful flowers they produce. In the spring and early summer, many cacti bloom. The saguaro for instance, may have a dozen or more small flowers at the very tops of their main stalk and arms looking like crowns, while some smaller cacti will have a relatively large trumpet-like bloom coming out of its side. One or two is normal, but I counted 15 simultaneous blooms on one of ours a while back. These flowers open early in the day and whither by nightfall.

I’ve mentioned this before, but cacti are strictly controlled here in Arizona. You cannot sell, or even move a cactus from one area to another without a permit tag attached. Want to buy a cactus, some smaller ones may go for as low as $15 to $50, while larger saguaro usually sell upward of $100 a foot. They measure the arms as well so a large one can easily bring several thousand dollars. They are normally moved as bare root but take root quickly; the real trick is to avoid being impaled by the needles. Ropes, boards and a lot of caution are the tools used to move them around. On some cacti, it’s easy to break off a piece and bury it part way into the ground. With a little watering, it will root and start a new plant. Just don’t grab that sucker with your bare hands.