Hello from Sun City Arizona

[DebAZ]

Bad jokes required about my current location. (For the non-US members, Sun City is a retirement community west of Phoenix AZ where people have the reputation of moving slowly, very slowly.)

My love of succulents started about 25 years ago when, knowing nothing, I fell in lust with a weird plant on the window ledge of a restaurant. I offered to buy it, and the next day, took home my new weird plant. It promptly bit me and drew blood. An aloe jucunda x possibly something else. I think. I am now on the 4th or 5th generation from that original plant, and it has travelled with me across eight moves around the US. As did two golden barrel cacti. A handful of small 1 inch cacti from KMart did not survive. That is the sum total of my experience.

I hope to learn lots from the posts here. I want to plant in the back yard cacti, agaves, and aloes that will survive the 28-120 F temperatures. Also boojums if I win the lottery.

I am really happy to have found this forum.
Deb

[mickthecactus]

Deb, welcome and thanks for thinking of those of us elsewhere in the world.

A bit more on your profile would be nice...

[mcvansoest]

Welcome!

Just do not forget that above 110 even cacti want a drink of water fairly frequently... however, be very wary of those nights where the lows are consistently above 80-85 - for outdoor aloes - and 90-95 for Aloes and Agaves... watering during those periods tends to be a double killshot on them. Hopefully Sun City is far enough away from the center of the urban heat island that the 90+ overnight lows are not so frequent if they are the number of plants that you can grow out in the ground problem free rapidly starts to go down... Chollas no problem...

Aside from boojums I'd also suggest you have a go at some of its close relatives... mine have done fine. My boojum is about 10 maybe 12 inches tall... but doing good.

A good number of cacti are fine though many are not... smaller golden barrels are likely to croak too if my experience from last summer is common (which my neighborhood suggests it might be) my big golden barrel was fine.

Also check out the CACSS (Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society) if you have not already done so - they are also a great resource for knowledge and plants.

[DebAZ]

Thanks for the welcome comments.

I rearranged much of the backyard with the goal of providing different microclimates for different succulants. Also removed all the beautiful, healthy, blooming, huge paddlecacti whose roots composed the Free State of Ratdom. About 18 cacti, and dozens of rats. If they ever develop apposable thumbs, we are toast. Closed off the backyard from easy access by the small herds of javalina (a type of local, native pig) which can apparently eat anything. My neighbors think they are cute. I think in terms of grilled sausages.

Once I have arranged my thoughts and questions for this forum, I'll post but not on the new member introductions.

[Shar56]

Welcome! Az is a beautiful state. I have 3 siblings throughout AZ. Their landscape is my inspiration!

[mickthecactus]

Thanks for updating your profile Deb!