Another saguaro down.
We’ve lost three saguaros since we’ve moved here. The fourth one went down last week.
I was sitting by the window in the casita and glanced outside as a huge saguaro crashed to the ground. I was glad I wasn’t standing in the way! That was the first one we lost.
We called a cactus doctor and he walked around our yard diagnosing saguaros.
He found one with a disease and he recommended having it removed or the disease would spread to our other saguaros. That project included not only paying the cactus doctor, but getting a permit from the city. An inspector came out to look at the saguaro and signed off on the permit. Then we had to hire another company to cut down the saguaro and remove it. That was saguaro number two that bit the dust.
The third was in the front yard and one of our only ones with arms. It was turning brown from the base that was slowly creeping up. The cactus doctor told us we’d need to brace it if we wanted to keep it. A neighbor told us that the previous owners had that saguaro treated for something a couple times. One day we walked out the front door and it was down.
Then last week after all the rain and a big wind, this smaller one was laying on the ground. The cactus doctor told us that once they fall they are traumatized and can’t make it if they’re replanted. In spite of his words, I wish we would have tried to replant the first one that fell.
We asked our gardener to try to save this guy. There’s a crack along the crown but we hope it lives.
This saguaro has been given a chance to live.
What special plants or trees do you have that need attention?
I have one plant in my house I’ve managed not to kill
I understand that. That’s how I am with houseplants. I am trying though. I have five that are thriving, fingers crossed, and lost two.
Wow…I never thought about large cacti being vulnerable…to anything. We have two white birch trees that male deer, stags, I guess, like to rub their antlers against when they’re shedding (or something – I don’t really understand the behavior) so the hubs puts bumpers on the tree trunks to provide more stability. Thinking good thoughts for the big guy you’ve got propped up! 😉
That must be so fascinating to watch the deer and your white birch trees. I hope this one survives.
So far so good…I think our deer/white birch dilemma is mostly a problem in the fall. Keep us posted on Mr. Saguaro, please! 😊
Will do! 👍🏼
I kill every plant I try to tend. That is why I live in with the forest out my window. I let God tend His garden and I simply admire it – hands off! I did “plant” a couple of metal agave plant sculptures by my front walk. Haha!
That’s a positive way to look at your garden. How lovely you get to admire God’s work. I am brutal with houseplants but I’m trying again after not having any for the past 30 years.
At the moment my plants are thriving, enough so that I need to divide and re-pot but I really don’t have space for more. I hope this isn’t a trend for you with the cactus or that they have some hidden disease.
It turns out too much water can make them fall and we had lots of rain and snow. Two of the four were infected. How nice to have thriving plants.
That sounds logical- about the water- the few small indoor cactus I’ve had in the past I have over watered so your description of the brown at the bottom reminded me of the way I was killing the tiny barrel cactus I had! I don’t do cacti anymore 😉
The first one that went down had a drip line to it. It shouldn’t have been watered. We hired gardeners to revamp the watering system for our yard when we first moved in — and we knew nothing about cacti.
I hope it survives this fall.
I do too!
🥹
Just do not stand too close to one that has a brown base. That could hurt.
The big ones must weigh a thousand pounds!
I was thinking the all over acupuncture…..
That too!
That’s sad!
I hope this one survives!
I hope you manage to save the Saguaro – they are beautiful. We have a very large live oak in our front garden which we love but is determined to undermine our path (and eventually our house). I talk to her all the time, asking her to be gentle with us…
I hope she listens! We had a huge ficus tree next to our former house. The roots grew into the kitchen pipes and we were advised to take it down. But it’s too gorgeous. We hired a plumber from time to time.
We live in a managed forest so are not allowed to take down any trees without a good enough reason. I don’t think she listens to anything I say but I love her anyway!! 🌳
😅 Where I live in the desert, saguaros are protected and you can’t move or remove them without a permit.
Quite right too!!
👍🏼
My husband and I planted a globe willow in our yard the year we married. It was in great shape a few years ago, but then the aphids got so bad it has lost even major limbs. I thought we would just have to cut it down – it made me cry. We’ve treated it, but aphids have just become my nightmare here, honestly.
Oh dear! I’m sorry about your willows. They are one of my favorite trees.
I like the looks of willows, but they do attract the aphids and constantly drop branches everywhere!
I used to see willows in the Seattle arboretum next to Lake Washington. I’ve never had one so I loved their beauty without ownership.