Arizona 2016: Day 3: Agave-hunting inwards the Waterman Mountains together with visiting Greg Starr’s nursery

I had the most amazing solar daytime today hiking as well as exploring inwards the Waterman Mountains amongst friend as well as agave adept Greg Starr, as well as Ron Parker, the mastermind behind Agaveville as well as a seasoned agave hunter amongst a lot of champaign experience. It was long solar daytime total of unforgettable sights of cactus, agaves, as well as breathtaking scenery. I took plenty photos for ii or iii longer posts, to live served upwards after inwards January.

Our showtime halt was a patch of desert close Saguaro National Park. Across the route was a gas station, as well as all to a greater extent than or less were the kinds of rural properties that are typical for this business office of Arizona—modest houses or mobile homes on an acre or two. This empty lot is i of the few localities inwards Arizona for Mammillaria thornberi. I constitute this small, cluster-forming cactus remarkably difficult to location at showtime because it tends to grow nether bushes. After a while, though, fifty-fifty I could location it. Maybe my desert eyes are lastly coming in. Even to a greater extent than remarkable to me were the many fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni) growing here. They’re specially beautiful correct now, adorned amongst this year’s fruit.


After this brief halt nosotros headed for our master copy destination: an sometime mining road, directly zero to a greater extent than than a rock-strewn trail, that would accept us upwards into the Waterman Mountains. The dirt roads nosotros took to teach in that location were hair-raising to my suburban sensibilities simply Ron handled the many potholes as well as abrupt rocks amongst nifty science (and speed). Eventually the “road” got likewise bad to proceed as well as then nosotros parked the machine as well as ready off on foot. We climbed nearly 600 ft. over a mile or mile as well as a one-half to an height of 3,000 ft. What nosotros saw along the means was amazing: Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii (rare as well as federally protected), Ferocactus cylindraceus (a barrel cactus known for its fiery ruddy spines on immature plants), Echinocereus nicholii (a beautiful hedgehog cactus amongst golden spines), Mammillaria grahamii, untold numbers of ocotillos (Fouquieria splendens), saguaros (Carnegiea gigantea), as well as of course of report the star of the exhibit for me: Agave deserti var. simplex. This little lonely agave should live used much to a greater extent than inwards residential landscaping; for me it checks all the boxes for gardenworthiness.


All to a greater extent than or less us was vast wilderness and, from the transcend of the saddle, endless vistas. Yes, the uphill climb was strenuous for me inwards my electrical flow nation of corpulence, simply at the terminate of the day, it was beyond worth it. It was an outing I volition never forget.


 After nosotros got dorsum to Greg’s identify on the westward side of Tucson, nosotros poked to a greater extent than or less inwards his garden as well as nursery. Even though I’m express to the infinite I guide maintain available inwards my suitcase, I picked out a handful of alternative agaves to pick out home: Agave albopilosa, Agave chazaroi, Agave azurea, Agave garciae-mendozae, as well as an intriguing cross betwixt a Manfreda as well as Agave colorata (although at this phase the Manfreda contribution is difficult to see).


I don’t intend I’ll live able to transcend the beauty as well as excitement of today’s guide chances whatever fourth dimension soon!

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