Of course if you can actually find a yellow flowering Ocotillo, you could take one stalk at summer dormancy and cut up several sections for cloning and so on and so on.
You could list it as David's Yellow Ocotillo (Fouquieria cristianii)
The red Ocotillo's that are abundant around the Carlsbad area are my wife's favorite. They are in full bloom now. We picked up three tenths to nine tenths of an inch of rain last week and that was just enough to jump start their blooming.
That is great rain...just picked up layers of sand and fine dust when I was in El Paso this weekend, and all kinds of debris in the yard in Abq when I awoke yesterday! Your rain helped it sounds.
"Exploding firecrackers" is the best description for ocotillos in bloom. Impressive plants that I'm glad we can grow well in Abq, too. (ours a month later, though)
Ocotillo always remind me of coral in the sea. Put them with agaves, some barrel cactus in the landscape and you've got yourself a xeric Little Mermaid scene in the desert. Organ Pipe National Park is a fantastic mix of desert plants.
Agreed..."the ocean is a desert with it's life underground". So, the desert is a ocean with its life above ground? I would like to visit Organ Pipe someday.
Ocotillo's are really amazing. They're a great natural barrier and produce spectacular blooms. Really remarkable desert plant, especially in the Spring. Between the blooming palo verde's, aloes, agaves, and now ocotillo's, the bees(honey, carpenters, and bumble) and hummingbirds(mostly Anna's & Costa's) are going crazy at this time of year.
Yes, the first I saw in the wild were at Anza-Borrego, and the way they go from dormant to life is amazing. Where I am, with much cooler summers (well, 95 as opposed to 115), they can stay in leaf off and on all summer w/ the monsoon. Candy for hummingbirds!
One of my personal favorite plants--so architectural, but it can be "pretty" as well. It's good that you've seen them in Anza Borrego, which for me is a landscape that will always be associated with this plant. I see the plant and I instantly see the little rises in the landscape that the plant colonizes, or I picture the steep hillsides of shattered white quartz with dark fountains of ocotillo covering the slope. No wonder the sensible folks of a town nearby named themselves after the plant.
I also remember my first trip to Borrego...I parked my car off the side of the road, then walked out into the creosote bush flats. The Sonoran ones are so tall, I quickly lost my orientation and where I parked my Honda!
The ocotillos there are incredible, but I need to look back at my old photos to see some of the places you are noting where they colonize. That is a very bright landscape out there!
Isn't there an Ocotillo and an Ocotillo Wells? Those always sounded so pleasantly remote.
Yes, there is an Ocotillo Wells as well as just plain Ocotillo. The Wells is definitely more remote, but it's also near the heart of OHV country, so I don't spend much time there...
Ever see a Yellow Flowering Ocotillo ? I read an article or I should say post on a forum detailing the phenomena at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some other posts in other forums with sitings and pictures in Arizona as well.
Yes, and a pink flowering sotol, one time. A great "skyline accent plant" common in Abq, too. Now available seed-grown, in taller sizes.
DeleteOf course if you can actually find a yellow flowering Ocotillo, you could take one stalk at summer dormancy and cut up several sections for cloning and so on and so on.
DeleteYou could list it as David's Yellow Ocotillo (Fouquieria cristianii)
*smile*
That would be hilarious...I can plant it behind "Cristiani's Spineless" Opuntia that no one has a name for!
DeleteThe red Ocotillo's that are abundant around the Carlsbad area are my wife's favorite. They are in full bloom now. We picked up three tenths to nine tenths of an inch of rain last week and that was just enough to jump start their blooming.
ReplyDeleteThat is great rain...just picked up layers of sand and fine dust when I was in El Paso this weekend, and all kinds of debris in the yard in Abq when I awoke yesterday! Your rain helped it sounds.
DeleteOcotillos remind me of exploding firecrackers. A few were blooming around Las Vegas last week.
ReplyDelete"Exploding firecrackers" is the best description for ocotillos in bloom. Impressive plants that I'm glad we can grow well in Abq, too. (ours a month later, though)
DeleteBeautiful, love the combo with opuntia.
ReplyDeleteYes, spiky combination goodness abounds. And somehow, not one scratch on that hike!
DeleteThose are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed at the sweet, delicate flowers that appear on all those prickly things.
Me too, ocotillos and especially cholla cactus are the roses of the desert!
Deletenow thats something I don't see all too often! They are definitely fascinating plants!
ReplyDeleteYes...first the blooms, then leaves with the blooms, then leaves.
DeleteOcotillo always remind me of coral in the sea. Put them with agaves, some barrel cactus in the landscape and you've got yourself a xeric Little Mermaid scene in the desert. Organ Pipe National Park is a fantastic mix of desert plants.
ReplyDeleteAgreed..."the ocean is a desert with it's life underground". So, the desert is a ocean with its life above ground? I would like to visit Organ Pipe someday.
DeleteOcotillo's are really amazing. They're a great natural barrier and produce spectacular blooms. Really remarkable desert plant, especially in the Spring. Between the blooming palo verde's, aloes, agaves, and now ocotillo's, the bees(honey, carpenters, and bumble) and hummingbirds(mostly Anna's & Costa's) are going crazy at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteYes, the first I saw in the wild were at Anza-Borrego, and the way they go from dormant to life is amazing. Where I am, with much cooler summers (well, 95 as opposed to 115), they can stay in leaf off and on all summer w/ the monsoon. Candy for hummingbirds!
DeleteOne of my personal favorite plants--so architectural, but it can be "pretty" as well. It's good that you've seen them in Anza Borrego, which for me is a landscape that will always be associated with this plant. I see the plant and I instantly see the little rises in the landscape that the plant colonizes, or I picture the steep hillsides of shattered white quartz with dark fountains of ocotillo covering the slope. No wonder the sensible folks of a town nearby named themselves after the plant.
ReplyDeleteI also remember my first trip to Borrego...I parked my car off the side of the road, then walked out into the creosote bush flats. The Sonoran ones are so tall, I quickly lost my orientation and where I parked my Honda!
DeleteThe ocotillos there are incredible, but I need to look back at my old photos to see some of the places you are noting where they colonize. That is a very bright landscape out there!
Isn't there an Ocotillo and an Ocotillo Wells? Those always sounded so pleasantly remote.
Yes, there is an Ocotillo Wells as well as just plain Ocotillo. The Wells is definitely more remote, but it's also near the heart of OHV country, so I don't spend much time there...
Delete