Lawns are becoming brown and there is no rain. Experts advise residents in the Chicago region to let their grass fall dormant and use their water on more delicate plants, like trees, but some people find it difficult to give up on the appearance of a lush, green lawn.
The hot, dry weather wouldn’t be a concern for you if you were like Gary Janowitz of Chicago’s Northwest Side. They would adore it, and your front yard would be covered in prickly pear cactus with vibrant yellow blossoms.
The better they perform, according to Janowitz, the hotter it is. You won’t have any issues if the city ever says, “You can’t water.”
Opuntia humifosa and Opuntia fragilis are two varieties of the prickly pear cactus that can survive in the Chicago metropolitan region and even as far north as Canada. (One Web page is owned by a fan of prickly pears who cultivates them in northern Denmark.)
Janowitz is unsure of the species to which his cactus belong. He planted them outside the house where he has spent nearly all of his 52 years after digging them up from a friend’s yard in Arizona 20 years ago.
He claimed that throughout the cold, they completely shrivel up. He nearly threw away his two dejected-looking plants the first year. But in the spring, they grew larger, began to produce offsets, and eventually exploded with flowers. Now, divided by expanses of red rock mulch, they wander aimlessly throughout the front yard. He predicted confidently that they would take over everything, despite the fact that he has managed to grow cattails, bachelor’s buttons, grapevines, and coreopsis in other parts of his yard.
You could always eat prickly pears if you found yourself inundated with them. The Internet is rife with recipes for prickly pear jam, salsa, salads, soups, and other delicacies. All species are edible and a staple of Mexican cuisine. They are slightly acidic with an asparagus-like flavor.
When visitors ring his doorbell and inquire about his remarkable front yard, Janowitz enjoys answering their questions and generously gives away young plants or entire plants. He advises wearing leather gloves and keeping an eye out for little children because the main negative is that the cactus are, well, prickly.
They require full light and dry, lean soil like all cactus do. Too much water is harmful to them, according to Janowitz.
Not just prickly pears enjoy the hot heat that is grabbing Chicago gardeners by the throat. According to Kate Sadowski, the horticulture in charge of the cactus greenhouse at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, many succulents are at their finest at this time of year.
A vast category of plants known as succulents often have thick, fleshy leaves that can store water for extended periods of time and a strong skin to keep it in.
Succulents include cacti. Succulents can spend a long time without watering and flourish in the summer heat stored and radiated by rocks or sidewalks, conditions that will fry many other plants. Succulents are native to sunny, dry, rocky locations.
Yucca filamentosa, with its sword-like leaves and late-summer white flowers, is a succulent that can withstand Chicago’s winters. Sadowski like the cultivar ‘Bright Edge,’ which has a gold streak surrounding each leaf.
Another excellent option is any of the several species of the alpine genus Sempervivum, which have rosettes of spiraling leaves. Their widespread name, “hens and chicks,” alludes to their propensity to sprout new, tiny plants provided their growing environment is suitable for them—dry and preferably rocky. There are many sizes and hues, ranging from green to crimson.
Sedums are yet another great choice. The upright sedums, which are popular among gardeners for their colorful flowers, include the virtually ubiquitous Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’. Sadowski noted that there are numerous low-creeping sedums with late-summer white or yellow blooms and foliage that is tinged with blue, purple, and scarlet in addition to green.
Due of their durability, love of the sun, and tolerance of drought, creeping sedums are frequently utilized on green roofs, such those at the Oak Park Public Library and the Chicago Center for Green Technology.
Succulents are an excellent option for pots since you can manage the soil and keep it thin, free-draining, and wet. They can withstand the hot concrete floors and drying winds that are frequently encountered on apartment balconies. Just make sure they are set up in the sun and not in the balcony upstairs’ shadow.
When Chicago’s weather swings to the other extreme, the largest threat to cacti and other succulents is: They struggle in cool, wet summers like the one we had last year, according to Sadowski.
But despite this, Janowitz’s prickly pears have thrived. He runs a construction company, manages car donations for the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization, rescues abused or abandoned tropical birds, restores a 1949 maroon Rolls-Royce, and sails his 45-foot yacht from Belmont Harbor. When he’s not doing any of those things, he’s usually in his front yard rearranging his cacti. He declares, “I play a lot.”
What is the price of a real cactus?
Southwest Arizona, western Sonora, Mexico, and even a few locations in southeast California are home to saguaro cacti. They are typically found in the northern regions on slopes that face south, where the sun shines more frequently. The Saguaro Cactus is covered in protecting needles and bears a red fruit in the summer as well as tiny white blooms in the late spring.
Only in the Sonoran Desert does the suguaro cactus, also known as Carnegiea Gigantea, flourish.
A Saguaro will only grow about one to one and a half inches in its first eight years.
Moving a saguaro cactus off of private or public land without a permit is against the law in Arizona.
Saguaro cactus roots spread out like an accordion to take in as much water as they can.
Arizona’s state flower is the saguaro bloom, which blooms only after a saguaro has reached the age of 35.
SAGUARO CACTUS FACTS
The saguaro is a unique species of plant that can get rather big yet develops extremely slowly. The saguaro’s weight and height are often astounding, and the plant’s beauty is emblematic and significant to the magnificent state of Arizona.
- Arizona has rules and limitations on the gathering, harvesting, and disposal of these cactus. To learn more about the rules that apply to your region, get in touch with your neighborhood government.
- The Saguaro can survive for 150 to 200 years in the appropriate growing circumstances.
- The cactus has one major root that extends down approximately 2 feet while the remaining roots all extend out till they reach the height of the plant and only go down about 5 inches.
- Saguaro growth is particularly slow. A saguaro may only be 1.5 inches tall after a whole decade of growth. They can potentially grow to a height of 40–60 feet under the right circumstances! After a rainy season, a completely hydrated Saguaro may weigh between 3,200 and 4,800 pounds.
- Arizona legislation allows for the collection of saguaro “ribs,” which are used to create jewelry, furniture, roofs, fences, picture frames, and other things. Even the Native Americans used the ribs as water containers before the canteen was created.
HOW MUCH DOES A CACTUS COST?
According to DFRanchandGardens, the average price of a saguaro cactus in the US for 2020 is between $20 and $2,000 per foot.
The saguaro will cost less the smaller it is, according to osieOnTheHouse. However, if they are merely spears and in good condition, they typically sell for $100 or more per foot. The price of saguaros with arms is higher.