I didn't want to be a plant snob. So I told myself I at least appreciated some merits of the homely cactus. The prickly pear, after all, is a role model for water conservation. The flowers are pretty ...

Fairyslipper and coral root orchids bloom on moist, north-facing slopes in the foothills. In March, we mistakenly wrote that yellow lady’s-slipper orchids occur in Boulder County. If anyone does know ...

Question: I recently bought my first home in Santa Rosa. The backyard has a prickly pear cactus that’s about 6 feet tall. Since it’s the first time I’ve owned one, can you share information about it ...

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers. Q We have a large, old (probably about 40 ...

News flash: If you’re new to succulents, beware the prickly pear. It is the one cactus that strikes fear into every desert gardener, and now the drought has made these cactuses available far and wide.

Sep. 26—Throw a rock in New Mexico and you will most likely hit a prickly pear cactus. The plentiful and beautiful cacti, also known as nopales, produce a sweet and bright ruby fruit that sprouts from ...

My wife and I visited her cousin, Penny, a few weeks ago and were amazed at an enormous cactus she had in landscape. It was an eastern prickly pear cactus measuring about 100 square feet, loaded with ...

If you're looking to broaden your fruit horizons beyond the quotidien, consider the many ways to eat prickly pears. Also known as cactus pear, this delectable desert fruit grows on shrub-size cactus ...

April showers produce May’s flowers, as the old saying goes. That adage assumes there are April showers, but the liquid from above was sufficient for Leon County in April 2021. This year’s spring ...

News flash: If you’re new to succulents, beware the prickly pear. It is the one cactus that strikes fear into every desert gardener, and now the drought has made these cacti available far and wide.