The state of the spikes, in December…

I’m a little late in posting these photos; they were taken back on December 5th, but what the heck! Better a late record than none at all…

The last agave report was posted back in mid August. Not much changed in the 2 months following it, but in the next two months we received upwards of 15” of rain, hardy the ideal for plants that love dry winter months. I’m afraid this is a true test of whether or not I've provided adequate drainage for these poor plants. Here's how they were looking at the beginning of December...

Starting in the upper right hand corner…Puya coerulea, Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis (Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear), Agave with tentative ID of A. lechuguilla, Agave ovatifolia in the center and up in the left hand corner a gifted Opuntia...

Agave parryi 'JC Raulston'

Another gifted plant, this a pup from the monster Agaves in this garden.

Unknown Cylindropuntia from my visit to Hillside Botanical Garden.

Agave americana (with the Puya coerulea on the left).

A pair of A. ovatifolia.

Agave montana

My original 'JC Raulston.'

Opuntia humifusa all deflated for winter…but showing off some lovely red fruit.

Agave bracteosa

This unknown gifted Cylindropuntia is not looking so good…

Agave americana, which almost gave up the ghost last winter, it's bravely fought back to this point…

And another A. americana. The leaf damage you see isn't from the rain and cold but rather from our 102 degree day last August...poor thing got sun-burnt.

Maihuenia poeppigii (the oldest)

Maihuenia poeppigii (a newer one)

Hybrid form of Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. gonacanthus

Another pair of A. bracteosa

Opuntia x rutila

Opunita basilaris ‘Sara’s Compact’

Another Unknown Cylindropuntia from my visit to Hillside Botanical Garden.

Now to the back garden and one of the mounds next to the patio…

Things grew a lot over the summer but I think this A. bracteosa grew the most.

Aloe striatula. I lost one of these a couple of winters ago. Since I have two others I decided to risk it and see what happens…

The same goes for the purple Dyckia in the center of this photo. I've lost two of these in the past…hopefully this one will make it…

The other spiky planting area…

A. gentryi ‘Jaws’

Another view…

And another A. bracteosa…

Finally we end with this mashed together planting, these were so small when I put them in this container last spring! I intended to lift them for the winter, but I haven't managed to do so.

So what will January, February and March bring to my spikes? We shall see...