Sounds like you have a wonderful plant. I have a small Dioscorea hemicrypta and I like the vine as well as the caudex. It has been my understanding that trimming the vine makes for a bigger caudex but the heart-shaped leaves are very lovely. So I imagine it is a matter of taste. Either way you win. And I have to find one now! Got pics?
I found this great article while looking your plant on the internet: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/newsletter_pdfs/newsWinter03.pdf

Mike

Sorry but this is about your Dragon Fruit and I was wondering what kind of organic matter you feed yours. Mine is in a large clay pot and is about eight years now pretty big and has a couple of blooms at times and last year a few fruits but I'ld like to push it to the limit since the fruits are about 4.00 each in the stores. I have liquid Kelp. The dirt is very compact. debbysunshine@hotmail.com

Hi -

I have just gone through my second season with a D. Elephantipes (winter grower). It put out some great vines this winter, which I tend to prune to shape as they grow. Usually a new vine forms and extends at the point of pruning.

All of my leaves have dropped off at this point. Soon, when they wither a bit, I will prune the vines down to the caudex (which, btw, is really starting to expand and fissure). I repotted it this season and was amazed by the size of the root system! I had to pot it up into a larger container as a result (when my original hopes were to go a bit smaller - but I wasn't sure how well it would take to some root pruning...).

I don't have another to compare it to, so I am not sure about pruning/not pruning and caudex growth. Wouldn't it make sense that the more vine growth you get, the more caudex growth that would follow?

Tom

Mike:
That is a nice little article you found! Personally, I am a huge fan of Dioscoreas. Generally pretty easy to care for and they always look spectacular. My only complaint is that some of the rarer ones are difficult to find in cultivation. I'll post some pics when I get home form work today...

Debby:
If you really want the plant to reach it's full potential, you should plant it in the ground. If you are like me and don't have any land to call your own (I rent an apartment) then you probably aren't so keen to leave your woderful plant behind when you leave. In that case, you'll probably want to put the plant in a large, very deep container.

In either case, ammend your soil with some gravel or pumice to improve drainage, then use organic compost (available at most nurseries) to provide organic material. For Hyclocerius, a ratio of about 1 part drainage material to 2 parts organic compost should work great. Whatever you do, do NOT use peat moss or a soil with peat moss in it. Not only is the commercial production of peat moss harmful to the environment, is just plain doesn't work very well for growing succulents. Once it gets dry, it actually repels water!

Beyond that, you should probably do a little research to see if any particular fertalizers are recomended for growing Dragon Fruit, also refered to as Pitaya, or by its taxonomical name, Hylocereus undatus.

Tom,

I really don't know what to think about the caudex groth. Part of me agrees with you. Vigorous growth of the vine would lead to vigorous grwoth of the caudex. Pruning the vine forces the caudex to grow another vine, ramping up all the growth mechanisms through the entire plant.

However, part me could make the opposite argument. Generating a large vine so quickly consumes a great deal of energy and nutrients. If the vine from the previous season is still present, than the plant doesn't have to expend as many resources to produce the same number of leaves. These now surplus resources can be directed towards the caudex, making it grow larger.

Chances are, the question at hand (to prune or not to prune) probably doesn't have a clear answer. Moreover, we can go through all the hand-waving arguments we want, but without someone actually having a bunch of plants to compare, we may never know!

As promised, here are some photos.

{{gwi:551921}}
To start, here is my lovely D. mexicana during its last repotting. I bought it as a "present" to myself for landing my first real job out of college...

{{gwi:551922}}
This shot shows the new growth emerging from last season's vine. On the pice of bamboo, you can see the leaf stalks and the first vine which I keep on there to give subsequent vines something to hold onto.

{{gwi:551923}}
Here is the front of my two story apartment and my fantastic growing range (the porch). The red arrow indicates the top of a 20' tall piece of bamboo I train the vine onto. You can sort of see the bamboo between the two wooden roof supports. The blue arrow points to where the new growth is appearing this season.

{{gwi:551924}}
Side shot showing the remenants of where the vine branched out another 10' and got onto the adjacent tree! The pot the D. mexicana is in is at the very bottom.

{{gwi:551925}}
Finally, here is my D. elephantipes, since we're talkin' yams!

Great pics! Here is a pic of my modest little D. hemicrypta. The little fossil piece I found in the creek behind my house. Very slow grower. Hopefully there will be Dioscorea at the show this weekend.

{{gwi:467267}}

Mike

Hello all. Just joined. Have questions on this subject. I purchased what I was told was a Dioscorea Mexicana that was in the neighborhood of 50 years old from a nursery in Florida. It arrived without roots. I planted in a shallow bonsai-type planter in a soil of cactus mix with alot of pumice added. I received this plant in July of this year. It had a portion of a vine w/o leaves that I cut back to 1 inch. I watered good initially and less each time after that. I noticed that on one side of the caudex it is getting spongy. The rest of the plant seems fine. Can anyone fill me in on better treatment options for caring for my Dio and let me know how concerned I should be. I would appreciate any info you could provide. Look forward to sharing with you all.

Darryl

Welcome! A 50 year old D. mexicana should be a pretty impressive plant. I'd guess at least a foot in diameter. If it has the classic tortoise shell caudex, and a single vine with large heart shaped leaves, then it probably is D. mexicana. If it has a more spherical, but still knobby caudex with smaller leaves and a bushier habit, it is probably D. elephantipes.

The conventional way to establish these rootless plants is to place them in a coarse, fast draining soil (just like you did) and then water it *once*. Don't water it again until you observe new growth: the emergence of a new vine. Having watered it a few times without any growth and no established root system, there is a very good chance you've got some rot going on the caudex.

When you say spongy, just how spongy? A slightly dessicated Dioscorea (like you'd expect from a rootless plant) will have some give. I'd say a little more give the a wine cork (the real stuff, not the plastic foam corks). If it is softer than that, or worse, mushy, then it is rot. Also, if you get your nose *real* close to the soft area, you should be able to smell a slightly moldy/musty kind of odor if it is rotten.

If it is rot, your best bet is to pull the caudex out of the soil, and carefully cut out *all* of the rotten material. After the surgery, dust the cuts with cinnamon (a potent natural fungicide), and leave the caudex in a cool, dry place for a few weeks to callus over. Finally, after all of that, you'll be ready to try and get it established again. Depending on where you live, it might be best to wait until spring comes along with some warm weather.

If you want more help or information, try and post a picture. Also, tell us a little bit about the culture you provide for your plants. Location? Temperature? Humidity? Sun?

I figure I should give a quick update about the progress of my plant. The new growth that formed on the old vine never really did much. It put out only a few leaves, and the vine never grew. After giving it a month or so to do something, I finally decided to just prune the old vine off. Maybe a month or two after that, it started to grow a new vine. It threw about 15' in the last month, and really seems to have slowed down now. I'm glad that at least for now, it is in a winter-growing routine, since that matches my D. elephantipes, as well being more true to it's natural habitat.

Unfortunately, I just discovered a small colony of ants living in the pot >:(, which now has to be dealt with...

Thanks for the help, Joscience. The plant is about 10 3/4 inches wide and 11 or 11 1/4 inches long. Very much the tortoise shell caudex. So far there is no smell to it but I am concerned none the less. I had no idea as to how long it would be before new growth began and I did go for a while after the inital watering before I gave it more. I guess I was too impatient. I live in Mission Viejo, California. South of Los Angeles by about 35 miles. I kept the plant on the patio under a patio cover that has two layers of shade cloth to protect my orchids and epiphyllums so the Dioscorea got a tiny bit of sunlight in the early am and then was covered for the rest of the day. Earlier in October we began having some fairly cool nights starting so I brought it indoors, where it currently resides - near a large patio window with lots of reflected light and household temps. I am at work now but will check the plant more closely tonight and see about getting a good closeup of the caudex and maybe you all can help me decide on the severity of the situation. Thanks again for responding, and so quickly too.

Darryl

Before you pull it out of the soil, the other thing you could do is probe the area with a bamboo skewer. Comparing known healthy areas to the suspect areas will probably give you a pretty good idea of what's goin' on.

I know cutting it up sounds terrible, and fundamentally, I agree. Do everything you can to check, maybe it's a false alarm, but if it is rot, the only probable way for you to save it is to excise the rotting material. If/when you start to cut into it, the rotten material should be noticeably discolored. If it isn't, then it could just be that the plant is severely dessicated. Sadly, that is probably a worse scenario than an otherwise healthy plant with a small patch of rot in terms of overall survival.

After you've removed the rotting parts, place the plant in a cool, airy place. A well shaded potting bench outside is perfect. You will want to keep the plant on the cooler side to reduce the amount of moisture lost through its open wound. After anywhere from one to three weeks, the plant will have callused over the cut area.

If I were you, I'd try to root it in almost pure pumice, just to be safe. Take as much pumice as you'd need to fill your container of choice, and add only a small handful of store bought cactus soil, or even better, organic compost. You can either wet the pumice down now, or you water it after you've put the plant in. Either way, you want the pumice to be damp, but not soggy. If in doubt, less is best. Mix it all together and just set the caudex on top of the pumice. You can lower it 1/2" or so if you think it looks funny.

Place the potted plant somewhere warm, but out of direct sun, and just be patient. It may take a year (or more!) to get established. Once a month, maybe a little more often during extended hot weather, offer it a little water: just barely enough to moisten most of the pumice, but don't soak it. Chances are, this spring, it will put out a new vine, and you'll be able to go back to the normal caudiciform plant care.

The silver lining to all this is that the most exceptional specimens are almost always survivors of some kind of trauma. I firmly believe that succulents show the best range of color, texture, and form when grown under stress, accidental or inflicted.

Unless you are up in the foothills or something, you can leave your plant outside all year (I'm just a short three or four day drive from you up in Santa Monica ;-). The main body of the plant is hardy in light frost (most of what we see in SoCal), although it will certainly kill the vine. The vine will want full sun, and the caudex needs to be shaded. In habitat, the caudex grows entirely below the soil.

I can't tell you how much I apprecitate your help - participaiton really - in trying to nurse my plant to complete health. Last night I checked more closely and although there is no noticable smell associated with the rotting area I feel it is on the way towards rot. The "spongy" area is not large but definite. It actually sounds sort of wet, watery, when you press the area. I took some photos of it. I also looked at the photos I took on July 28th after I potted it originally and the area in question looks depressed then too. Just not as wet as it seems to be now. I am wondering, what would you think of NOT taking the entire plant out of it's medium and cutting out the decaying area and dusting with the cinnamon, as you suggested, without disturbing all/any rooting going on? The area in question is not large, only a couple of "facets" on the edge of the plant. I really hate to disrupt any new rooting unnecessarily.

Anyway, again, I really do appreciate any/all info and help. Suggestions, anything. Thanks.

Also, I have a couple of friends up your way. We were there last Saturday and hit the farmers market and the Italian deli. We are all enthusiasts in cacti and succulents. I have about 3/4 of my back yard planted in them and am now getting into Bonsai succulents and the like. We hit up some Japanese nurseries in the Santa Monica area for planters, etc. Much fun.

Sorry to go on so long. One last thing. How would I add photos to a post on this site? I would love to share some...

Darryl

To add photos to your post upload images to flickr, photobucket or some other hosting site and add url to your message.

Here's the front of my elephantipes, looks perfect right?
{{gwi:551926}}

Now look at the back, it rotted out a few years ago
{{gwi:551928}}

The decayed area has increased in size for whatever reason. I'll get an updated photo today.

Trying to do it in situ will be a little trickier, but if the area is small, and confined more towards the top, then it is worth a shot. Like you said, no sense in disturbing any roots that may have formed. Just be careful to minimize the amount of soil you get into the cut, as that is a pretty potent source of infection. Also, be extra sure you have cut out all the rotten parts, especially since you might not have as good a view with it still in the pot. Oh yeah, you'll still have to let it callus over for a while before you water!

You went to Bay Cities without me?! How rude! :-) The Japanese nurseries around here are great. They usually have the same selection of plants as other nurseries, but they do a much better job with providing the appropriate amounts of sun and water. And like you said, they always have a terrific selection of containers. My favorite is Hashimoto's on Sawtelle. Right down the street from there is Yamaguchi's bonsai nursery. That place is so much fun to see. Also, next time your up in Santa Monica, you should go to Merrihew's Sunset Nursery on Ocean Park. It is a pretty small nursery, but he gets a decent number of really interesting succulents that you can usually only find at the online specialty places. He has half a dozen huge P. lamerei all at least 6' tall and well branched. He also has a 5' tall Operculicarya decaryi that I would love to plant in my front yard (if I had my own yard).

If you are getting into bonsai succulents, you should definately check out Philippe de Vosjoli's two books. "Pachyforms" and "Pachyforms 2: Bonsai Succulents". The second title is available from Amazon, but you can get both from Rainbow Gardens Bookstore. I love both of these books, as they are full of great pictures and useful care information. Much of the advice I give around here is just parroted from those books...

Posting photos on this forum can be a little complicated, depending on how we b savy you are. Garden Web doesn't offer hosting, so you first have to set up a free hosting account somewhere. I prefer Google's Picasa service since it is free of ads, and works pretty much how I would want it to. Webshots and Photobucket are the other popular photo hosting sites around here. After you've set up your hosting account and uploaded some photos, you can post them here in your message using HTML code. Most of these sites even have the code generated for you, so all you have to do is copy and paste.

Lastly, don't ever apologize for writing a decent response! Especially when dealing with a windbag like myself ;-)

I am not real web savy. I get by, but barely. I will try though 'cuz I do want to show you my yard and such. I have a number of Pachy's, only two in the ground the rest are in small containers. I am now getting into Adeniums and other Caudiforms (?). Also, love my orhids, epiphyllums and plumeria. It is great having a yard. My partner and I started off in apartments with window sill cacti and succulents. Kept potting up and waited for the day when we could get a house. Finally, in 1993 we found one and moved in in March of 1994. It took us about 3 years to clear out the majority of the landscaping already in so in 1997 we started our Cactus and Succulent garden. It has progressed over the years and now we have removed all grass from the front and planted succulents out there as well. Our neighbors actually like it too. We adopted a Desert Tortoise in 1990 when he was about 10 years old, unfortunately, he isn't allowed in the garden so we had to set up an exclusive area just for him since many of our plants would be toxic to him. His name is Tortellini and he has quite the good life. Anyway. More later. Will work on the photo thing tonight and tomorrow and hopefully can have something ready over the weekend.

Talk with you again soon.

Darryl

P.S. Your name???

Darryl, my real name is Josiah, and it is very nice to make your acquaintance! My girlfriend (now my wife) and I moved out here to Los Angeles about three years ago after graduating from college. We knew we wanted to be somewhere on the Westside since that is where her office is and close to my sister. Santa Monica proved to have just the right feel for us, and we lucked out finding a nice apartment with an absolutely wonderful landlady. Of course, we would much rather live in a house of our own, but even with the slide in prices, we are still so far away from being able to afford a mortgage... I mean, we could probably afford something way out in Simi, but then I'd spend like half my life in the car (my lab is right near LAX, and my wife's office is basically at the intersection of 10 and 405).

So, as you can tell, I am totally jealous of anyone who has a scrap of land they can call their own. That is really cool you guys took the xeric landscape plunge! It must have been so much work to remove the existing landscaping. I bet you'll see a *lot* more of that as people start to become more environmentally conscious and when the impending water rationing starts here in SoCal. It is pretty crazy to try and maintain a lawn in the desert!

I can't believe you have your own desert tortoise! That is seriously got to be the coolest pet ever. In school, my roommate was studying to be a herpetologist, so we always had a variety of snakes, lizards, and other animals in our apartment. I definately grew to be very fond of all of them, and missing having a little zoo in my apartment. For a graduation present, he did give me an awesome Venezuelan Sun Tiger (a big tarantula) that is still doing very well in my care. Anyway, maybe some day I'll get to meet Tortellini myself! ;-)

Josiah, very happy to meet you too. It's very funny. My friends, Tory and Clea, are every bit as interested in growing things but also are in an apartment on 6th Street. Like us, they try to cram plants wherever they can, within reason, and are very successful at it. I know they too would love to get a place with more land but for now will make do. They are not married. They are UCLA grads, lawyers. Tory works in Seal Beach and Clea is in LA somewhere. I certainly don't blame you two for not wanting a commute. It's horrible already and will only get worse with the passing years.

So, a tarantula huh? I don't know if I could keep one. We have two cats in addition to Tortellini. They all require very little care or attention really. Yet we love them all. Tortellini has begun going into his hibernation mode. Eats very little and comes out of his home for really short periods of time. Within the next week or so he will be done unitl early March if the spring is a normal one. If it stays too cool he will not wake until later in the month of March.

Someday, if you are up for it, we could meet somewhere in Santa Monica when we come up and you could also meet Tory and Clea. You all might hit it off too. And, anytime you are up for a short trip south you can come see our place. Even in Fall/Winter the garden is pretty neat.

There is a Cactus and Succulent show coming up on November 8th and 9th at the LA county Arboretum if you are interested. Went last year and it was fun. Lots and lots of great specimens to view and plants and cuttings to buy. I will be looking for another P. Brevicaule. I got one last year but it isn't surviving well so I may cut my loses and try to find another. Are you into other things aside from the Dioscorea's? We have no problem giving cuttings of any of our plants to those who really care about them. We love sharing so if you have any requests now or in the future just ask and if we have it we will be glad to give some.

Anyway, again, nice talking to you and look forward to more.

Darryl

I grow all sorts of stuff other than yams :-) My first interest was Euphorbs but I've since moved on to caudiciform and pachycaul plants. I'm also rather keen on the island of Socotra, and am collecting any plants native to there. Here is gallery of about half of the plants in my collection:
{{gwi:551929}}Succulent collection

I'm really hoping to attend the San Gabriel show. As long as "real life" doesn't get in the way, I'll be there. We should meet up for lunch or something. I really would like to meet you and yours!

Tarantulas are just about the lowest maintenance pets you can imagine. You can feed them once a week, or once every few months: they just don't care. If you can get past the creepy-crawly factor, they are just beautiful! Here is mine:
{{gwi:551931}}
This photo is a few years old, and she has molted a couple times since then. Anyway, she is about five inches long from toe to toe. Her name is Boobarella, but we call her Boo! for short ;-)

Ok, Boo is exceptional, creepy but an awesome creature in her own right. And, your collection, or at least this half is pretty amazing itself. How have you found room for all of them. I thought we were bad - we can't go to a show or nursery without bringing something home. Of course, we have the advantage of being able to plant in the ground but I still have planters all over the yard and every patio. It's an obession. I can live with it. I will be performing surgery tomorrow night on my Dioscorea. I am hoping to have caught the problem early enough to ward off any further rot. Time will tell.

Generally, before a show like the upcoming one we meet in Santa Monica with Tory and Clea and head to Izzy's for breakfast. I doubt anyone would be up for lunch, we usually pig out early and don't eat again until dinner. But, that doesn't mean we couldn't meet another day when we are up visiting and then you could meet everyone at a bit more leisurely pace.

I tried to attach some photos today. I don't think I did this exactly right, no pictures are showing - only the link itself. Maybe you can check it out and see if they worked or not and if not I'll have to go back in and see what's up.

Talk to you later.
Darryl

Here is a link that might be useful: Darryls Dioscorea

The link to your photos worked! That is a really nice Dioscorea! It definately shows its maturity, in a great way. And your yard is just to die for! I am so, so jealous.

If you want to embed the images into your post, you can copy and paste the "Embed Image" code text into your message. You can find the code in the right hand column of that photo's Picasa page. There is a dropdown menu that lets you select what size you want the photo to appear as, which I usually set to 800. I also check the "hide album link" box, since I think it looks too cluttered when the text link is included, and you can always click on the image itself to go to the album.

Honestly, an early breakfast sounds cool, since I like to get to shows/sales as early as possible. I don't want to crash your party, but if you are up for company, I think it would be fun.

Send me an email at joscience (at) gmail (dot) com and we can work out the details...

Ok, honestly. You have a pretty big place there. You are able to house an awful lot of plants. I think it's great. I can see alot of myself, Paul, Tory and Clea in you. We were just like you when we had an apartment. We had one place early on where we were the only upstairs tenants. We actually removed the screen from one of the dining room windows that looked out over the roof of the other tenants bedroom and use a step stool to climb out on the roof and built shelves there for plants. We watered with gallon jugs from the kitchen. It was great until we moved - some plants really grew alot and BARELY made it through the little window. But, it was still fun. At one time I had about 100 epiphyllums in the house on every windowsill or ledge that would hold one. I have since toned those down and there are on the back patio under a cover with double shade cloth. They do ok.

Anyway. I am looking more closely at your photos. There are some amazing plants there. When I finish I will try to pick a favorite (or two) (if I can).

Also, will emial you about the show/breakfast thing. I haven't actually finalized anything with the kids. When/if we set something up I will contact you about that.

In the meantime, I can also be reached at dds3371 at yahoo dot com.

Darryl

Darryl,
Most botanical gardens don't look that good! YOu did an awesome job!!

I was planning on going to the show but life gets priority over oogling plants.

I can see where the rot is, that's how mine started. DO what you can to keep in dry under the shell or it will continue to decay. I ended up opening it up to keep it dry.

Caudex1:

Thanks for your remarks. I spend a tremendous amount of time in my garden, it's what I do. I will be working on my Dioscorea tonight and hopefully I can stop the spread. Unfortunately, I think this started even before I had it but I added to the problem by not reading up initially on more detailed care and watered improperly. Now, I have the task of trying to save it. I think I am up for it - with Joscience's help and yours it probably will make.

Thanks again for responding.

Darryl

Hey, Joscience.

Ok, I made my picks. (Subject to change at any time).

Cissus Turberosa
Pachypodium Brevicaule
Psuedobombax ellipticum
and
Mirabilis Jalapa.

These are all outstanding speicmens and I hate to snub any of the other plants you showed but these four a perfect. I will be looking for all but the Mirabilis - I bought one of those last May but the others are so cool.

Later.
Darryl

Thanks for taking the time to look through my photos! I keep working on getting more photos of more of plants up, but it is a lot of work! Someday, I'd like to have a complete set of photos of all my plants. I also enjoy taking photos of gardens and nurseries, so feel encouraged to browse around my other galleries.

{{gwi:551932}}
The Cissus came from a seller on eBay. The original item was just an "offset" of this one. I contacted the seller and asked if she would sell the mother plant, and she was happy to. She sold mostly ornamentals, not succulents, so I don't think anyone else even saw it. In the end, it was a great deal. Before getting this one, I had only seen a couple other examples. The more I've read about and looked at them though, the more I realize how exceptional the form of this one is. It is much more compact and squat than average.

{{gwi:551934}}
The P. brevicaule actually came from Caudex1 through an eBay auction. I bought one previously from African Plants, but I managed to rot that one (too difficult of a plant for such a novice). That loss really bothered me since it was probably a wild collected plant, and was pretty darn expensive. That sort of kick started my hardcore research and reading about caudiciform plants. This second one I've kept through an entire winter now, and I seem to have it happy. If it survives this winter, I will consider it safe in my care. I bought a couple seedlings from the Huntington Fall Sale, and if you are interested, would gladly trade or sell one to you. They are small, only about an inch in diameter and they are in two inch pots.

{{gwi:551935}}
The P. elipticum came from Cosentino's in Malibu. It is a strange nursery, since they propagate the vast majority of the plants they sell themselves. The plants they do buy are usually pretty impressive large specimens. This one had long been forgotten about in a corner, so they sold it to me for 50% off the tag price, which still made it a little over $100! To date it is the most expensive plant I've bought. However, between its hulking size, gorgeuos red new foliage, and awesome textured bark, it is probably the single best plant in my collection.

{{gwi:551937}}
The M. jalapa came from eBay too. Another good deal, since this species hasn't fully caught on in fat plant circles yet. I was hoping to see mine bloom this year, but two weeks of forgetting to water it kind of put a damper on that...

Well, they are all just wonderful plants. I think I mentioned the other day that I "probably" killed (rotted) my P. Brev. I say probably because I did cut, heal and repot and as of today it hasn't changed from when I repotted so I consider it only a probable kill at this point. I have started P. Lamerei after a rot out and it worked fine so I still have hope. However, if I do get to the show next weekend I will look for another one - just in case. I really like them. I have a Mirabilis Jalapa too, it's a very cool plant also. It's one I got at a show in Fullerton last year I think.

I know what you mean on the photos and all. I have most of my stuff in the ground but even those that are in containers take loads of time to get the photo and then to name or caption adds to that. Still, like you, I want to do it. My thought is (with the container/bonsai stuff) to get a new photo after each season to show the progress.

Take care.
Darryl

Have to say, this thread has evolved into a display of some really awesome plants, both of you.

Excellent staging, Jo. And, what an unbelievable garden, Darryl.

Jo - btw, what kind of camera do you use? Takes great pics.

T

Hey Tom.

Thanks for the kind words re: my garden. I spend a ton of time on it. Trimming, weeding (weed cloth does help), etc. I love many things but the garden and plants in general are the tops. I hope to get some more pictures of the front yard which has been converted to a succulent garden, no cactus to speak of. No grass either!!! Love that. Actually, we have split the duties up here. I am "responsible" for the back yard and my partner is in charge of the front. We help each other out on large projects but otherwise they are separate areas. I love the front but in no way could I, or would I, take care of both. It's nice we have the same likes regarding plants. It helps. Anyway, what is it you are into plant-wise?

Darryl

Darryl -

Traditional bonsai, succulent bonsai, South African and Madagascan succulents mostly. Basically, I'm an obsessed hobbyist.

T

Tom: I shoot with a Canon Digital Rebel XT and probably 95% of the time I use my Canon EF 24-105mm lens. It was a steep learning curve, but after three years, and a boatload of money on that glass, I finally feel like I'm getting technically well executed photographs. I still think my general sense of framing and composition needs work though, but I'm not much of an artist...

Joscience,

Here is my LOW maintenance pet...........

{{gwi:551938}}

J,
I just bought a used 24-105, your not kidding on the price. wanted one for a while but didn't want to pay the sticker. Composition take lots of practice but once you get it your photos become more interesting.

Shelldon
{{gwi:551939}}

Dakota
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Have to keep these 2 out of my area, they'll eat what ever is in front of them. Especially Dakota, he's an eating machine! I do toss them some scraps though, pruned my Jade the other day and gave the cuttings to them to gobble up.

Wow. Cool pets. Here's our Izzy...

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Albino with babies.............

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Now this has become a truly interesting Thread....everything from viny plants to viny animals, and then some! Great shots!

I wish GardenWeb had a means of making a Thread "sticky" so that it would stay at the top of the first page of the Forum....

Josh

Mike: What kind of snake is the first one? Really pretty. And jeez! That is a *huge* litter of boas!!! Very. very cool, thanks for sharing. Have you thought of doing a xeric terrarium for some of your desert species (I'm guessing you've got at least a room full of herps)? You could incorporate some really interesting plants and features if you can give it enough light.

Caudex: I used to think that L's were just a waste of money (or at least an overpriced gimmick), and that lesser lens could be compensated for with the skill of the photographer. I've finally come to realize that it really takes *both* things to produce superb photos: a talented photographer and a nice kit. I would however highly recommend renting any lens before you buy it. I've been wanting to replace my EF-S 60mm macro for a long time now, so I paid $30 and rented the EF 180mm L macro for a weekend. It was an incredible lens, but incredibly hard to use. At that length, with the aperture wide open, the depth of field is less than the thickness of a piece of paper! Anyway, it was a fun weekend, but ultimately, I don't think I'd get much use from that lens, since to get anything to turn out, you have to have great light and a tripod, which sucks in the "field". So, I'm still searching for a new macro lens... Cool pets! How big are they? Do you keep them in cages, or do they have some sort of pen?

Tom: That is a really nice photo of your bearded dragon! Great color (had it recently shed?) Kind of funny how it seems fat plants and "alternative" pets seem to be convergent hobbies!

Josh: This thread really has spiraled out of control into something much more interesting. One of the reasons I enjoy online forums so much is the exposure you get from these tangential threads...

Hey Darryl, got any pictures of Tortellini?

Finnally went through this whole thread and its sidebars. I agree Josh,"I digress," brings up some fun things.
Darryl's yard and that enormous Pachypodium lamerii..just makes me cross my fingers mine do well.I think even in a rainy winter here they can do well....between storms plenty of sunny days,if not as warm a day as in soucal.

Joscience

The boa in the first pic is a Supersalmontine boa. It is bred genetically for that color. To get a boa that color you have to breed a Salmon boa X Argentine boa, then I bred the salmon/argentine cross to another salmon/Argentine cross. The Salmon gene is dominate so all the babies came out salmon and some came out supersalmon with both genes being Salmon

Our bearded dragon, didn't like sticking the lens in his face
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Tom,
What's the age on your dragon? ours is about 7yrs old

J,
Have you tried the the ef100? Used for a few years then sold it, you can pick it up used for under $400. I have the ef-s60 and 180L, the formed is what I in the bush, the latter under controlled conditions here at home or where I want to lug my tripod along. Got both macro lens 2nd hand.

The 180 definitely takes some practice, can't imagine using this lens with a film camera. You wouldn't know if any of your shots turned out till after you put out all the money in developing.

The 1st time you shot with "L" glass it's hard to step down to less expensive or 3rd party lens. There are exceptions but not many.

Took this brevicaule flower with the ef-s60
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Pelargonium hirtum using the ef100
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and used the 180 to capture this Boswelia nana flower
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Dakota(sulcata) is about 3yrs old and 20lbs, his ultimate weight will be around 150-200lb! We just finish a tortoise run and shelter last month so he's able to run during the day and going to his home at night.

Shelldon(marginata) is 5yrs old and about 5lbs, he'll get about 10lbs max and the size of a large cantalope. He going outdoors during the day and in a tank(similar to petco)in my son's room.

One of the biggest reasons I'm looking at a new macro lens is that I think I might like a larger working distance. At the same time, the shorter lens gives me at least an extra stop since camera shake isn't as pronounced. We are lucky enough to work with subjects that generally aren't afraid of us (this thread an obvious exception to that!) so maybe I should deal with the short working distance to get sharp shots more often. I'm curious, what sold you on your current pair? Have you ever tried the MP-E 65mm? From what I've read, it is a real freak of a lens. Operates more like a microscope than an SLR... Anyway, the 100mm is next on my list to rent, but right after that, its the MP-E.

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Euphorbia globosa shot with EF 180mm.

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The reason I got rid of the ef100 was to get more reach with the 180, which was great under controlled conditions but was not practical for hand holding in the field, that's when I got the ef-s60. For some shots the 180 isn't even enough, so I added extension tube to increase the magnification.

Here my controlled setup
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and here's the result
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I'll have to give the mp-e65 a look.

Wow to all these pics. But should we move this thread to the Reptiles forum now...or the Photography forum....

Izzy is about 6 now. Here's the sleeping lizard:

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and our boy Spot (Leopard gecko) is about 8:

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T

Here a few pics of our desert tortoise and the area we had made for him. Since this, we have reduce the size of the area and created a burrow in the side of a mound for him rather than the pyramid, which was beginning to fall apart. We have had Tortie since May of 1990. It doesn't look it but he has grown alot since then - he only weighed about 3 and 1/2 pounds then and is over 12 pounds now. They thought he were around 10 years old so he would be about 28 now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tortellini