*NEOBUXBAUMIA TETETZO
Rare and beautiful Neobuxbaumia tetetzos are one of my favorite species of columnar cacti.
STARTING OUT
While browsing through a popular cactus reference book I came upon a photograph of a forest of N. tetetzos growing on a hillside near Puebla, Mexico.
The plants in the foreground took on a beautiful seagreen hue, while
the ones in the distance looked frosty white. I instantly fell in love
with these plants, thinking, Wouldn't it be nice if I had a forest of
these plants in my landscape?!
Several years, while visiting Bach's Cactus Nursery
(Tucson, Arizona) with a friend of mine who was into the cactus
business, Dan Bach picked up on my enthusiasm for collecting
plants for my cactus garden, and as a result he kindly donated a flat
of unidentified cactus seedlings to me . Dan's quote at the time
was,"I'm not sure what these are, but I'll bet they grow well in your
garden!"
IDENTIFIED
Time passed.
Later, while visiting the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, and observing their tetetzo specimens, I discovered that the plants I had received from Dan Bach were N. tetetzos.
WHAT IT BECAME.
Twenty-eight years later, you can find these plants strewn throughout a
section of my cactus landscape, which I now happily refer to as my
"Tetetzo Canyon."
Namaste.
Sherman Williams
Owner, Red Canyon Desert
October 26, 2013
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RED CANYON DESERT
Neobuxbaumia tetetzo.
Distribution: Puebla & Oaxaca, Mexico.
Neobuxbaumia tetetzo is a dominant species which ranges of 150 square miles within the states of Oaxaca and Puebla.
Tetetzos undergoe a mass flowering period in late April, and produce
long whilte flowers which open a sunset and remain open until
mid-morning of the following day.
This species is pollinated primarily by nocturnal visitors, primarily bats.
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