Feeling old, like you're falling apart? Here's your spirit cactus.

[Ptah]

Left Oct 10; Right Oct 18

[kimbutgar]

1. My mother in law has lived in Arizona for 30 years and had orange, grapefruit and a lemon trees

All three died this year due to the excessive heat.

I am shocked over the cactus though !

[Native]

2. This is so freaking depressing.

[wryter2000]

3. That was a beauty

My bother used to live near Tucson. People love their saguaros.

[Ptah]

4. This one is probably 150 years old.

[marybourg]

5. Over the years, all of my saguaros have died. They were all

transplanted into the residential environment from the wild. When they are finally dug out, and you see the one spindly taproot they depend on, it’s easy to see that they never really “took” in their new situation.

[Ptah]

6. This saguaro must be 150 years old.

You can see the wall was built (circa 1940) around it.

[marybourg]

7. Yes, maybe in its original site, and never transplanted. Or maybe transplanted

many decades ago. But even saguaros have limits as to what they can tolerate. They are more drought tolerant than heat tolerant. Look how well they do when planted in the shadow of a paloverde or similar tree offering filtered shade.

My neighbor who had to have her magnificent old saguaro taken down several years ago cut off young vital arm tips and planted them. They took, and are now transplantable young saguaros! I wish I had known about that when I lost each of mine.

[Kali]

8. saguaros don't really have tap roots

they have widespread shallow roots so they can suck up scarce rainfall fast.

we are losing them more to the excessive heat than actual drouth. their cells can't handle it either. add in a few winter frosts and the tissue damage gets colonized by bacteria and they just sort of liquefy and fall apart.

[marybourg]

9. My saguaros that have died and been dug up

have had nothing but a disproportionately small, carrot-like, white fleshy tap root with a very few root hairs and nothing else. Maybe a symptom of transplantation with failure to take, but they were each in their new location ~ 25 years.

[Ptah]

10. Four days later, it's getting worse: