Two September Blooms

Anna Apple - it seems odd for a few apple blossoms to appear in mid-September after an oppressive three week heat wave? Surprising as it may be, here they are - how many shopping days until Christmas?



....and David Austin "Mary Rose"

Gigantic Cumulus Clouds

Veering off the topic of gardening, an unusually massive, majestic cumulonimbus cloud - and based on a little research, probably a calvus-type cumulonimbus - formed just east of my neighborhood, probably east of the crest line of the Santa Ana Mountains. The weather has been unusually hot - in the high 90's - for over a week, with building humidity. This was one of the larger, higher altitude thunderheads that I've seen in years so close to home. Incoming jetliners on approach to John Wayne Airport were definitely diverting around this cell, in an unorthodox landing pattern. Interestingly, it completely disappated within two hours of taking this photo.


Additionally, very large Pyrocumulus clouds have been forming over the immense Station Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains. A pyrocumulus cloud is essentially a very unstable, violent thunderhead that forms as super heated air and convection from wildfires or volcanic eruption rises, collecting moisture and blooming as it hits colder air. The term Ppyrocumulus also applies to the so-called "mushroom cloud" formed by atmospheric nuclear detonation. This photo (copied from wikipedia), shows the pyrocumulus from the Station Fire towering over downtown L.A.



At one point on September 2nd, I'd estimate the top of the pyrocumulus was well over 20,000 feet - it was incredible, dwarfing the 10,000 foot summit of Mt. San Antonio to the south. Evidently, these pyrocumulus clouds can form rain heavy enough to douse the flames that are feeding it, however in the instance of the Station Fire, the fire was much too large for this to have occurred. Another weird fact is that a pyrocumulus cloud can contain such violent weather that temperatures within upper pockets of the cloud can plummet well below freezing, despite the scorching heat that produces the cloud in the first place.

A Bushel of Sticks on Fire

I just received this free bounty of large (up to about 4 feet tall) Euphorbia tirucalli cuttings from my sister, who is re-thinking and thinning some of the plantings in her own fabulous garden.



My intent is to re-shape these cuttings into numerous shorter, less columnar plants (while being careful with their milky sap, which is a skin irritant) and re-planting in a yet-to-be determined location(s). If you've seen Sticks on Fire at the nursery, especially Roger's Gardens, you know that good-sized specimens like this are pretty expensive - I'm guessing this photo is close to $100.00 retail worth of plants.

In fact, one of my own Sticks on Fire is ready to be "pruned" of a large cutting itself, thus supplying me with even more to re-plant. Pictures of the results will be posted at a later date.