Damaged saguaro (photo by Linda Porter)
Linda Porter
Monsoon season has come to a close, and many of you will soon be returning to Quail Creek. It will be great to have a full and active neighborhood again!
I know that many of you have saguaros in your yards. We are so fortunate to be able to boast living in the only state in the U.S., not to mention any other place in the world, where these majestic creatures grow and thrive. They have been in the desert for thousands of years, long before any of us came to Quail Creek, and they will be here long after all of us are gone, provided they manage to survive whatever damage might be done to them by apparent climate change. To landscape with saguaros is an enormous investment. To lose a saguaro to fungus or bugs is not only heartbreaking, but it can be costly for many reasons.
In the past week, I witnessed the loss of a beautiful, multi-armed saguaro, approximately 12 to 15 feet tall, which had fallen against the roof of a home in our neighborhood. Fortunately, the damage to the home was minor and will be repaired. I learned that the cactus was destroyed by a bacterial necrosis caused by too much water in the soil.
I have also found another saguaro in the neighborhood that will have to soon be removed if it doesn’t fall over first! Update: The cactus did, in fact, fall over during a rainstorm on Sept. 17. In addition, I have discovered another fallen saguaro in the same neighborhood. The cause of its demise is unknown.
The point of this information is simple. Whether you live here year-round or will be returning in the next month or two, I implore you to inspect your saguaros, along with any other cacti in your yard. If you see or suspect any problems, consider having them inspected and/or removed before they either cause property damage or spread disease to other nearby cacti.
Finally, if your cacti appear healthy, I encourage you to treat them, or have them treated, semiannually or annually to protect your investment. There is a reasonably priced and effective product, Sevin, that comes in liquid, powder, or granule form, which is easy for you or your landscaper to apply. I’m certain that there are other products that work well relevant to the problem. Cacti are tough, but even they can be vulnerable. Saguaros are a treasure of the Sonoran Desert that need to have the opportunity to continue to provide all of us with their beauty.