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Cactus Curators owner Chris McKaig and his wife Anna Loh celebrate the annual “coming out” of cacti this time of year. (Melody Birkett/Progress Contributor)

Cactus Curators owner Chris McKaig and his wife Anna Loh celebrate the annual “coming out” of cacti this time of year. (Melody Birkett/Progress Contributor)

This is the prime season to put in a desert landscape as cacti rise from their dormant state, Chris McKaig advises.

As the owner of Cactus Curators for 15 years, McKaig considers his nursery as much a hobby as a business.

“It’s a labor of love,” said McKaig.

“While cacti are desert plants, they go dormant in the summer,” he explained. “Cactus doesn’t like the summer. I don’t think anything living likes the summer in Arizona.”

He is a veritable encyclopedia of information about cacti as he ticks off information about those that are native to Arizona, including compass barrel, saguaro, Ferocactus, Mammillaria and prickly pear.

“Saguaros and compass barrels are a few of the hearty ones,” McKaig said. “Everything else comes from Central America or South America. Cactus is not native. People like to think it’s native but it’s not.”

Nor is cactus best at home in Arizona, he said, noting, “Inland San Diego where it’s overcast is ideal for cacti. Cactus grow best when it doesn’t have heavy UV rays.

“If you go into a greenhouse that’s growing cacti and you put your hand over the top, if you see your shadow, that’s too much direct light. You have to diffuse the light so you don’t see your shadow.”

McKaig carries dozens of varieties of cacti at his 2-acre nursery, which describes as a country garden.

“People will call me and send me a picture of what they’re picking up. I’ll text them the price. Most of the people around here know me.”

He used to use a lot of chemicals, fertilizer and water but soon realized much of that wasn’t necessary.

“Cactuses are a lot easier than I thought,” said McKaig.

He recommends not watering cactus for the first four weeks after planting until you start to see growth with roots forming.

In addition to running the nursery, McKaig offers landscaping services, adding, ““I like to get into the more unusual.”.

The cost of a desert landscape with cacti is about the same as a grass lawn but it’s the long-term cost where McKaig said people will save money.

“The amount of water used with desert plants isn’t that much. Not a lot of chemicals are needed,” he said, adding the amount of water and maintenance with a grass lawn can be expensive compared to caring for desert plants.

Some plants in the winter need to be covered to protect against frost. Other plants need a shade cloth in the summer.

“People with second and third homes want to be able to leave and come back and not have a problem,” said McKaig, adding he doesn’t recommend getting rid of shrubbery since it’s good for shade.

“I like trees. I just minimize my shrubs and make sure the shrubs are mature and bigger than the space we put them in.”

Before doing a desert landscape, McKaig recommends going to municipal buildings and residences to take pictures of favorite landscapes.

On average, he said people will need dozens of cacti to landscape a home.

“A 3/4 acre lot will need about 50 cacti with some shrubs, trees and maybe some boulders,” McKaig said.

“We’re horticulturists. We do everything. We’ve seen everything. We know the chemicals to use, and how to fix certain problems because we’ve experienced them. We’ve killed more plants than everyone else so we’ve learned the hard way. Having a nursery, you learn.”

He recommends during the winter months to water cacti once a week for a 1/2 hour on a 1/2 gallon drip and leafy plants on a 1-2 gallon drip depending on the type.

McKaig’s inventory is hand-selected. He has six shade houses and wants to devote a couple of them to succulent topiaries. This is the base from where he pokes holes and plants different colored succulents.

One of his Top 10 is the Aloe Hercules. “When they get large they look prehistoric,” he said.

“I’m also propagating a Queensland bottle tree – Brachychiton rupestris – and one genus of plant called mangave. All the growers are competing with different varieties so you'll see maybe 20 different colors out there now.”

http://cactuscuratorsaz.com/ - 16308 E Cavedale Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85262 - (480) 833-5333

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