THAT UNITE OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO DISCOVER THEIR PURPOSE AND APPRECIATE THEIR BEAUTY.

ON HIS HILLSIDE PROPERTY SHARED WITH PARTNER NOREEN, HE GROWS COLD HARDY CACTI AND SUCCULENTS

IN THE GROUND. OTHERS RESIDE IN GREENHOUSES WHERE HE GROWS

AND PROP GATES PLANTS CHOSEN FROM WHOLESALE NURSERIES.

HIS A PASSION IS TO PROPAGATE AND PRESERVE PLANTS AND HABITAT, AN INTEREST THAT PROPAGATED

WHEN HE WAS A BIOLOGY PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.

>> BACK IN THE EARLY '70'S THEY WERE DOING A SERIES OF INFORMAL CLASSES AT U.T., AND

ONE OF THEM WAS ON CACTI AND SUCCULENTS. AND I HAD I THINK JUST BEFORE THAT PICKED

UP A FEW CACTI AT LOCAL NURSERIES AND THOUGHT THEIR SHAPES AND TEXTURES WERE REALLY INTERESTING.

>> MEETING LIKE MINDED GARDENERS, THEY FORMED THE AUSTIN CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY TO

EDUCATE THEMSELVES AND OTHERS THROUGH MEETINGS, ONLINE AND SEMI ANNUAL SALES, THEY FOSTERED

ENTHUSIASM THAT CONTINUES TO GROW. >> MAYBE IN PART BECAUSE OUR CLIMATE SEEMS

TO BE DRYING OUT, THAT CACTI AND SUCCULENTS HAVE BECOME MUCH MORE POPULAR, THERE'S A LOT

MORE VARIETIES AVAILABLE NOW WHICH ARE ACTUALLY REASONABLY COLD HARDY AND CAN BE GROWN INSIDE.

WHEN I FIRST STARTED THIS LITTLE GARDEN ALONG MY DRIVEWAY, YOU COULD GET SO TALLS, AGAVE

AND OTHER THINGS, BUT SINCE THAT TIME SO MANY OTHER POSSIBILITIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE.

>> AS A BIOLOGIST BOB WANTED TO KNOW MORE. IN A WIRE CAGE GREENHOUSE HE STUDIES PLANTS

LIKE ALOES. >> ALOES ARE NATIVE TO SOUTHERN AND EAST AFRICA

AND ALSO THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND THE ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE MAINLY ARE HYBRIDS. >> CALIFORNIA GROWERS HAVE HYBRIDIZED VARIETIES

WITH INTRIGUING COLORS AND TEXTURES. ALOES WANT GOOD SUNLIGHT AND DRY SOIL.

IN SOUTH AFRICA THEY ARE GARDEN PLANTS, BUT MOST NEED PROTECTION FROM HARSH WINTER COLD

IN TEXAS. >> IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND AROUND HERE

WHEN YOU HAVE ALOES BLOOMING THEY WILL BE ADMITTED BY HUMMINGBIRDS.

>> HEALTHED TO ALOE IS HAWORTHIA. >> THEY ARE ALL FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

SOME ARE HYBRID OR NATIVE SPECIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

THEY COLOR UP NICELY WITH A BIT OF SUN. THE NICE THING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR FACILITY

IS IT GETS SUN IN THE MORNING AND IT'S SHADED BY MARCH IN THE AFTERNOON.

IN HABITAT THEY TEND TO GROW UNDER A SEMI DESERT SHRUBS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

>> COLD TENDERED PLANTS MOVE TO A TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED GREENHOUSE IN WINTER WHERE BOB

GROWS PLANTS YEAR ROUND. FROM TALL TO TINY HE GROWS MULTIPLE GENERA

OF SUCCULENTS AND CACTI. HE REPRESENTS NEW WORLD PLANTS LIKE CACTI

AND AGAVES. FROM THE OLD WORLD HAWORTHIAS, ALOES AND SUCCULENT

EUPHORBIAS. ANOTHER GREENHOUSE SITS ATOP THE CARPORT,

AN IDEA FROM ONE OF HIS GRAD STUDENTS TO GET THE SUNNIEST SPOT FOR CACTI AND OTHERS.

HIS FASCINATION WITH THESE DISTINCTIVE PLANTS? >> IT HAS TO DO WITH THEIR UNUSUAL SHAPES,

UNUSUAL COLORS, TEXTURES AND SO FORTH. >> SOME OF THEM ARE ASTROPHYTUM.

>> IT'S A SMALL GENUS OF CACTI, THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT A HALF DOZEN SPECIES BUT THERE

ARE GOOD SUBJECTS FOR HYBRIDIZATION, AND THE THING SO INTERESTING ABOUT THE ASTROPHYTUMS

SOME OF THEM ARE TOTALLY SPINELESS. OTHERS HAVE A FEW SPINES, BUT THEY HAVE INTERESTING

PATTERNS OF WHITE MARKINGS ON THE SURFACE OF THE PLANT.

AND IF YOU MAKE HYBRIDS YOU CAN GET ALL KINDS OF REALLY INTERESTING PATTERNS.

>> THE MELOCACTUS ARE JUST AS DISTINCTIVE. IN HABITAT THEIR FLOWERS ARE POLLINATED BY

HUMMINGBIRDS. >> IT'S A GENUS OF CACTI THAT IS FOUND IN

SEMI AIR RID AREAS IN THE TROPICS. A LOT OF SPECIES IN BRAZIL.

AND BASICALLY IT'S A TYPE OF CACTUS THAT LIVES FOR AWHILE AS A VEGETATIVE, TYPICAL LOOKING

CACTUS, BUT WHEN IT DECIDES THAT IT'S MATURE IT STOPS THE NORMAL VEGETATIVE GROWTH AND

PUTS ON THIS BRISTLY STRUCTURE ON THE TOP OF IT CALLED A CEPHALIUM.

AND OUT OF THAT BRISTLY STRUCTURE WILL COME THE LITTLE PINK FLOWERS AND THEN THE LITTLE

PINK FLOWERS TO G.O.P. EARLIER. >> OTHERS THAT WOULD GROW UNDER SHRUBS AND

HABITAT EXPOSE MORE OF THE FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS. COLORATION ON SOME ECHEVERIA PROTECTS THEM

FROM ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. >> IT'S A WHITE POWDERY SUBSTANCE THAT THE

PLANT PRODUCES. AS IT DEVELOPS ITS LEAVES.

THE POWDER IS ONLY GENERATE THE AS THE PLANT IS DEVELOPING AND ONCE IT'S DEVELOPED IT WON'T

PRODUCE ANY MORE POWDER. >> BOB GROWS HIS IN THE WIRE CAGED GREENHOUSE.

A HOME GARDENER CAN JUST PROVIDE MORNING SUN. >> BECAUSE THEY DO NEED THE SUN TO KEEP THEM

FROM ETIOLATING, TO KEEP THEM FROM GETTING LEGGY AND COLORS ON THE LEAVES.

MOST OF THE ECHEVERIA COME FROM ISLANDS IN MEXICO WHICH MAKES THEM A LITTLE TOUGH TO

GROW HERE IN TEXAS BECAUSE IT'S SO HOT IN THE SUMMERTIME.

>> SUCCULENTS BY THEIR VERY NAME HAVE DEVELOPED STRATEGIES TO STORE WATER WHEN ITS SCARCE.

CACTI AND MOST OF THE EUPHORBIAS STORE IT IN THEIR STEMS.

ECHEVERIA STORE IT IN THEIR LEAVES AND OTHERS IN A BALL SHAPED STRUCTURE CALLED THE CAUDEX.

SOME STRATEGIZE TO RISE THE NEXT GENERATION. >> LILY TOPS ARE A GENERAL US OF PLANT FOUND

IN NAMIBIA AND THEY HAVE AN INTERESTING GROWTH CYCLE.

THEY CONSIST OF TWO LEAVES FUSED TOGETHER WITH A CRACK BETWEEN THE TWO.

AND IN THE FALL OF THE YEAR FOR US, WHEN WE GROW THEM IN CULTIVATION, THE FLOWER BUD COMES

OUT OF THAT CRACK BETWEEN THE TWO LEAVES. A NEW PLANT STARTS DEVELOPING INSIDE THE OLD

ONE, SPLITS THE OLD ONE OPEN AND GRADUALLY SUCKS ALL THE MOISTURE OUT OF THE OLD PLANT.

>> SPINES MULTITASK. >> SPINATION CAN HAVE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT

FUNCTIONS. OF COURSE, IT CAN PROTECT THE PLANT FROM HERBIVORES

BECAUSE IT'S NOT SO PLEASANT FOR AN ANIMAL TO TRY TO EAT BECAUSE THEIR SPINY. THE SPINES

CAN ALSO SHADE THE PLANT AND THEY CAN ALSO SERVE TO COLLECT MOISTURE WHICH THEN CAN DRIP

DOWN AROUND THE BASE OF THE PLANT. AND THEN THE ROOTS GET ACCESS TO THE MOISTURE.

>> IN HIS GREENHOUSES BOB CAN PROTECT FROM TOO MUCH WATER LIKE FLOODING RAINS.

BUT SUCCULENTS DO NEED MOISTURE. IN SPRING AND FALL, HE WATERS EVERY COUPLE

OF WEEKS. IN SUMMER OFTEN ONCE A WEEK.

IN WINTER IT'S MONTHLY OR EVERY SIX WEEKS DEPENDING ON SUNLIGHT.

>> ALONG WITH PROMOTING GARDEN WATER CONSERVATION, BOB'S GLOBAL CONNECTION TO PLANTS AND THE

WILDLIFE THAT DEPENDS ON THEM IS SIGNIFICANT. >> I THINK IT HELPS US TO REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT

IT IS TO PRESERVE HABITATS AND PRESERVE SPECIES, MUCH AS WE CAN.

MADAGASCAR IS A CASE IN POINT BECAUSE A VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT

OCCUR IN MADAGASCAR ARE FOUND NOWHERE ELSE IN THE FOUND, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO TRY THIS

TO TRY TO SAVE SOME OF THE HABITAT. THERE ARE AT OF CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS

THESE DAYS THAT ARE WORKING IN THAT DIRECTION. I THINK WE'RE MAKING SOME PROGRESS.