The first full official day of summer 2025 hit over the weekend and we know the heat can be brutal.
It's not exactly planting season right?
You might want to rethink that after today's discovery at B & B Cactus Farm.
You've seen cactus in the desert but this sea of succulents is something else.
Call him the cactus king or the duke of the desert ... Mark Sitter knows a lot about these prickly plants.
"This particular one is called fuzzy navel. This is a hybrid torch cactus. That's called a Kalanchoe Luciae or a pancake plant," Mark told me.
"It says orange, propane... these are different types of this cactus?" I asked.
"Yes, of the hybrid torch cactus..." Mark said.
B & B Cactus Farm is his baby. And Mark's been helping things grow here since he bought the eastside staple with his wife back in 2003.
Wandering around these acres I wondered: How many types of cactus are there anyway?
"Uh...there's two," Mark joked. "Too many!"
Mark's got a sense of humor and experience in this field.
He was a horticulturist for a decade at the Desert Museum before becoming a small business owner.
And his customers have come to appreciate this beautiful space month after month, year after year.
"I have customers that come week after week. We're very fortunate to have a very loyal customer base," Mark said.
Justin Wilson comes to B & B all the time.
"They're just all super helpful, knowledgeable, can't get them any more knowledgeable than here," he told me.
Dannel Isaac is actually visiting the Sonoran Desert for the first time and decided that he had to stop.
"TV documentaries really don't do it justice until you actually see it in person. That's when you actually get that shock and awe moment."
Mark told me that plants like this can live well over a hundred years connecting family members who grow right along with a more lasting symbol of the desert southwest.
"Often these plants are handed down from one generation to the next," Mark said. "Desert plants... xeric plants from around the world. Succulent plants are the way to go here."
You'd think summer spells the end of planting season as you're hiding in the house this time of year to avoid the heat but right now could be the right time to work on putting down roots for any of these flowering new additions.
"You're getting the plants organized and in the ground ready for the monsoon so you can take advantage of that," Mark said.
Before the rain starts to fall, plan to plant and pay a visit to B & B. That could stand for better and best, where every choice is the right one
Just ask Mark first.
"The form, the color, the structure and then the added bonus is the flowers. It really really is amazing."
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Dan Spindle co-anchors Good Morning Tucson on KGUN 9 and is an award-winning storyteller whose work has earned him honors from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Emmys, the Associated Press and the Utah Society of Professional Journalists for both anchoring and reporting. Dan is passionate about history and loves to explore the Grand Canyon State. Share your story ideas with Dan by emailing dan.spindle@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or X.
