Posted by Ian, Poulsbo WA on January 31, 2008, 5:51 am, in reply to "Southern Utah in June"
I'd say the two places not to miss are Zion and Arches NP. Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef are cool too but not quite as exciting. I haven't been to Canyonlands, sounds cool but access is difficult. You might do better on seeds than you think.
There are no native Agaves around there unless you run into A. utahensis in the SW corner of the state, which should have seed in August/Sept. There are a few good native Yuccas including Y. brevifolia (SW corner of Utah), and all kinds of variations of Y. harrimaniae, angustissima, baileyi, etc. - somewhere out there is Y. nana too but I haven't researched where to find it. You might be a bit early for seed on those Yuccas but who knows - it's worth checking. Actually I think Y. brevifolia ripens about June.
The most dominant cacti are Opuntia phaecantha and O. polyacantha forms, but some of these might have other names I'm not aware of. They are found in rocky areas throughout southern Utah. You could get single-pad cuttings of those and root them easily. Less common are Echinocereus and the occasional Sclerocactus species - I'm not sure which. Those might actually have seed in June.... Opuntias not until August/Sept.
Lots of cool manzanitas and pines, etc. too, and Atriplex. Tamarix is a serious weed that has invaded all the river courses; that's too bad.
Have a great trip - take some pics!
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