Desert alpines: yeah sure. I guess there are some truly deserty ranges in the Great Basin where cacti are alpines. The White Mountains come to mind, where I recall Opuntia trichophora growing among the Bristlecones. Our poor mountain ball cactus, (Pediocactus: "Plains cactus" is the literal translation: get real, the munchkin ALWAYS grows on mountains), first impugned by its very Latin name, and then supposed to grow in deserts when in fact millions upon millions of these crowd the foothills and montane meadows of the Southern Rockies ONLY in relatively mesic, acid soil regions. I dote on this: and I confess it grows pretty well in my unwatered dryland gardens. But it also does well with some irrigation. I especially like to grow them in pots where they can sit for years (best to repot after five years or so I've found). They produce an amazing array of colors from deep rose reds and near purple to these shimmering Chinese jade shades like this form of "Robustior" from the Pacific Northwest I got from Mesa Gardens: not like the deep purple forms I otherwise know...it could be blooming in a month!
