September 17, 1999

In a Garden in a Desert in a City, a Botanist Keeps His Knees Green

By ZOE INGALLS

Watering is everything, says John N. Trager. But for most of the plants in his care, less is definitely more.

"Even a splash can be too much," he says.

Mr. Trager is curator of desert collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens here. It is his job to coddle into health and cajole into bloom thousands of species of cacti and succulents, including some of nature's most bizarre, rare, and beautiful plants.

Since 1983, when he joined the staff of the Huntington, he has