Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

[Len B]

I found a pad I'm going to cut the pad below it so can have the whole heart above ground.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your Welcome, I enjoy doing it. Do you still want the palm seeds ? I haven't looked but my wild grape vine should have seeds also, to me they look the same as the palm seeds, maybe a little smaller. When I had yellow and red footed tortoises I never thought about offering either to them.

YES!

 

[Yvonne G]

OUCH, are you sure all the spine came out ?

It was a big spine, and it never stayed in. It's still on the mother plant.

 

[Pearly]

Last night I was cutting up a columnar cactus that had broken off (tomorrow's garbage day) and while sawing I accidentally bumped my knuckle into the mother plant, which was still standing. A spine poked into my knuckle. No big deal, happens all the time and I'm used to it. However, by evening, my knuckle was so sore I could hardly move my finger. There's no meat between the skin and the bone, and I guess that spine poked the bone. I'll attach a picture, but it's hard to tell how swollen it is:

View attachment 216319

I hope it looks less red/swollen tomorrow. If you are still up, take some Tylenol or Advil and an antihistamine like Claritin, or Zyrtec or Benadryl. If you have Hydrocortisone or Benadryl cream, or any anti-itch stuff that has topical antihistamine in it, start rubbing it in few times a day till gone. I swear that some of those thorns have some oils or something that triggers histamine response (redness, swelling), and because there is never an itch, but rather always a pain associated with thorns and glochids, I suspect that there might be some poison component in them. Just theorizing here

 

[Pearly]

If you ever lose your fear of cactus and decide to try growing some different kinds I will gladly send you some of the different spineless that I grow here that are cold hardy and should do great without any winter damage where you are located. I use 4 things that help keep spines out of my fingers, Like Jacqui I use hot dog tongs, and a sharp knife, hand clippers, and newspaper..Sometimes it takes 2 tongs to do what you are trying to do.

Hey, Thanks! But before I trouble you for some prickly plant babies I must try your and Jackie's technique

 

[Yvonne G]

I hope it looks less red/swollen tomorrow. If you are still up, take some Tylenol or Advil and an antihistamine like Claritin, or Zyrtec or Benadryl. If you have Hydrocortisone or Benadryl cream, or any anti-itch stuff that has topical antihistamine in it, start rubbing it in few times a day till gone. I swear that some of those thorns have some oils or something that triggers histamine response (redness, swelling), and because there is never an itch, but rather always a pain associated with thorns and glochids, I suspect that there might be some poison component in them. Just theorizing here

I wondered about some sort of poison on it. But you never hear about that. I know the sap of the euphorbias is toxic, but one never hears about any toxicity on cactus glochids. But I could stick a pin in my skin and not feel the pain that's associated with getting stuck with a cactus thorn.

 

[Jacqui]

I found a pad View attachment 216385 I'm going to cut the pad below it so can have the whole heart above ground.

Aww sweet!

 

[Jacqui]

Hey, Thanks! But before I trouble you for some prickly plant babies I must try your and Jackie's technique

Another word of advise, do not plant where a herd of loose cattle will end up stomping them to smithereens.

 

[Len B]

This bloom opened today. I potted the pad too. Here's another odd shaped pad I potted a while back

 

[Jacqui]

The Peace rose was my Mom's favorite.

I believe this was Blue Girl.

 

[Oxalis]

This bloom opened today.View attachment 216484 I potted the pad too.View attachment 216485 Here's another odd shaped pad I potted a while backView attachment 216486View attachment 216487

I love those! How neat! I'll post a picture later, but yesterday I was getting some compost for planting our new wildflowers when I saw our Opuntia had a ton of cactus pears! Steve's eaten two so far and has declared them delicious.

 

[Len B]

I love those! How neat! I'll post a picture later, but yesterday I was getting some compost for planting our new wildflowers when I saw our Opuntia had a ton of cactus pears! Steve's eaten two so far and has declared them delicious.

Good for Steve and you should get many more blooms next year.

 

[phebe121]

Working hard on my plant and garden this summer

 

[Len B]

Working hard on my plant and garden this summer

Very nice, What is the one in the red pot setting on the red bench ?

 

[Oxalis]

I love those! How neat! I'll post a picture later, but yesterday I was getting some compost for planting our new wildflowers when I saw our Opuntia had a ton of cactus pears! Steve's eaten two so far and has declared them delicious.

Lots of tasty tortoise treats!! These are mostly the Opuntia I got from my dad.



Here are our cactuses from Len. They've grown so many new pads already!!! They grow well alongside evening primrose.

 

[Jacqui]

Working hard on my plant and garden this summer

I'll take that last 'mater and a couple of green ones.

 

[phebe121]

I'll take that last 'mater and a couple of green ones.

I have plenty ive been giving them away .to everyone .there so good

 

[phebe121]

Very nice, What is the one in the red pot setting on the red bench ?

That is a orchid cactus

 

[Len B]

That is a orchid cactus

That's what I thought it was, Do you know how to get them to bloom ? I have this mess, There are 2 colors in the pot, one red and one white. The guy that gave them to me about 5 years ago had pictures of the blooms and they were beautiful. I've gotten them to grow and haven't killed them yet but have never had a bloom. He died not long after I got them so I can't ask him what he did to get blooms. Also I am terrible with tender plants that need to come in in cold weather.

 

[Yvonne G]

Very bright light, but not full sun. Allow to dry out between watering.