Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => This 'n' That => Topic started by: CLKD on August 28, 2016, 05:20:09 PM
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…… does anyone keep cacti at home? I have several very old plants, i.e. 20 years+ which get covered in mealy bug critters >:(. I can spend a couple of hours a day picking them from between the spines and as I have 5 large plants …….. I never see the critters moving between plants, think they do so in the night ::)
I have tried meths on a cotton wool bud as well as tweezers but the blighters still attack the cacti.
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I've never had any on mine (mind you that means I WILL now!) but does this advice help from RHS https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=201
Taz x
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Thanks - but cacti are harder to treat as I don't think that soaking them with a spray would do their structure any good.
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This one.... http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary_M/dictionary_mealy_bugs.htm
Taz x
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'catched the breeze' ……. mine kind of talk ::) but again, not easy to dunk a whole cacti into a bucket of water without it tending to rot. Might look for moth treatment ready for when I re-pot them. However, 1 is 3 feet tall :o and very prickly.
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I'm all 4 a sausage like thing :o :oops:
I have used a pointed knife to squash them and tweezers to remove them …….. I am loathe to spray as I don't want to rot them. I have used meths with some success, maybe tea-tree oil though I hate the smell ……..
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:thankyou: they are in direct sun-light for 5 hours each day at this time of year. They get watered when I remember ::) which does encourage the larger one into flower - it is at least 40 years old. Change of soil would be difficult as all are unstable and very, very prickly - I've tried using newspaper as well as BarBQ tongs to hold them but without success. I still manage to drop them or get spiked or ………..
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This post made me smile. I have gained custody of my daughters tiny cacti as she is living abroad. I shall be driving them over to her with the rest of her clobber in a few weeks.
I know absolutely nothing about cacti but noticed that the poor things were rocking in far too tiny pots that had virtually no soil left in it. (results from far too many house changes over uni years). I have repotted them in special cacti compost and keep them in the hottest spot in the house with full sun for much of the day. They have doubled in size from that of a small plum to a very large apple. Feel like a proud mother! She will be stunned when she next meets 'her babies'!
CLKD, mine were tiny and they still prickled me to an extreme. They are feisty little fellas! I wouldn't fancy trying to repot big ones!
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Right oh! cacti compost it is …….. some very thick gloves, a pair of BarBQ tongs - watch this space ;D
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Haha, that comment made me laugh. Barbecue tongs with a cacti! Good luck!
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I drive a Citroen Cactus 🌵🌵🌵 that's what I thought this was about! Mine is purple with black airbumps. You may have seen the advert on TV but it's not purple. When we were in Tenerife at Easter we had only just bought ours and they were quite scarce here but we got there and and they were everywhere! Very economical, comfy and no road tax as its such low emissions.
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Pennyfarthing, I'm sure my daughter would prefer me to deliver your sort of cacti to the ones she is getting!
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Hahaha, Menomale, me too! I was picking the pesky spiky things from my fingers for days!
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'black airbumps' - do tell :-\
The largest of our cacti flowers every year with several rings of pink flowers round the top. Must be doing something right!
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'black airbumps' - do tell :-\
The largest of our cacti flowers every year with several rings of pink flowers round the top. Must be doing something right!
Can't do a link ... Not clever enough but if you google Citroen cactus purple you will see the car has black air bumps on the doors. I got fed up with people opening their car doors and banging mine or going down the side with shopping trolleys and when I saw the cactus I thought what a great idea. Every ding and dent I had on any car I've ever owned was not caused by me and hubby notices them straight away. IN fact, if I could have a completely rubber car I would!! ;D ;D ;D
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Have a look here http://www.driving.co.uk/news/news-driving-tests-the-airbump-protection-of-the-new-citroen-c4-cactus/
Taz x
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Have a look here http://www.driving.co.uk/news/news-driving-tests-the-airbump-protection-of-the-new-citroen-c4-cactus/
Taz x
thanks Taz. Theres even a purple one on there!
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:thankyou:
Cacti live for years and years and ……..
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Jaypo - keep away from the thorns?
Have a look-see at a good book on cactus to see what they require. All mine have fierce thorns. I have used tweezers for small babies on the parent plant ..........
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My mums one has those prickles that don't look prickly as they look soft but they're nasty ,started of one big one,then two little ones appeared,won't tell you what it looked like😳 now there's about 6 little ones and the big one is drooped right over the pot,not sure if I should re pot or not,it's really old and I'm scared I kill it
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Cactii live for Centuries. We have a neighbour who knows a lot about them so after Mum went into Care, I handed over 1 that my Dad bought in the 1970s to re-home, he decided to keep it. I have found BarBQ tongs of use, some people use rolled newspapers to grip the plants when re-potting. As well as tweezers to remove the small prickles :D
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Never understood cacti...
Think I've killed all mine over watering....
Rotted...
Never bought one again, mom had one with red flowers on it, Christmas cacti ???
Dunno, don't know anything about em, only how to kill em....😂
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Those aren't true cactii though ....... I have a couple of those that are hanging on by a thread ::). They don't do much. Quiet, cactii
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Lanzarote has a cactus garden Jardin de Catus it's in a former quarry where volcanic sand was extracted to spread on cultivated ares to retain moisture.
The Catus garden was created in 1991 and was the last project of Cesar Manrique and the botanist Estanislo Gonzalez Ferrer. The garden now has 4,500 examples of 450 species of Catus and succelents from North and South America, Madagascar and other desert areas.
The garden is in the shape of a large amphitheatre with the plants arranged in terraces, there are ponds with fish in a windmill, restaurant and a small shop.
It's situated in the village of Guatiza.Prickly pears are also grown in the area for the production of cochineal.
If you you are ever in Lanzarote it's worth a visit.
Lanzalover x
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:thankyou:
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Apparently - I've watered my cactii this morning but it's the wrong time of year :-\. I've also removed a lot of mealy bug using meths on a brush. I've looked at a very good U-tube demonstration so have learned a lot, after I'd watered them. Now I need to leave them to drain, buy some cactii preparation and a sharp knife.