Thanks, Keith. I sliced the plant up (butchered it really) in July but the scale came back. I might just cut away the clean stems and start over.

An update: this “scale” has spread. The plant was definitely not damaged by being bumped, knocked or otherwise injured, so I know that it’s the host for some kind of pest. But what is it and how do I treat it?

This doesn't look like corking to me. I'm thinking it's scale and that it needs to be removed. Am I right?

Gregg,
I hope you're no longer in the habit of poaching those plants.

I have rooted a little specimen from the plant in the first picture, and another from another similar plant (see http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38875). I don't know which is which, but I believe one is corallicola. Or...?

Hi all, I'm taking the following trip in September: trip.JPG Does anyone recommend any cactus places? I'll be in Death Valley which, I understand, isn't a cactus bonanza. It'll be hot, so I'll likely stay in the higher elevations that day. Are there any particular mountains / hikes (accessible by a ...

Thanks, Vipassana! That would be cool.

I know it's not the most exciting collection, but it's rather unique in NYC I'd imagine. Also, it's constrained by my rules to only collect by my own hand -- no purchases. In the winter, anything greater than zone 6 or 5b (a landscape architecture professor of mine claimed 7B, but I would rather get...

Hi jfabiao, yes, I believe that is right. I took a leaf from a plant growing by an empty lot on a side-street in Tucson. Same goes for the smaller relative on the left side of photo 8.

Although we've had very, very little sunshine in NYC - with none in the foreseeable future - the plants are thriving though perhaps a little more slowly than they might otherwise. April, May, and now June have brought almost exclusively gloom and rain. A few blooms managed to time it right with a co...

Hey Kamos! The plants represent a time and a place if I "harvest" them myself, usually on vacation. Roman emperors used to take seeds from lands that they conquered, and start gardens; it's kind of like that (except without the conquering part).

Cool -- looks like you have quite a collection.

Any ideas? Obviously not native to Florida, but thriving in this front yard.

I thought I would document the growth of my plants over the spring and summer. The collection has rules: I must find the plants in their native or naturalized habitat and grow them from a cutting (except for the columnar ones - they're purchased mostly at farmers markets in NYC). Each box has a diff...

I thought I would document the growth of my plants over the spring and summer. The collection has rules: I can only find the plants and grow them from pads (except for the columnar ones - they're purchased mostly at farmers markets in NYC). Each box has a different variety of opuntia. Next update in...