Vermont is hoping for more in 2012

[hoteidoc]

Like Daiv, sorry for late response Dave! Congrats on your polyacantha & fragilis growth & blossoms. Recently acquired several fragilis lines & a erinacea v. ursina from (Cactus) Dan Rhoads in Nebraska. One of which is Very spiny like your "Little Monk" & "Washington" varieties called Black Cat (with shiny black spines!). One of cats knocked over one of the fragils segs (not the Black Cat - would've been "wearing" it ) & after just a week, 2 rootlets had already started. Can't believe I'm putting in all these Opuntias, but seem to be easiest to get started until Echinocer's & Echinocac. seedlings get big enough to get in the round. Probably will be the hardest to keep in check, too!

[fanaticactus]

Definitely the Opuntias will want to spread like crazy once they're established. Betcha can't wait until you have to weed among them all. Those darn wild grass seeds and all sorts of weed seeds find their way into the small crevices between and under pads. I already planted three of my Echinocer. seedlings that Andy from CT sent me. They're not much more than an inch high now, but they're fattening up nicely. I potted up three more seedlings of the same, per Andy's suggestion, to keep in a controlled environment in case the outdoor ones don't make it through the winter. That's one reason I'm hoping for another winter like last year's. (Ugghhh! I hate to think of winter now when it's 90 outside!)

[fanaticactus]

I finally got around to enlarging the cactus garden to the extent you see in these pictures. I will build up the stone edging to keep a casual look and fill it in with sandy soil. I can't dig much deeper than what you see here since it is loaded with black weedcloth and heavy pure clay under that. The mix I used for the original section seems to be working fine. When it comes to acquiring cacti to plant, will it be too late in the season for them to get firmly established before fall and winter set in again?--keeping in mind that we can get some frosty nights as early as mid-September. Would it be better to wait until next late winter/early spring to buy winter hardy cacti or is it OK to buy them now, pot them up and keep them in a cold unheated garage until planting time next year?

DSC02381.JPG (156.73 KiB) Viewed 1872 times

DSC02382.JPG (85.69 KiB) Viewed 1872 times

DSC02383.JPG (88.03 KiB) Viewed 1872 times

[hoteidoc]

Nice Gauillardia (sp?), Dave! I put in 5 Opuntia mid-Oct. that survived, but would never go that late again. Also bought a Pedio & potted it, then brought in end of Oct to glass porch (until I decided what to do this Winter). Still havent' made up my mind, but will probably punt again, until I get some seedlings going to "test". Plan C (last choice) seems safest - especially since I know you don't want to wait until Spring to get those CH's . Personally I'd give it a shot until end of Aug.

[daiv]

I'd say go for it with getting the hardy plants - especially if they are Opuntias. Still lots of summer ahead so I would plant anything in there and it should be fine.

[fanaticactus]

I'd say go for it with getting the hardy plants - especially if they are Opuntias. Still lots of summer ahead so I would plant anything in there and it should be fine.

I was also thinking Echinocereus & Escobarias. Maybe?

[Andy_CT]

Here's a picture of my "Little Monk" clump, You had asked before about its growth habit which you can see is very flat to the ground and spreading like a fan. The new pads point toward the sun as they grow but will go flat in the fall and stay that way.

up26.jpg (111.55 KiB) Viewed 1855 times

[fanaticactus]

Thanks, Andy. I sure would hate to be walking in the desert and step on that! How easy it would be for it to be hidden by grass or scrub growth.

[mjazz]

I have problems with weeds overtaking my outdoor cacti too. So I decided to use landscape fabric from now on, and cover it with a thin layer of mulch. I think these are O. Phaeacantha. These are cuttings, the whole thing will probably look a lot better when they start growing new pads. I made little piles of sand for them to root in, and cut slits in the fabric underneath them for the roots to find their way to the ground beneath.

[fanaticactus]

It sounds like you planned it out carefully, mjazz. Should work out well. The former owners of this property put that landscape fabric on top of every garden here and threw mulch in, but not enough I guess. In some places you see as much black fabric as you do mulch. We have been in the process of changing the plantings, and when it comes to digging holes for the new plants, I run into that darned cloth and have had to cut and wack it to pieces. It's all over the place! Once I get the cactus garden planned out and actually begin to plant, I may resort to using it, too, but it'll be on top of the clay base I have and pour my cactus soil over it. Then, I'll dress the top around the cacti with some rocks and gravel. I find the weeds get into the mulch anyway and grow there, so I'd rather not have the fabric so close to the top of the gardens. I won't be planning to dig up and move cacti after several years! No way I'm gettin' into that mess!

[fanaticactus]

The more I think about it, the less I want to use that weed fabric. As I've said, I've dug down to heavy clay; I don't believe there are any viable weed seeds down there. Any weeds that appear in the garden I would bet are all from air-bourne seeds from the past season, so they would settle and root in whatever soil/mulch is exposed.

[mjazz]

I've had the same problems with the fabric too, with the non-cactus landscaping. After a while weeds grow in it, and transplanting stuff is, as you know, a royal pain.
I've toyed with the idea of groundcovers also. Opuntia looks good contrasted with creeping jenny, but it can't take the full sun, plus weeds and grasses still find a place in it to root and grow. Weeds also invade my indoor cacti, which I take outside for the summer.
If you're ever in southeastern New England, stop by and I'll give you some cuttings of my outdoor plants, and there are some indoor ones you can have, also.

[fanaticactus]

If only cacti would grow as easily and profusely as the darn weeds, right? Before I retired I was in the Westchester/Fairfield area for over 30 years and found I seldom got as far east as RI. Except we made annual trips to Abbott's Lobster In The Rough in Noank, CT--our idea of summer bliss! However, I will keep your kind offer in mind, mjazz, and will let you know if my wanderings get me down your way. Meanwhile, good luck with both your indoor AND outdoor cactus gardening.

[Peterthecactusguy]

lol I live in the desert (or at least on the boundry of one and it seems to me that I still have problems with weeds and grass!

Nice garden tho. lovely flowers you got, sorry I got here kinda late.

[mjazz]

I've already had to remove some crabgrass that's appeared since.