The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

SW-EDC said:
Thanks!
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Did you find that particular cactus specimen and dig it or buy it? I did get what they call a Florida cactus that is about 10 inches tall (in a 4" pot). I have been watering it very sparingly or about half of what I normally water house plants (that's half the amount of water and every two weeks). Over watering is generally the problem with neophyte cactus growers. I am totally running blind on the watering issue.

My Christmas cactus are budding up for their winter bloom at the moment.
 
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22-rimfire said:
Did you find that particular cactus specimen and dig it or buy it? I did get what they call a Florida cactus that is about 10 inches tall (in a 4" pot). I have been watering it very sparingly or about half of what I normally water house plants (that's half the amount of water and every two weeks). Over watering is generally the problem with neophyte cactus growers. I am totally running blind on the watering issue.

My Christmas cactus are budding up for their winter bloom at the moment.
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No, I bought this one from a reputable source.
Digging these in their natural habitat, will result in hefty fines and jail time. Its actually an endangered species because of that.
They grow in mud flats and can only be visible by their flower in October-November..the time the poachers wait for to dig them up.
Mine was grown from seed and is about 5 years old now. They are slow growing and live a very long time.
I water this plant twice per year in summer, thats it. Anymore than that, you kill it, and it only grows in crushed limestone.
 
SW-EDC SW-EDC Very interesting. I wonder how often the run of the mill cactus you see in stores should be watered? I honestly have no idea.

If it's natural habitat is mud flats, why plant it in a highly permeable crushed limestone?

I looked it up online and it was said that it is native to Mexico and grows in a limestone substrate. It is endangered due to over collecting.

How big do they get? I assume they are a real slow growing cactus. What is their growing tendencies? Do little ones sprout up beside the mother plant?
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Ones that I have seen and photographed is the Strawberry Cactus (Pitaya) and Lace Cactus (Purple Candle), both Echiocererus genii in South Texas. Both have blooms similar to yours but I suspect much larger.
 
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The largest one I have seen of Ariocarpus Bravoanus, was about the size of a fist.
Yup, Mexico for this one and Northern Mex and South Texas for A. Fissuratis.

Your normal run of the mill cactus, depending where you are at.
In Southern Cal, I water mine in summer every 4 days or so, winter, about once every 10 days.
 
I can definitely see a problem with any particularly special, unusual, or slow growing cactus in Mexico as many people are hand to mouth in terms of survival and would harvest them for re-sale.
 
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Ground up fallen leaves with my mulching mower on Monday as it was fairly warm. Today, it almost looks like I didn't do anything. That's okay. Mower doesn't do a very satisfying job on a real thick matte of leaves. Lots more leaves to drop on the Oak and Hickory trees as we progress toward winter.

I have been babying my celery bringing inside the planter and moving back outdoors when temps are above about 45*F. Still growing, but I don't know for how much longer I will continue to do this. I do enjoy seeing the green however and the vibrant leaves.
 
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22-rimfire said:
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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Yes! Enjoy, neighbours ... :thumbsup: ... your family, your friends, the harvest.

Here, the weather has been mild with lots of rain mixed with snow - very undecided conditions. The ground is mostly bare, the landscape grey. The good news is that the grass is flattened somewhat.

I mailed my membership renewal on November 21 so the ads should disappear for me and the pic capability re-appear soon.

I've pulled the battery from the riding mower inside for over winter and charged it, to extend its life. Gas and oil are in hand for the snowblower. Everything that can be tarped is tarped. Fall seems to be slow to turn things over to old man winter - that's OK by me.
 
Well the year's coming to an end, but I finally got one of my summer projects done. Finished the last 40' of fence rebuilding around the property. Had to get this done; the original fence was hung using staples and the neighbors dogs were smart enough to know if they pushed on it they could have free run of my yard. I love the dogs, they really are good and don't get enough company, but it drove the neighbor nuts since he never trained them and would have to chase them to catch them. Nice guy, but really doesn't deserve his pets.

Had to seriously cut back the stuff in this corner to get room to work. Looks pretty rough now. It will fill in come spring.

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Hope you're all safe. This time of year I remember you dad saying we were lucky to have food and shelter. He had it a lot harder than his kids. I like to think he'd be proud of what he taught us. All in all, we've done well. Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Yes, 6' clear cedar. I have to go to a special yard to get it. The whole back yard is done in that, about 850' foot of fence done over 4 years. This was the last of it. Last year I was out in the cold doing a section as the wind got it. Nothing like digging post holes in the rain. As you can see I left a couple of the old poles up; they're nice and solid and I figured they'll last. This weekend was clear but not much over 40 if that. Parts of the lawn never lost the frost today. But I had the time and it needed doing. Hope to get the Christmas lights up tomorrow. Got to get out the heated hummer feeders too. Poor things are running on empty without feeders as there's not much blooming. Going thru 2+ lbs of suet a week and 3 gallons of mixed seed too. Still I get some pretty cool birds if the crows stay away.
 
When the grand kids were young, they wanted to pile up all the leaves and jump into them. Since I grind up my leaves with a mower, big piles are a bit of a problem. I had to spread out the piles. No big thing. Neighbor was blowing his leaves into large piles today. I don't do that as the leaves drown out the turf grass. But then, he doesn't have any grass, just weeds mostly mingled with grass. If it's green, it's good.....
 
LEGION 12 said:
I pile all the leaves into my raised bed .
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Good spot for leaves and it probably improves the soil there. I have one bed near my driveway that I blow leaves into that bed to eventually degrade naturally.

Add a little pelletized lime to that bed to balance the acidity out a bit.
 
Haven't been here in a while, in the process of buying a place in Eugene on 1/4 acre. So I'll be planting trees and bushes in the spring. Now it's just grass, two HUGE doug firs and a walnut of some kind.
 
^ I guess that prevents any excuse from going to the Oregon Show in April...
 
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