Oh my goodness! Sometimes it's good that I have a bit of a messy car as surely there'd be something in the trunk to help me take a few of these pads. Turns out that with the exception of a few bits of cylindropuntia, this was a single large opuntia somewhat dehydrated.
This second box had an opuntia with some purple on the pads. O.K. I'll rescue it!
Look at the size of the cylindropuntia trunk!
Do you suppose the top will root as a large specimen? I hope so as, with the help of a plastic bag wrapped around the trunk, it made it into my trunk. Not that I need any more of these but how could one pass up free cacti? The remainder were still by the side of the road today. Anyone want them?
Yew! Score.
ReplyDeleteI'm not looking forward to wrangling that opuntia out of the box!
DeleteThat greenhouse will be full before you know it.
ReplyDeleteYou're right!
DeleteNot an every day sight for sure. The top of the cylindropuntia should root. If you cut it into pieces it will grow new arms then you can root the arms for a nicer looking specimen over time.
ReplyDeleteThere were lots of little arms on the ground so I grabbed a few of those as well. Should be interesting. This may just show up at next spring's plant exchange.
DeleteWhat a great find!
ReplyDeleteAnd potentially painful!
DeleteGreat find! I think the top will root, cross fingers anyway!
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly had time to callous since it's still in my car four days later.
DeleteHa! No, that's not something one often finds here. I'd have stopped too, but you already knew that.
ReplyDeleteIt was a WWLD moment. I noticed that the sign and other boxes were gone a couple of days later. Really not sure that I want to wrangle that opuntia. Maybe I'll try and throw it root side down on a big pot of soil and hope for the best.
DeleteI'd have definitely stopped too (hear those squealing tires?) Trying to think what I have in the truck that would have helped... would jumper cable clamps be too severe? Looking forward to seeing these next year...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh Alan. Opuntias are sadists, inflicting pain; don't know if they like pain themselves so jumper cable clamps might make them mad! You know they can throw those spikes and glochids for quite a distance when they're angry!
DeleteOpuntia is a very very scary plant. I've had it's sweet fruit, but it can get you even when extremely carful. Did you really take it home with you?
ReplyDeleteYes, I am a fool. I've banished glochid-laden opuntias from my collection before and now only have safer ones but I pitied this one. The cylindropuntia has big dangerous spines that are obvious.
DeleteUnusual, yes. And not many takers either, I would imagine. And then there is you.
ReplyDeleteSometimes love hurts. I'll keep the tweezers and duct tape handy to extract the glochids!
DeleteI wouldn't have passed it up either. That's why I now have two cereus that I don't know what to do with. They grew from discarded pieces I picked up in the street several years ago.
ReplyDeleteWe're a crazy bunch we plant people!
DeleteI was "cruising" craigslist today for pretty much the same experience, free or cheap plants. I was hoping maybe there was a dig-it-yourself free Euphorbia ammak on offer -- no such luck. I'm with you in spirit, Peter!
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding a Euphorbia ammak; they're gorgeous! One is bound to show up on craigslist sooner or later!
DeletePeter! ha, ha, ah! 'how could one pass up free cacti? ' Not you of course. Do you have a spot or pots to plant all them?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that they will live in the new greenhouse. I didn't take them all, only one box which was all one plant and the cylindropuntia.
DeleteI used to put boxes of free plants on the sidewalk (they soon disappeared) but that was before bloggers' swaps. Sharing plants is one of the best perks no matter how we do it.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to share plants! Funny how one person's trash is another's treasure.
DeleteFree plants, two of my favorite words. Score!
ReplyDeleteTwo special words which together are magic!
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