CactiGuide.com

MJPapay wrote:
If you are at death's door - you don't need another cactus.

(Oh boy, I've said it now).

When I die I hope that my cacti are the only prickly problems my survivors have to deal with! And when I'm waiting to die, I think plants and flowers would be just as welcome as the people I love. So I say, "Bring 'em on!"

With that in mind, there is NEVER a time you don't need another cactus!!!!!

Just not one needlessly dug up from the wild.

You are right of course.

Cheers for your good humor!

I will say this much. I think there is a huge difference between taking a few seeds or maybe a pad or stem segment from a cactus and DIGGING one up (even if it's on private property with permission) because if you take say a pad off an Opuntia it will grow back. A dug up plant won't.
Just my .02 cents. I am tired of watching the native plants in AZ get damaged without people digging them up.

i STRONGLY AGREE with what peter said above, it is an unfortunate fact that cacti or ANY plant is being dug up from the wild. did you know that cactus smuggling is the second biggest trade with Mexico and the US after drugs!!. the future for plants like Ariocarpus and other cacti doesn't look to good the way i see it, unless justice i served to those who commit these HORRIBLE crimes, in other words other desert states need the same cacti protection laws as Arizona.

AZ is very tough on it's native plants. They make it hard to make money by digging them up. What needs to happen next is preserves need to be made where people don't damage them.

AS an aside. Along a freeway I noticed an Opuntia got hit by a car and obliterated. Would it be unethical to pick up a pad or two?

Find three dislodged pads.

Plant two in the wild nearby.

Take one as a reward for your kindness.

Not your fault someone obliterated the thing.

yes. I might stop by next saturday. It makes me sad to see things like that. Probably some idiot was texting while driving or blabbing in their cellphone, or maybe some idiot was doing that and hit them and made them crash.. whatever the case I might plant a few and take a few. The are like 50 pads all over the place.

tumamoc wrote:I haven't been by in a few weeks, but I'd be surprised if these guys didn't have some: B & B Cactus Nursery in Tucson. The folks there are very helpful and knowledgeable and the cactus prices are resonable. Anyway, it's worth giving them a call.

I'm not in the habit of quoting myself, but I stopped by B&B's today, and I thought I'd mention they had at least two flats of E. texensis. I think these are 6 inch pots--all $10.

Yes, and B&B plants are all good quality too.

As for Peter's Opuntia collection question. First, you won't have to plant any fallen pads of course because most of them will grow anyway. However, if you took a couple pads to plant at home, I would not think down on that at all. Maybe I'm stepping out on a limb here, but in that case, I'd say it was good. Now germane to the earlier discussion - if you were to take the pads (even in that situation) and sell them, then I think that would be too far.

Daiv,
I wasn't ever suggesting I would sell the pads. Maybe someday in the future I might sell some pads if my plants get too large. But that is a huge maybe. For now I would just be picking up a few pads that got nailed by a drunk driver, or someone on their cell phone...
(I in fact already rescued some Opuntia that were hit by a drunk driver in BCC)

Oh wow thanks tumamoc!

Peterthecactusguy wrote:Daiv,
I wasn't ever suggesting I would sell the pads.

Yes, I understood that.

Ok, Daiv, just making sure people don't think I am some sort of cutthroat cactus thief that amasses cacti by stealing them. I however will rescue plants in the middle of the road. I have several that I found in the road.