Isn't the detached pod a bonus? Another plant in the making, for a friend/sale/raffle prize/fun? One maybe, but not more, I don't want to destroy a lovely plant. I got a nice Cylindropuntia tunicata last year and by the time I got it home I had about 6 of them but the mother plant itself was rather...

Thanks for all your tips. I will try not to mix up my verticals and horizontals and use as much padding as possible. I think cutting off the pot should help too. I've already had a few spines in me but they are not glochids, my main concern is knocking off pads, one came off in transport and it seem...

Anybody got any tips? I've never had them before but I've been tempted by a couple of these Opuntia violacea var. macrocentra for the garden. It sounds like they are pretty bullet proof in heat and cold and the long spines and purple colours are attractive but how to handle them without destroying t...

You could always get A.Havardiana instead which is also beautiful and similar to ovatifolia but not as big

It's described in Greg Star's book as 'this massive monster can eventually reach 3-4 feet tall and 4-6 feet across' be warned!

They can get very big though Mike, fine if your outdoor collection is only small in number not area!

aren't they expensive, lophantha I was giving away :eek: , its easy to grow & offsets a lot normally. Our local dobbies was killing off lots of manfreda last year I think I paid €4 for mine, I've got 6 and expanding swiftly! Would have been much swifter but I put a few outside in the ground whe...

Interesting plants Tina

Thanks both, I had no idea they got so tall and if it's growing outside north of San Diego I should be able to grow it here.

where about in the US is that growing outside Stuart?