You took the words right out of my mouth . Where is here? I heard that they thought it might be hardy to around 20F which would mean that I would have to protect it occasionally and possibly loose it an a huge cold front. That is what shovels are for. I lost an 8 ' O. cochenellifera, and a bunch of opuntias during an unusually hard freeze a couple of years ago (12F). O ficas indica is hardy to just above 15. It came back from the ground. @ GS, Thanks I went again and the link did show it. Interesting discussion. Mine looks to be a bit different. These pads are flat elongated but more of the classic wide paddle form associated with opuntia, a darker green, The pony tails were spaced farther apart, but all in all, definitely similar. I have contacts on flicker that are involved in the Mexican cactus scene. maybe , I should shake their tree for information. @ Karen, Your cactus are also rooting and showing growth. Thank you again. Give me a couple of years and I might have some spare pads of this one , but taking into account that every person that passed me as I made my way to the car, asked me where were this plants in the store and if it was the last one, this plant will be making its way into the trade in a hurry. I think that it was grown somewhere near by because others had been munched on by the dreaded cactus coreid bug. I do not think that it is as much of a pest in Arizona and ponts west as it is here. I could be mistaken..

Nil 13, I have heard that one can use Forbid, Avid, and liquid Sevin on Ale mite.Then one can cut out the gall. The plant can live with the gall, unsightly as it is, and spreading its vermin to all aloes and some other species too. I discovered what looked like it on an Alionopsis malherbei. I threw my plant out immediately on discovery. The plant was growing and blooming nicely. Shame. Up to that point , I was aloe mite free. I do not see it anywhere, but that does not mean it is not here. It is the agave Mite that is really getting my goat and making me more worried.. In texas, we are behind you in the "new" succulent bugs. Agave bore is just making an appearance, Both Agave mite and Agave bore are being spread through thew trade. The nurseries here are being hit hard by the stock that comes from California and Arizona. It makes growing from seed so much more attractive, but god the time it takes to get a good sized plant. I am bearing down on my 6th decade. Nil, every time I see the MT Washington by your name I think of New Hampshire and one of my most favorite mountains, and I am confused when you talk of Californian plant problems. I guess there is another one in LA. Washington does seems to get around.

Give it 6 years and you will have a monster. I had a cold front come through and I had 200 lbs or more of slimy mush, It grew back from the core and then the same thing happened again the next year when we had another nasty cold front. It is a good plant if you have a LARGE yard. otherwise be brutal with trimming it. Mine got to be 10'x 10 '. I got rid of it because the cactus coreid bug sucked it to pieces. It was always bleeding white stuff and had hickeys all over it. I thought maybe if I put it Far away, then I couldn't see all that shizz. I see you hVE THE Cow toungue englemanii, That can get huge too. I see a battle forming here.

Yes, a soap solution can kill mites. Falling back into my more pedantic mode , I will mention that the term for the cinnamon infused alcohol Howard mentioned is a "tincture" (in case there should be any interest in such knowledge). Been some time since I made a cinnamon tincture, but if I recall correctly I think it was one tablespoon of cin. per 16oz rubbing alcohol. (If I happen to come across the recipe I used, I'll try to remember to post it.) Don't know if it matters, but I used the highest proof isopropyl carried at the market (90 proof or better). WARNING, said tincture does STAIN -- clothing, bricks, cement, siding, you name it. Staining is pretty much permanent. Don't know if a lesser concentration of cinnamon would make a difference. For those "beloved" earwigs .. Another Dawn related concoction that can be useful is a nicotine spray. To make such, if you or a loved one is a smoker, save the used cigarette butts. Let them steep overnight in water. Water should be a dark tea brown. Filter through a coffee filter to catch any stray particles. In a 16oz sprayer, combine 1\2 cup of the nicotine "tea", 1/4 cup Dawn, and top off with water. Shake gently to mix thoroughly. Spray this under the edges of you siding (usually where the siding stops and the brick begins seems to be where those vermin like to hide out) or other earwig heavy "hot spots". Between the toxic effects of the nicotine and the soapy solution, it tends to do a good job on killing any earwigs on contact. (Can increase the amount of Dawn if necessary.) NOTE: For those, like me, who aren't smokers and can't stand the stench of cigarette smoke, pipe tobacco can also be used. There's even one that has a nice vanilla type scent. Please do not spray this on bees or spiders -- let them do their jobs. For those who either use a rain barrel or have certain plants that do require very damp/wet media (yeah, I know, not the type of plants intended on this forum but ...). While many may know that placing a mosquito dunk in a rain barrel will go a long ways to eliminating mosquito larvae, fewer are aware that a dunk can be used to kill off fungus gnat larvae. Simply break off a 1/4 of one of those mosquito dunk "donuts" and put it in a gallon jug of water. Let it sit overnight or two. Give the container a shake and use the water to water the plants. Continue refilling and reusing that dunk chunk until it completely disintegrates. (Personally for really damp/wet soils, I like Drosera (sundews) and Utricularia (bladderworts). heh) This post was edited by paul_ on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 23:06