Steve often marvels at how I answer all my comments. I just marvel at the fact that people comment at all, and that not only do they comment, but sometimes tell me stories.
Wacky stories. Like that one time? When my boyfriend’s cactus was shot in a drive-by?
Check it out for yourself. (Also, check out Willa’s recipes, which look delicious.)
The unanswered question, the thing I’m hoping Willa will come back and address, is whether the cactus lived. Because at this point, even though I don’t grow them, I think I want to start collecting ways to kill a cactus:
- Overwater it.
- Shoot it.
I’m not planning to use this list, mind you. It’s just that you never know when this kind of information might come in handy.
on Mar 28th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I ran over one once. Don’t ask. I also killed one by underwatering it. Believe it or not, they need water. Who knew?
on Mar 29th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
In college, my roomates and I rented a place that had cacti planted in the front yard. The neighborhood cats all loved to rub up against them (they weren’t too pokey) to scratch their chins, necks, backs, and cheeks. After several warm sunny days in a row, there were amazing amounts of cat fur tangled in the rough cactus hide. Though this didn’t officially kill the plants, none of them seemed to thrive under all the feline attention, either. They eventually became so ratty the landlord tore them out, but replaced them with scraggly junipers. I don’t think this was an improvement.
on Mar 31st, 2007 at 10:01 am
Shane Marie, that’s hilarious…I bet the cactus hide felt really good to the cats. I wonder why all the attention made them scraggly, though — you’d think cactus would be tougher than that…
Chigiy, ran over one? You KNOW I have to ask about that…that’s bizarre!
on Apr 1st, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I killed my entire cactus garden by leaving all of them in a bay-type window with the blinds down (with them between the blinds and the glass) on a hot summer day. Who would’ve thought heat would kill cactus! The whole lot (around 15 of them) fried!
on Apr 1st, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Katie, that’s more for the list. I’ve heard of cactus salsa, but never fried cactus. How unfortunate!
on Apr 2nd, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Well, I’ve had the opposite experience from Katie. I lost about 10 cacti last year to frost. I could not believe it! They were covered by blankets, but the temperatures dipped so much, that they all froze.
Cactus mush anyone?
Thanks, genie, for your comments in my blog. I was so taken with the cactus discussion in Capek that it stuck in my mind!
on Apr 3rd, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Kate, you’re quite welcome. And really? Frozen cactus becomes mush? Who knew!