Another heads up guys and gals!!!

Just remember...you have to be certifiable to a degree to call someone else that...Becky knows it was said in love! I mean come on...both of us in Northern VA - with this many cactus...who thinks that way?!!! ROTFL

Might I add one more thing?
These new cactus at Walmart have - NO STRAW FLOWERS AND NO GLUED ROCKS...mercy....if that's not enough to excite you..what is....
Oh ok...I guess one other thing might come close: Grey's Anatomy's season premeire....NINE days and counting....

Ditto on the Grey's Anatomy!!! Finally something watchable again!

How do I get certified to shop for plants for others, how long does the course take, do I get a certificate when I graduated??? LOL...

I went to the other WM, surprisingly, they don't have them, or maybe not yet, or maybe they ran out already very fast. This WM usually is more complete than the one that I got the plants from, weird.
Even asked the lady there, she just pointed me to the sad looking ones that's been there forever, and when I asked if there are new ones, she just said "nope"....hmmmm...
Oh well, kinda relieved actually....LOL.

Ahem, not certified to shop (which we ARE) but certified to call someone certifiable! And Chantell does fall under the certified experts for calling someone certifiable! And, yes she IS certified to shop for me as well (she received instant certification by the way!)! LOLOLOL (I am so stuck at home right now, I have a proofreading project that will take a few days and I am barely leaving the basement for air!)

Guys you are too much! Our WM didn't have them either...just the same old ones in the long plastic sleeves..that are now filled with water at the bottom...they put them in this wooden 4 or 5 level display..(i am sure you all know the ones) i always take pity and move all of them up to the top level..as they are all stretching for light..they either starve them for H2O or flood them at our WM!! sue

Aaaaah, now I get it...

Good luck and have fun with your project, Becky!!! Just surround yourself in the basement with some of the plants, they produce more O2 for fresh air, remember? LOL....

Got 'em, got 'em! I have always said horrible things about my Walmart's cactus selection, but now I owe them an apology. They did get in the same great shipment of c&s, all for $2 and $1. I can't believe it! Boy, did I have fun, and of course I did not restrain myself very well. As usual. Thank you for the heads up, Baileykat. Now the potting up and learning begins!
Sheri

Chantell

Speaking humbly as someone ignorant in the C&S, by "straw flowers" do you mean that someone glued strawflowers to the side of the cacti so they would look like they were blooming?

If so, now that I think of it, that's one of the things that struck me as so weird looking on the Skid Row cacti in the back of our WM, they looked so pitiful and the flowers looked old and dry. They were in the tall plastic sleeves and NOT HAPPY

plantnutga

Glad to be the enabler this time...LOL...although you'd probably found out on your own anyway...

They do have different plants in different stores...Some of yours I didn't see in our WM..
Nice selection, Sheri...

Very nice Sheri! Good "haul"

baileykat

What part of the Bay Area do you live in? I grew up there.

plantnutga

This message was edited Sep 12, 2006 7:21 PM

This message was edited Sep 12, 2006 7:22 PM

Plantnutga--- I live in Fremont, have you heard of our town?....Where did you grow up at?

Livermore.

Small world! :)

Wow....it is a small world!! The 2 cities literally are next door to each other.
I just found out so many nurseries are in Livermore, been going nursery hopping there on weekends when we don't have anything planned....LOL.

Unfortunately I didn't get plant fever until I was long gone from the Bay Area. Boy, did I miss out! It hit me some in Sacramento, I ignored it in Reno, then I moved to Naples, FL. That's where it hit me, I was in zone 10a or 10b and everything was new. I went nuts! Now I'm up in S. GA, the climate is much more similar to where I grew up- hot as heck in the summer, but can hit the 20's in the winter.

You've got nurseries and several wineries in Livermore, and as I recall Fremont was pretty cool. I sure don't miss the traffic in either, though! We have almost none here.

plantnutga

Hey Sue, too bad your WM don't have them. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, or a little bit of both? LOL.

Plantnutga -- yes, I also just found out there are wineries in Livermore and they offer wine tasting, too...!

Fremont's not bad at all....lots of good food, nice weather, good schools, not far from the city, did I say good food yet??? LOL..

Yo Bk, I would say it is a good thing!! I am moving to Tenn. in 4 years or so...i have a huge collection of specimen C& S and everything else...can't take it all with me...i am told there are ice storms..one of the prerequisites is maybe an all season greenhouse..we will see.... how it goes?? 4 years is long time..if our health holds out....if we don't get leveled by hurricanes , if real estate doesn't take a dive.. yada..yadaa...... you know how uncertain the future can be..... I feel like you all do...those little bitty C&S's after 20 yrs. or so, become old and nutured friends...i don't even want to go there.....sorry didn't want to be a "crepe hanger"...(bet u haven't heard that phrase in a long time)!! I have amassed special large rocks and minerals through out the years. in my C&S gardens and pots...they are coming with me!!! (hubby knows...he is a good soul... sue) POD's here we come lol!

Hi, forgive the ignorant question but I still don't understand

do nurseries actually glue strawflowers onto cacti to get them to sell?

plantnutga

P.S. weedsgalore- I took a whole trailer full of plants from 10a/b Naples, FL to 8b Thomasville, GA. My LH built me an emergency winter greenhouse at the 1st house, we have an even less high-tech shelter at the 2nd. The plants I loved the most are still here after 5 years. I also of course had a "house cooling" goodbye party at the Naples home right before we moved- pizza, wine, and lots and lots of plants in pots to go home with good friends!

plantnutga

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to answer that question....
Sometimes big box stores will receive cactus with strawflowers glued to them to make it look interesting. You'll definitely be able to tell when it's the real flowers or fake....
Real nurseries, however, don't do this...or at least I've never seen fake flowers glued to plants sold in real nurseries. Only in big box stores (Home Depot, Walmart, etc...)

That's too bad that you won't be able to bring all your plants, Sue. But I'm sure you'll collect more as soon as you settle in your new place in the future. And yes, a lot can happen in 4 years...and I can relate to your comment about how uncertain the future can be...
In the mean time, enjoy the things that you currently are blessed with :o)

yes, ms. plantnutga, they do "glue' strawflowers to Cactus to make them look like they are blooming!! Retailers still think the public is rather stupid...i like your idea about the party. good for you on keeping old friends around!!.one of my kind friends gifted me with the most gorgeous pots and plants....(she really wasn't "into" growing things, but had great taste in pots) Now, i look at these and see my dear friend..and am able to give her "progress reports" on her plants...it is a nice connection of friendship..by the way they moved to Ga.!! (Atlanta). Ga. has a wonderful climate!! for growing things...

Your post bopped in as i was composing my anwer to Plantnutga. thank you Bk!! I truly do enjoy my garden & plants every day...isn't that why we are all here at DG's? I see that incredible French garden...Thistlesifter's awesome landscaping..PalmBob's unique artistic vision...and all the excitement of everyone posting their new plants and sharing information....i really feel sorry for the other folk that just don't "get it"? sue feeling philosophical...ps of course we can't forget our C&S "enabler" and "resident cheerleader"...who shall go unamed...(but her name begins with a "C" and ends with an "l") lol! what a nice bunch.....

The "enabler" has now hit FOUR Walmarts!! ROTFL....I've got to laugh...what else to do? Becky has graciously allowed me to go on a shopping spree for her!! I love it...of course with every store I hit...a few follow Becky's into my cart....what's a gal to do...I don't want to hurt their little prickly feelings and banish them back to Wally World Hell of a slow drowning...gotta show some compassion to them...right? :) And ya never know...someone could be lurking w/glue in one hand and straw flowers in the other...LOL. Plantnutga - I've got to find that other thread where we were discussing the cursed straw flowers....Ah....found it...work your way down about 1/2 way...then we start the comical discussion about those "flowers" LOL
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/622842/

Oh no, the C&S avenger is coming out y'all! I can see it now, she is getting ready in her leotards, cami - paint and tweezers off to the box stores she goes!!! Datarataaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

Shouting over my shoulder as I leave each WW "I'll be back" LOL Oh, Becky did I find all kinds of goodies for you...when shall I rent the truck? ROTFL

Awesome!!!!!!! I can't wait to see them all! You the best! Next week it looks like I will NOT be stuck at home so we must meet up as planned, me with the trailer hitch...BTW, how will you park that U-Haul at Olive Garden???

Right next to ALL those great rocks they've got out front of Olive Garden...I think they have too many...so I thought maybe, out of the goodness of my heart, I'd load up the truck so I could outline my cactus patch with them. LOL Sure they'll appreciate that eh?

Ahem, wear your C&S avenger outfit and be "incognito"....I'll try to distract them for ya!! (if you get caught I'll even visit you in jail when you server time for "rocknapping")

Chantell

LOLROTFPIMP Ow, ow, my stitches hurt!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the link to your avenger unmasking, that explains a lot! Thank goodness my LH isn't home to hear me chortling and snorting this early in the AM

Maybe I should ask my son to leave me some of his camo stuff when he moves out, sounds like I might need it if this flirtation with C & S becomes serious. I think that might suit me better in this heat than the scuba gear and flippers. I've already got the tweezers, I'll add them to my arsenol. I've been carrying a shovel, trowel, big bags, clippers and baggies in my trunk for years!

plantnutga

Chantell and Becky, Isn't Virginia simply crawling with rocks?? If i remember vacations, lots of nice rivers with rocks all over the place there for the taking?? Surely you don't have to take chances "nicking" boulders from "Olive Garden"??? To heck with the boulders...give me 5 lbs. of their best pasta dish...sue..a never-ending low carb dieter...sigh...

Plantnutga - stitches...opps, my bad...should've forewarned you...I still get a laugh over that thread. That one and another I need to find from late winter about fungus knats on the houseplant forum...gives me belly aches all over!!

Sue - you mean go and search for rocks...perish the thought. I was teasing for anyone that doesn't know me well enough about the rocks and Olive Garden. Promise I won't snatch any...this time. LOL

Hey, Chantell, can't you just see us now - traipsing all over VA for rocks!!! OMG, perish the thought, that would be like going camping! Yuuuuuuuuuuk!

Do find the fungus gnat one, I am fighting them here now and I HATE 'em! Mean little buggers bite! (IF I water with a systemic, will it kill 'em?)

'Tis OK y'all, I will drag her kicking and screaming away from the rocks!!

Becky - re fungus knats
Disclaimer - hysterical but long:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/583366/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/565929/

Everyone seems to agree on this product: http://www.planetnatural.com/site/beneficial-nematodes.html
Haven't used it myself - most of my "problems" were transplanted outside...but if I start seeing these nasties again...I will order this product!!

Hmm, me thinks I must try HP first, then work my way down the list. It's them Hoyas that they seem to be coming from!
And, yes, the threads were hysterical!

Not sure if any of us mentioned in those threads or not...but the knats only affect the top inch or 2 of the soil...so if there's any way to water from below that will also help. I used the dunks in my water & that helped greatly.

Y'all are such riots!

What's up with all the insects these days anyway, must be a summer thing? My plants are plague by mostly aphids...Oh, but don't get my started on grasshoppers and spiders making webs from one plant to another! Yuck! I've used up a few bottles of insecticidal soap, but they keep on coming back! Hopefully they won't go to my C&S collection, and fortunately my c&s are on the balcony, away from the backyard....
Has anyone ever used the Bayer Advanced 2-in-1 systemic rose & flowers granules or Bayer Advanced All-in-one Rose and flower care for their potted plants? I've researched around, can't find info about how much to use them for potted plants. The insects only attack my potted plants, too. Annoying!
BTW, I did the spraying hard with the water hose, and when the pot is small enough, I held it upside down in a bucket of water and keep on dunking and swishing them around, looking like plant abuser just to drown the aphids. The aphids comes back in a day or two....HELP!!

Chantell: I've suffered from rock envy many times. I've been known to come home from vacation with river pebbles in my suitcase. I've even contemplated stealing into a construction zone in the dead of night to pick up some big rocks they had unearthed in digging. Of course they would probably find me laying under one in the morning or with my Honda Accord stuck in the mud because of the weight in the trunk....

baileykat: I hate aphids, too! Plus they often come with biting ants of one kind or another.

We had a hatch of baby grasshoppers but so far I'm not seeing the big scarey ones. We have several bug-eating birds in our yard, maybe they are helping out.
I know what you mean about the spiderwebs, sometimes I think the smaller spiders are purposely building them where they know I'll walk.

I need to get you a photo of one of the spiders in our yard, her web is so strong you can actually pluck one of the mail threads like a guitar string. I leave a couple up every year in the wilder part of my yard - my mom's fault- "spiders are our friends, honey!" but have to discourage the ones that build in the mow zone- my LH is 6'5" and petrified of spiders, these big bad mamas build their webs at his face level when he's riding the John Deere mower. YEEEEK!

plantnutga

BK - I've only heard good things about the Bayer's Adv. Rose product...folks are generallly referring to the 3 in1 but I'm sure the 2 in 1 is better then nothing and having the plants attacked. I leave the spiders...figure they're eating the things I don't want out there any-who-how. :)

Chantell, I didn't just fall off of a C&S truck! Of course i knew you were kidding about heisting rocks from Olive Garden...uh...you WERE weren't you?" lol! I am a little disappointed that you guys wouldn't go and harvest a few rocks yourselves...i thought you were the rugged outdoor types...oh well, back to a Carmen Miranda pumpkin i am making for a raffle for the garden club...boom chica..boom chica....adios!

Yes, those darn spiders always built the web at head level, just so when you walk they get all tangled on your forehead..!

plantnutga--do take picture of the guitar string spider web...LOL...

Sue, what's a Carmen Miranda pumpkin?

Chantell, how's your pretty garden doing? What happen when there's rain and winter time? Will your c&s survive, or are you treating them as annuals? I'm curious how those work out.

ROTFLMBO!!! Rugged outdoor types!!!!! Ahem, lemme see...NO! My idea of roughing it is a nite at the Holiday Inn Express!! If I had my choice (and the money), any camping I am to participate in has to be at the Ritz Carlton!! LOLOLOL