Do you have unwanted cacti in your yard? (Kankakee, Zion: garden, deposits)

[Steve-o]

Just curious if any fellow Illinoisans have any prickly pear cacti in their yard that theyre willing to part with/need removed. Do you have any or know anyone with unwanted native cacti in their yards? If youre familiar with native Illinois cacti, Im talking about Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, Opuntia macrorhiza, etc.

[Avengerfire]

I once had a girlfriend that had Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, AND Opuntia macrorhiza. Thank god I found a witch doctor that helped me get rid of the Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, and Opuntia macrorhiza she gave me.

As far as the prickly pear cacti, I get that every once in a while even in my declining years.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I once had a girlfriend that had Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, AND Opuntia macrorhiza. Thank god I found a witch doctor that helped me get rid of the Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, and Opuntia macrorhiza she gave me.

As far as the prickly pear cacti, I get that every once in a while even in my declining years.

Were they kept outdoors in the ground or indoors in pots?

[Tex?Il?]

Steve-O,

not that I need to tell you this, considering you are familiar with Illinois nature.

But I think the only areas where one would find cacti growing in their yard are one of the few places with sandy soil:

IL Beach St. park area (maybe yards in Zion, Winthrop Harbor?)
Around Braidwood (glacial outwash)
Maybe some places along the IL River maybe. Wind blown sand deposits.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Steve-O,

not that I need to tell you this, considering you are familiar with Illinois nature.

But I think the only areas where one would find cacti growing in their yard are one of the few places with sandy soil:

IL Beach St. park area (maybe yards in Zion, Winthrop Harbor?)
Around Braidwood (glacial outwash)
Maybe some places along the IL River maybe. Wind blown sand deposits.

Yes, those are very good areas for cacti to grow. However, I got the idea to start this thread based on a posting I saw on a "ask the pro gardener" type of site where a poster from Kankakee County emailed the site and asked for help eradicating the overgrown prickly pear cacti. Once we get our garden up and running, Im starting my own cacti garden, and naturally Id love to have some O. humifusa, O. fragilis and O. macrorhiza in there, as theyre native.

[Blutime]

My tortoises keep mine pretty well ate up. Not sure of the exact name . If it starts sprouting again I could send you some starts.

P.S. Not sure if it is native to Il. I grow it for torts only.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Blutime

My tortoises keep mine pretty well ate up. Not sure of the exact name . If it starts sprouting again I could send you some starts.

P.S. Not sure if it is native to Il. I grow it for torts only.

Very cool! Tortoises, eh? What kind?

Do you happen to have a picture of the cacti? I can see if I can ID it and see if its indeed native to IL. Does it grow well here?

[Blutime]

I have a yellow foot , a russian and a three toed box turtle. I'll check when I go outside and see if there is any sprouting that hasn't been fed off. Pics of the guys are in my album. The plants came from out of state. I grow them in pots. I accidently let most of it die back. But they will start sprouting like crazy again. It's amazing how fast they grow.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Blutime

I have a yellow foot , a russian and a three toed box turtle. I'll check when I go outside and see if there is any sprouting that hasn't been fed off. Pics of the guys are in my album. The plants came from out of state. I grow them in pots. I accidently let most of it die back. But they will start sprouting like crazy again. It's amazing how fast they grow.

I had a buddy with a Russian tortoise, pretty neat lil' fella.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I had a buddy with a Russian tortoise, pretty neat lil' fella.

Your buddy, or the tortoise?