With tropical storm Debby passing over us we got many inches of rain, I was concerned the potted plants would get flooded. Especially the cactus as they do not like too much water. Luckily they all look good and handled the windy weather without much issue. I cannot say the same about a few of our basil plants, but the cactus held up very well. We are always thankful for the rain, so we do not need to go out with the hose and buckets to give them what they need.
It is cool seeing all the tiny water droplets on the spines. I have to be careful not to touch them, as they can poke you real good and even get stuck in your skin.. no fun dealing with spines in your skin. And since I am using a macro lens I have to get close.. but not too close.
New growth can be spotted on top, that should form into a new paddle this year. Or just stay a bud through the winter and start a new one next spring. Hard to say, being they can handle the cold they may just pause and then keep growing the following year.
Other prickly pears have also been quite busy growing, this eastern variety does very well in these baskets. Using a special mix for these desert plants helps, adding rocks and other well draining material should be helpful to them in their growth.
A few months back I found a broken off piece of cactus, and placed it into the dirt looks like its coming along. That hole in it was my fault, poked through it while trying to plant it. I was worried that was going to kill it but luckily it seemed to have healed and growing a new paddle on top at the moment.
I am still surprised they fruited, though not all of them made it. A couple withered up and dropped off. But with a few remaining we may get some tasty cactus fruit this year.
For their first year in new baskets its surprising to see them bearing fruit. That black thing on top used to be the flower, once they get pollinated they close and the fruit begins to grow.
New paddles are cool to see, but you have to be careful as they will start to form needles pretty soon.
The potted cactus live next to the herbs, and all seem quite happy with their setups. Lol the prickly pear is trying to leave the basket. Eventually its going to break off and then I should have another cactus read to start, one day I will run out of space to add them back into the baskets, but for now I have rooms I will keep doing that.
Soon I will write a post on the potted herbs, they are coming along quite nicely. The strong winds battered them a little, but all are holding up now and recovering. I staked the tallest of the herbs and they seemed to have liked that and are perking back up now.