Popular Post zelly Posted April 8, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 8, 2014 Legendary and all around awesome guy Nitrogen contacted me recently in regards to some serious health issues he was having with his beloved and monstrously large TPQC mother plant. Do to a recent relocation & issues beyond his control, he was more or less forced to continue nurturing and growing the plant in an indoor environment, and certain bugs & critters were gaining the upper hand. When he invited me over, I was completely blown away seeing the mother plant in person. Mere pictures cannot convey the magnificence, size & grandeur of this plant. It was totally gut wrenching to see many of the crested areas under vicious attack, to the point where some have totally succumbed to death & rot. Other crested areas are still firm, but brown and obviously dead or dying. The plant desperately needed help, but more importantly, it needed to be back outside, where predatory bugs & critters have a much tougher time attacking and killing defenseless plants.Devising a plan, we proceeded with the task of moving a 400+ pound plant and HUGE clay pot across his apartment & down flight of stairs. Nitrogen was skeptical two guys could do it, knowing full well it had taken 3 grown men and a huge effort to get the plant into his apartment in the first place. Getting it down the stairs turned out to be the easy part. Loading it into a truck for safe transport was a whole new task, ensuring the crested branches were fully supported in a laying down position. Once that was accomplished, it was all down hill from there, but in a really good way.Arriving at its new location, Nitrogen & I hashed out the next course of action. Choosing a spot, Nitrogen asked me if I had a pickax. Mystified, I asked what in the world for?? Grabbing a nearby shovel, I said my hard pan clay soil has been so thoroughly turned and composted over the years no pickax needed, and then proceeded to dig a hole. Nitrogen grabbed the shovel from my hands and dug the hole himself, amazed how easily he could dig a rather deep & wide hole so effortlessly.Once the hole was dug, Nitrogen then took a hammer & broke the clay pot away from the solidly packed root ball. At this point the plant & pot were laying on its side, still securely fastened to the hand truck. With no weight on it, the pot broke away easily. Grabbing a butcher knife, I then sliced off the compacted & matted root mass at the bottom & sides of the root ball.The next challenge was devising a method of getting the plant off the hand truck & standing it upright in the hole. Leading the way, Nitrogen said to use the hand truck to get the plant upright again right at the edge of the hole. Once that was accomplished, we then each grabbed a massive branch and threw our backs into lifting the plant & root ball into the freshly dug hole, with Nitrogen doing all the positioning for its new home. Happy with its positioning and vertical plumb, he then grabbed the shovel & proceeded to backfill the hole.Finally, he was able to do what he'd been itching to do for the last 6 months, that being grabbing a garden hose and spraying & hosing off all the bugs & critters that had been taking a toll on his plant. With so many folds & crevices in the numerous crested areas, it was just impossible to enact a treatment of the plant in any other way in getting rid of the bugs & critters. First blast it with water pressure & then invite a few nearby spiders to take up residence. No chemicals needed, just a healthy dose of Mother Nature.I'm still kicking my butt for not taking a picture of his plant, in the pot & standing in his dining room. She was a good 16" taller then, but she's so much better off in her new home. And the really great news is, the bugs & critters have gone to their personal form of hell.Protective shade cloth was tied on to protect the plant as it acclimated to its new home in full sun.Come to find out, another TPM plant I've been tasked with taking care of, originated as a cutting from Nitrogens mother plant. Yes, I think I have been totally TPQCeed Thank you Nitrogen I did manage to take a pic of his grafted Ario fissuratus 'Godzilla', and in doing so discovered a seed laying on top of the wool. 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interbeing Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Nice work guys 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostilis Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Wow. That is beautiful. I am proud that I have the opportunity to grow offspring from that beauty. Good job by the way guys. That sounds like a momentous task.BTW, nice ario. And I hope that seed grows into a beautiful plant. I have some godzilla x godzilla and mariubo x cauliflower seeds I need to plant soon. Edited April 8, 2014 by hostilis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrogen Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) An epic saga - nice write-up Zelly! Lol yah I wasn't sure we could get that thing out of my apartment, but you had the gear and the know-how, and we got 'er done I told Zelly he needs to turn his home into an entheogenic cactus museum and charge admission - some seriously spectacular specimens there - 12 foot tall SS02's and Eileen's and all that - growing like mad in the ground..Zelly bro you should post a pic of that monstrose cutting of what we ascertained was indeed the TPC - under your care it''s turned into a beautiful monstrose cactus, while its parent (the TPC) is pretty much a crest with that one monstrose column on it.. That is the TPC also, just to clarify - not the TPQuasiC.. Anyhow, that cactus is gonna love it over there - Zelly has some old-school farming knowledge going on - crazy rich tilled soil and whatnot - it's a whole different level of growth and health his trichos have than the potted specimens myself and most the rest of us have going.. Edited April 8, 2014 by nitrogen 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostilis Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 I would love to see zelly's cacti. I'd probably shit my pants the instant I saw them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellonasty Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Cool story Amazing plant ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migraineur Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Your cactus patch looks awesome. I hope you didn't introduce any new bugs to your garden that will attack your other plants though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Genius Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Fantastic Read, Zelly! You Guys did God´s Work! Moving cacti of that size is a task few can handle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellonasty Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Fantastic Read, Zelly! You Guys did God´s Work! Moving cacti of that size is a task few can handle.Yeah too right EG. I just moved a large Tricho from my back yard to my front yard and it was a massive task!!! Just to move it 50 metres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irabionist Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 HHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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