I just recently got into succulent care and had not realized that my recently purchased opuntia microdasys and mammillaria hahniana had fake flowers glued onto their tops. Another unpleasant surprise was the amount of severely elotiated and painted plants that can be found at home improvement garden centers to trick naive plant buyers. This guide along with many others has helped me a lot. Thank-you.
I still don't get why people decide to do this to plants and then sell them to others. same with the Echeverias that have paint smothered all over them. why?! X.x'
EnolaElorie because people will buy them. I was standing next to a mom and her son and he was asking her if they could get this plant because it was purple. I explained it was painted and that it would most likely die. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well..he wants it and it's purple." That's why they paint them and glue fake flowers on them..people buy it.
Thank you so much for this 💚 I have 5 Cacti babies! I just recently added 2 more, and they came with these horrible ugly fake flowers :( I always want to know what I can do to make them happy, and when I saw your video on how to gently remove the glue, I was so happy. Thank you :)
Jack Spellerberg I have a succulent I tried saving from a grocery store, I have no idea what it is, but it since has turned a dark brown color and won’t sink into its dirt. I hope it isn’t dead :( If theres any way I can send you a picture, could I get your advice?, I desperately wanted some help on this, I just don’t want to hurt it.
@@sugarpop_1092 I can try. Can you send me a few pictures of it..different angles..close ups etc.? I'm not an expert by any means but I'm willing to take a look at it!
Hi Jack, thanks for the video and using the idea of Iso and surgical precision to salvage this specimen. My biggest concern with using the Iso is that some of that Iso will naturally follow down the valley's and reach the roots. I am positive that Iso is not good for cacti roots and will harm them possibly resulting in the cacti's demise. Use Iso sparingly and prevent Iso from getting into the roots.
Thanks Jack. Just taking precautions like pointing the cacti top lower and down so gravity can do it's thing can make all the difference I am sure. I'm planning on going to the HD and L's this weekend and because of this technique, I will not overlook some specimens that I would have otherwise just ignored.... I hope I find some unique "pricklies"....
Just got finished with this. Thanks for the tip. If I get another I wonder if it would work as well or better to just put the strawflower upside down it a small container and let it soak for a while. What do you think?
I'm glad I watched this before I just pulled it off lol not only does it look better but my cats have nothing to chew on now so they'll leave it alone 💙
Gah, I hate fake flowers crudely glued to cacti. My sister is so upset now because she realized he cacti’s bloom is fake. Thank you for making this video
I was given a rescue cactus (about which I know NOTHING!), and it has glue stuck to the spines all the way around it. I got most of the glue off before finding this video. Now I'm wondering it will regrow spines where some came off. Also, there's one spot where the glue is stuck to the cactus itself, the skin, so to speak. Is it okay to use alcohol right on the surface of the cactus? I'm a little worried about burning it.
It may regrow them depending on the variety. You can use it on the "skin" and it should do fine. If you're concerned about it burning, you can wipe it off right after with some water. The ones I did showed no signs of stress from the alcohol. I hope this helped and thank you for watching!
I just wrap my cacti with a lasso of newspaper to hold securely and get under the glue gently with an exacto knife and lift up. Pops right up and off. I hate getting the flowers wet they fall apart.
They block the growth point. I don't mind the flowers in store because that tells you what you're looking at. What color bloom to expect when time comes! :)
@@gibsbefilming the alcohol should take them off. Try a cotton tip applicator and dab some on the glue and let it sit, repeat until the googly eyes are off.
Considering the amount of effort it took to remove that flower, I personally wouldve heated a gluegun/solder iron(maybe not this since it gets so hot) and unmelted the flower off and then continued to the spines :/
Absent Minded I'd be concerned about the heat of a gluegun/soldering iron damaging the tender water filled Cactus. It may look labor intensive but I assure you it wasn't!
Jack Spellerberg Heated method just sounds like a quicker solution with a gentle hand. On the hairs I'd pick manually with the isopropyl after that eyesore is out the way :P
