Who would like some pieces of this monster for free????

This photo doesn't reflect the actual size of the monster.

It has grown so enormous, ( over 30 years or so)that it is now lifting the wall which it stands next to and the neighbours are complaining, so its owner, David, is being forced to remove it.

When we last saw it, it stood at a good 20 feet high, which means that each of the"cuttings" currently available to us all measures from 5-8ft in length and there are dozens of them.

David has offered them to the gardening members, so we intend to go down to Bolnuvo early one evening next week ( commencing June 21^st) and help him to demolish the tree and recycle the cuttings.We have  a large trailer which can be used to remove and deliver the pieces, so let us know if you'd like some. We're happy to deliver for free if the addresses are all within a fairly close area, but if we have to drive around a lot, please understand that fuel is expensive and we would appreciate your understanding of that fact.

Last year, at about the same time, we were fortunate enough to spot a council work team digging a trench to lay some cabling in Mazarron, and they had knocked off some of the" branches "of a similar plant, which were lying on the floor. We successfully liberated these pieces, by pieces I mean 5 foot lengths, carted them home triumphantly and stuck them in the ground, where they have established themselves magnificently and are now putting on good new growth and looking wonderful. We were busy transforming a messy water run off area into a rockery, and had dug out the curve of the ground a bit deeper to bank up the sides a bit, prior to adding in a rock structure to hold back the earth and stop it all being washed away in the autumn rains. This area actually runs when we get heavy rain. so we planted pigface to run with the flow of the water, almost like weed along the bottom of a flowing river.

These large pieces gave instant structure in beds of mixed cactus planting, and although David informs us that this is a member of the euphorbia family , rather than a cactus technically, we think they give wonderful structure and height to mixed planting schemes like the one we have created for ourselves.

Less than a year later, the plants are well established and growing nicely and we are proud to say that we have not purchased one plant for the whole scheme- everything bar a couple of bits which were bought as presents has been grown for free from cuttings.

Our plot is south facing and we have no water, so rely on the rainwater we collect to get us through the summer, so drought tolerance is the number one criteria for our own planting schemes.

Planting these is literally a case of digging a hole which is deep enough to support the height of the cutting, firming it in and watering sparingly throughout the summer. Now is a good time to take cuttings like these, as the pieces are full of moisture which they have collected during the spring and are ready to survive the summer with their reserves of energy. Moving into the drier period means there's less risk of the pieces rotting in soil that's too wet. They might lose a bit of colour and look a little tragic for a short while, but come the autumn rains and they'll start to perk up a bit, and by the springtime they'll be showing good new growth.

They're also excellent in large pots- we have 2 pieces that are nearly 8 foot high which look wonderful underplanted with other cacti, and make a big structural statement for free.

 

If anyone would like to come and help with the demolition or would like some of the pieces, contact us via the contact us page. We'll confirm the day if anyone volunteers to help, to fit in with their schedule and if nobody does, we'll have an incredible new rockery area by next spring - we could probably open the first botanic gardens in Mazarron with the amount of cuttings that will come off this plant.

 

 By the way ladies, the female member of this particular team laid every rock in this rockery by hand herself, including collecting them off the land, and hand wove the fence from the free canes growing wild in the barranca, and all it cost was sand, cement, wooden posts and female determination.

 

Posted 21st June.

The euphorbia demolition is scheduled for 6.30pm, Monday evening.

Anyone coming along is advised to work long sleeve shirts, gloves and cover their legs. Euphorbias have a milky sap inside which can cause irritated rashes and in some cases an allergic eraction.When they have been cut the sap can oozze out, and although many of the pieces ahve been cut already, and dried out, it is advisable to take precautions.Its also a good idea to use pieces of soft cardboard to handle the pieces - less prickly!

 

Meeting details.

The house is in Bolnuevo.

Drive up past the campsite and take the 2nd turning on the right, up by the church. Follow the road up the hill, then it curves round to the right and comes down in a slight curve. The house is on the right hand side, no A27, Avenida Mar azul. We'll have our mobile if you get lost, tel 686 680 565.

We have a large trailer which can be dropped off somewhere on camposol if someone would like to suggest a location, otherwise bring trailers if you want to fill them up, or put some cardboard down in the back of the car with the seats down - these are big pieces!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

 

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