It would be worth a try as they are very hardy.

Several years ago my neighbor didn't want his to grow any bigger so he trimmed them back and I got some of them, put them in the garage as it was raining and forgot them for a week!

I planted them and gave them just a bit of water and now they are doing great and flower like crazy!

One of the other neighbors said to trim them and let them callous over and just lay paddles on the ground and they will root themselves. I tried that with some and it worked great. Just be sure the soil is kept pretty dry and I think they will do okay.

btw: When handling cacti wrap them loose in layers of newspapers to keep from getting stuck!

another note:
I never water any of my cacti unless they have buds and then only once a week to encourage lots of flowers.

Newspapers, huh? I'll do that. I planted that last lobe with a pair of pliers.




I think mine does pretty well cuz it's under an awning where it gets southern sun all day, but not much rain. And I rarely water unless we're in a drought.

I have a potted cactus - a donkey tail - my mom gave me. It's over 30 yrs old, and it gets watered maybe 3-4 times a year. Any more, and it starts falling apart.

Good luck with your move.

We're not allowed to take plants from one state to another in Australia, and there are big fines for anyone trying to do so. It's not that our officials are being difficult; it's to prevent the spread of plant disease, pests and noxious weeds between the states.

Some states don't let you take seafood in, and we can't take fruit between any. I think these laws are a good idea as some of our farming industries could be ruined if pests and diseases are permitted to cross the borders.

We have some laws like that, but most everything in Ohio either already is in florida or would shrivel in the heat. There are more laws about bringing things out of FL. Funny, protecting those gators.

Michigan has an embargo right now forbidding taking
firewood to the Upper Pennisula or ash trees.

They are trying to stem an epidemic of Ash borer, which has
killed just about every Ash tree in SE Michigan!

I'd say take the cactus.
It has meaning for you and memories and those are important too. You are good with plants, so you will find a "way"

We have a huge ash borer prob here too. I totally agree with NOT bringing anything to the UP - can't even imaging the devestation that could cause.

A couple who came to my yard sale had some experience with horticulture and the man was telling me the botanical names of half the plants in my yard, starting with the prickly pear, lol, as luck would have it. So I asked him.

He told me the biggest problem would be the thing could go nuts down there. They do really well in central FL. I should be prepared to hack the thing back often. It likely will not go dormant there as it does here and so will have a lot more grow time per year - I get one layer of lobes per year, and a lobe is about 7 inches high, so far.

It takes some time for it to plump back up after its winter shrivel, then it has to regroup before it can grow. If it didn't have to do that, it would be constant growth. You have to wonder how fast it could grow.

Our temps here are pretty moderate except for the terrible snowstorm we had in March which left two inches of snow on the ground for about three hours!!

You will have to keep cutting it back where you have moderate temps but you will be amazed at the beautiful blooms!

I still say take it.... It might become a MONSTER!

It would be worth that experience as well, I'd think! HEHEHEHEHEH