Looking for something to weed among cacti

[Scott_R]

I have some largish (3-5' diameter) patches of prickly pear cactus, and weeding between the pads is a literal pain.

Various things grow among them, and unfortunately I tend to need to get as close to the soil as possible to get them out as pulling on the upper parts of the weed just tend to break it off.

The best thing I've used so far is one of these:

Basically, I put the tines on either side of where the weed enters the ground and rotate, like spinning spaghetti onto a fork. That's generally works. When needed, I also use another tool to pull the pads away to get access.

It doesn't work in very tight spots or some other situations and it can be finicky, so I was hoping for something better. I'd considered a long hemostat but reviews about using them for weeding are mixed (e.g., they don't tend to have much grip strength when they're long).

Any ideas?

 

[Tetters]

Cor thanks for that @Scott_R I will point this out to Zigs and I think we will have to find something similar for him to weed through his cactus plants too

 

[Scott_R]

So... nothing?

 

[Tetters]

He said he uses tweezers. They are very long tweezers - he doesn't know where they came from, he said he found them. They are about 16 inches long.

 

[Marck]

I agree, various models of long-stemmed forceps and tweezers work well when one must finely groom a container- or rockery-grown cactus, or other similar spiny plant. It can be tedious, and sometimes there is no need to be so fastidious. As always, a stitch in time saves nine. Keep an eye out for Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata), which seems to particularly enjoy the security of growing under cactus spines. It also seeds abundantly if allowed to do so.

There are also succulent 'weeds' that care to frolic among the cacti. I often say, "one may choose their weeds", so I am more tolerant of their presence, as they are less pervasive, more attractive, and somewhat 'on-theme'.
A few 'weedy' but attractive succulents to menion include Sedum dasyphyllum & Lenophyllum texensis, both in the Stonecrop Family (Crassulaceae), and also Anacampseros spp, in the Anacampserotaceae. The species common in my pots is A. retusa.