Neighbor around the corner

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Mon May 02, 2011 4:25 pm

They have a large cactus plant, low to the ground....sorta like a "Prickly Pear" It's in bad shape....doesn't look too healthy but definitely living...it's spread out about a foot and half. I am going to go over and ask for a cutting...it has obviously survived our winter....how do I take a cutting of it in case they don't have a clue? Do I take a cutting or dig a piece of it.....that is if they will let me LOL

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Mon May 02, 2011 7:38 pm

UPDATE: Never mind.......what a biotch...she was nasty and snooty and told me if I want one go out into the desert and dig it up...that's what they did 30 years ago with that one......HMPH!!

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Mon May 02, 2011 7:45 pm

Ha, well. As Will Rogers said "It don't take all kinds, we just *got* all kinds."

Probably the plant is Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea (if it has pads) or Cylindropuntia whipplei (if it has cylindrical stems). Either one of these will look close to death this time of year and then in a couple of weeks will suddenly plump up and then flower.

peterb

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Mon May 02, 2011 7:53 pm

It has pads and long spikes....I want one

Andy_CT · Post by **Andy_CT** » Mon May 02, 2011 8:20 pm

Plenty of well run places online that carry a ton of hardy padded prickly's so that you'd be knee deep in spines and glochids in a few years.

http://www.coldhardycactus.com/Pages/Opuntia.htm

http://plantasiacactusgardens.com/Plant ... _2011.html

http://www.geoscapenursery.com/Cactus.html

http://www.intermountaincactus.com/Inte ... /Home.html

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Tue May 03, 2011 4:18 am

Thanks Andy

Cloud (LadyV)

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Tue May 03, 2011 11:21 am

I can get you some of the local types of Opuntia that grow around here, if you want to try them. I have no idea if they would survive up there or not.

I kinda have a feeling they wouldn't.

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Tue May 03, 2011 2:54 pm

Thank you so much, but I wouldn't want you to send them and they die. I will order them most likely. Really odd. I've never had someone be so rude over a cutting of something LOL

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Tue May 03, 2011 3:32 pm

Apparently she is just as prickly as her plant! It is so much better to get one from a place that didn't dig it up in the wild though.

GermanStar · Post by **GermanStar** » Tue May 03, 2011 3:41 pm

That's the beauty though -- you can take cuttings from wild plants without digging them up -- that's the route I would choose if I were shopping Opuntias, which are little more than weeds here.

LadyV · Post by **LadyV** » Tue May 03, 2011 4:23 pm

How do you take a cutting from it?

GermanStar · Post by **GermanStar** » Tue May 03, 2011 4:27 pm

All you need is one pad. Cut one pad off and bring it home. Once home, cut the pad in half, then leave it outside for a few days to scab over the cut before planting both pieces in the dirt. In my experience, Opunitia cuttings root and grow very quickly, sometimes in just a few short weeks.

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Wed May 04, 2011 2:56 am

all you need to do is find an Opuntia and grab a pad off of it. Like GS said you can put either cut it in half or just leave it whole and it will callus over and then grow roots. I leave mine out of the ground until I see the root bubs. BTW Opuntia grow like weeds here so if I get any extra pads I will let you know

I got some that are cold tolerant.

A. Dean Stock · Post by **A. Dean Stock** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:11 am

"Little more than weeds here" Bite your tongue !!!
After you stare at them for a few years they are habit forming.
Dean

GermanStar · Post by **GermanStar** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:20 am

Well, little more than a weed is still better than a weed. I do find some of the small-padded Opuntias fairly attractive. OTOH, Cylindropuntia is not little more than a weed; it is a weed, and if I could banish Cylindropuntia bigelovii from the planet with a thought, I would do so in a heartbeat.