I grow this, the magenta one, and also the alba form, which varies from white to white with a pink eye, depending on nighttime temperatures as they bloom. They are a bit of a pain, as it is nearly impossible to keep them where you put them since they wander so, but they are simply too nice to ever get rid of. George

Hi, Thanks all for the feedback. I guess im gonna have to bite the bullet on this one. I didn't want to grow mullein and i was hoping it was some kind of volunteer vegetable plant from last year. Now its too late to plant any vegetable that I have in a very short growing season were I live. anybody know of a vegetable I can get from seed to table in 60 days ? Radishes take longer than 50 days here. thanks again

The wound will be vulnerable to fungal disorders for a long time. Therefore, many prefer to tilt the pad and let the cut remain just above soil level. It will put out roots from the areoles in concact with the soil. Later, the plant can be potted in a more upright position. Could be worth trying, I often use it with good results. Actually it does not need to be put down into the soil, Opuntia pads usually root even if placed flat on top of the soil (but it will look funny). Some species (and many other cacti) put out roots even without soil. I have also seen Opuntia cuttings that have been buried to half their height, so deep that the wound is positioned directly over the hole in the bottom of the pot. I have not tried that myself. No water for some time after potting. How long depends on the species and temperature. The fast ones needs 2-3 weeks, slow Opuntia can take almost a year. I have never tried to root a microdasys, but I would not expect roots in less than 1-2 months. You can put the pad in something that is easy to remove such as cat litter, wait for a while (without watering) pour out the "soil" and check for roots. When the roots are a few mm long I give a small amount of water - just a few drops or ml depending on the size of the cutting. The soil: When I root Opuntia I use a very airy medium that does not hold a lot of water, such as gravel and the pebbles of fired clay that is sold under many names (Hydroleca is one). Later, when the roots have almost filled the pot and the wound has healed better I repot it in a mixture of ordinary garden soil (of the loam type, not clay) and same coarse stuff I used for rooting + some coarse sand, approximately at a 3:4 ratio. Different growers use different techniques, you will definitely see other recommendations if you search for more information. Be prepared to lose a number of pads while learning what works for you.

I figure I could add something years later since other people added comments a year later. I moved into a rental house in Boulder, CO that had very well done perennial beds around the time this original post was written. It's been neglected for 7 or 8 years or so, especially the last 3 years. I can tell from Google maps the last year the lambs really took out for the rest of the beds and even the yard. I've been digging, pulling and now have covered an entire bed with clear plastic to kill the seeds before I'll consider planting there. The roots have formed an impenetrable mass and are sometimes thicker than my thumb. They have smaller roots finding them all together. I think if I were building a prairie Sod house I would be thrilled to find these. I'm constantly facing masses of sprouts and churning them over with hopes of killing most of them. We live in a Bee Safe neighborhood, and I don't think Round Up would have helped much anyway. I put an ad on craigslist and I've had many people haul garbage bags of plants away but eventually I got tired of answering the text-I think I had probably 50 people take A wavering amounts of these plants. I've never had them spread before but I stay on top of them, possibly since I use them in flower arrangements or pull them out as soon as they stray out of their designated area. I've discovered I now despise them and I don't think I'll ever let them grow again. I see them downwind from our yard and I'm tempted to go pull them now to spare them future agony- especially since it's likely the seeds came from here in the first place.