Sources for cold-hardy prickly pear pads?

16 years ago

I'm looking for sources for prickly pear cacti that are zone 4 hardy. Oikos sells seedlings, but they're a bit spendy for what I want to accomplish. Either unrooted pads, or seedlings would work. Thanks.

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Comments (4)

sedumqueen
16 years ago
i think all prickly pear cactus are coldhardy but im not sure,but they grow everywhere out here (texas).i like the spineless kind. i would be happy to send you some for postage or trade.
bluehawk133
16 years ago
sedumqueen im starting a cactus garden for the the first time and would love a box of these for postage if you could.email me at bluehawk133@yahoo.com thanks again ricky
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Prickly pear cactus: 3" pot Beautiful green pads with only tiny spines. They are 5-8" tall. Works well in rock gardens,containers and in regular gardens. GORGEOUS yellow blooms in early summer. Tried and true in NJ winters!! Musa Basjoo hardy banana: 1 gallon pot 1-2', Beautiful green banana that survives NJ winters. Works well in ponds,containers and in regular gardens. Ponytail Palm tree: Beautiful green fronds that erupt from the middle of the plant. They are about 6" tall and 6-8" wide. Works well in containers, as houseplants and in regular soil. They are hardy down to 20-30degrees F. This means you keep them outside until mid-late November and take them back out in February. Very interested in other palms, pasiflora, bamboo, and large varieties of cattails. anthonyc15@aol.com
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W, You can do that, certainly. I wouldn't take a chance on it being cold hardy until I have more pads to experiment with. And give it as much light in the winter as you can and infrequent waterings. If you can't give it much light, don't water it but perhaps once - if you water it without adequate light, you'll get etiolated growth, and I really hate it when that happens to the Platyopuntia - they're such a rewarding subtribe! Sharon, That's entirely dependent on the species you have...as you likely know, there are many which would grow in your yard. Have you tried a pad of yours outside? They're a lot more hardy than I thought, and if you can keep it covered with snow or hay they're even hardier. The Opuntia polyacantha here has faced -10F/-15F (it was covered with snow then, though) and is growing well now.
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Travis, First of all, let me say I am VERY new to cacti gardening and this is the first day on this forum. Saw your post and want to tell you that I can offer you all the prickly pear pads that you want. They are growing in my back yard. I understand that there are multiple types and I can't say that I can identify them all (just know they are prickly pear) but some are smaller pads that bloom yellow or a pinkish-purple color and some have larger pads that bloom yellow. Not real familiar with this forum yet, but I could send you some for just the shipping charges. I live outside of ABQ, NM, where it can get down to single digits in the winter, just not sure how they could handle the winters in WI since I used to live in SE MN. Let me know if I can help. David
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I have no idea about Montana. What is your gardening zone?! How cold have you already gotten? Also, there are many species of Prickly Pads. The ones that are sold in the East are Opuntia humifusa (Eastern Prickly Pear); but lots of species of Opuntia are not cold hardy. Keep in mind, O. humifusa looks completely different in the Winter! They normally shrivel up and lose the rich green color. They ain't dead! It's just that when it gets really cold, the plants move water out the leaf pads, as soon as Spring returns, the pads rehydrate and turn green again. O. humifusa is native to the East Coast from Florida up to Cape Cod (up to approximately Zone 7a). So, they are unusual among cacti for cold tolerance AND WET tolerance, the combination of which is FATAL to most all cacti. Mine have regularly been under mounds of snow and always return. I would think that a Montana winter would offer some advantage as you are soooo much drier in mid Winter, and it's soooo WET here even in mid Winter. I would think that a snow cover would offer protection if the winters go below 0 F. You could take cuttings, I have a bunch on the surface of some palms that I overwinter in the garage, but they are perfectly cold and freeze hardy to at least 0 F.
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argentcorvid
16 years ago
I live in central Iowa, and have seen a couple of beds with PP's in them (and not the little ones native to the prairie). They don't get very tall; I think because they need the snow cover to insulate them from the really cold air. The main things you would have to worry about are: Keep the pads protected from the _really_ cold air, and make sure they have good drainage so the roots don't rot.

I actually have one in a pot, that I bought last year in the Produce department at my local grocery store. It took about 4 months to see any new growth from it. If you live in a town with a significant Latino population that might be a place to look.
slc_palm_nut
16 years ago
Intermountain Cactus is a great source for all types of hardy cacti including prickly pears. They sell mature unrooted pads. You could also try Mesa Garden. They have a huge selection but I think most of what they offer are small plants that are only a few years old.

Here is a link that might be useful: Intermountain Cactus

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Sources for cold-hardy prickly pear pads?

Comments (4)

sedumqueen

bluehawk133

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argentcorvid

slc_palm_nut

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