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Cacti & Succulents

prickly pears taking over my yard

17 years ago

We moved into a new house in the fall and I was greatly surprised to find prickly pears growing in the yard. Now that the snow is gone, I see that I've got a big problem. How do I control them? We have children, pets, and lots of wild life that are in the yard. Looking for something that would be safe. Thanks. kari_gardener

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Comments (9)

webkat5
17 years ago
If you are talking about Prickly Pear cactus (the ones with large pads), you can simply move them to a safe place or give them away. Offer them on the plant exchange...people will take them...they have beautiful flowers each spring. Each pad creates a new plant.
milwdave
17 years ago
It could also be Opuntia fragilis....which is a small jointed opuntia which, as the name implies, breaks apart very easily. This I also have trouble controlling. Even though I keep them in pots, they are carried everywhere by squirrels or chipmunks.

Dave
Milwaukee
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The soil looks like it is Native soil from somewhere. Sandy soil often is not good cactus soil. You might want to add an equal part grit , as in Perlite , or Pumice to the mix and put the cladode (pad) deeper in and put two wood skewers on either side to help hold it up till the roots get a better grip and put the pot in the sun. I think the dirt has compacted down. You can see where the dirt line used to be, and the level of dirt in the pot looks very low. That means that the drainage in the soil is getting much less and the air in the dirt is dissapearing. NOT GOOD. When you water it , how long does it take for the water to recede? This opuntia is more water tolerant than others but it still needs drainage.. Opuntia type plants can deal with more root space than other cactus. They like it. I would suggest a bigger clay pot. If you do take the plant out let it sit for a couple of days before you re plant it and then DO NOT WATER IT for 3 -7 days. The roots need to callus ( form a scab ) from any cuts or bruising. Then give it GOOD sun. Do you know what type of Opuntia that it is. It could be Nopalea cochenillifera. Synonym is Opuntia cochenillifera. Someone( a splitter) has been messing with those scientific names. It is hardy to about 20F maybe a little lower. Where do you live. Not to be nosey. This is a big cactus . It will be happiest outside . I have seen these 14' and big around as an SUV. This opuntia will be much happier in the ground. I have seen them in pots and I think that they keep trimming pads off of it to eat them , making it branch and stay small and IN FULL SUN. I am not sure how they grow them in pots. The first pot maybe had pads taken off and rooted by its parent. Included some photos of this cactus growing in pots in FULL sun outdoors in Mexico. Outdoors all year long in full strong sun.. and a photo of the monster this can become. This is naturally a thin and floppy variety. If it is in reduced sun , it can not support itself because of the stretching out (etiolation). This is not a cactus for a living-room collection up north unless you have a large space and great lights. The other variety that it could be is Opuntia ficus-indicus, another large one hardy to 15F maybe. Mine bit the dust at above that.. Cocheneal Nopal More info from Eat the weeds
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nhhoney
17 years ago
I would be happy to take some of them off your hands if you want to get rid of them.LMK
maybe we can trade or I can pay postage
plantomaniac
17 years ago
kari_gardener,
They grow wild here in Georgia. Alot of people have problems with them spreading by either knocking parts of the cacti off onto the soil (they sprout roots and grow from those pads) or by attempting to mow them down... I think you have to burn them down to the grown to kill them? I think once you get it down to the ground, you will have to try getting all the roots from underneath the soil. This would be a last resort, but coming from a place where these things can become weeds in seconds, I would try giving some away if you find anyone that wants some and then if you don't want them, kill them... sounds mean, but hey, they sting and they spread like wildfire here.

Elizabeth
ChiGardener
17 years ago
round up won't kill them?
mrbrownthumb
17 years ago
I'm with the opinion to give them away.
TonyfromOz
17 years ago
Rent a steam jet machine, it should be effective on plants like this. The steam simply kills the tissues with heat.

There appear to be only two Opuntia species native to Michigan. See link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michigan Opuntia
trichoserious
17 years ago
Some local cultures here in south florida despine 'em, peel, 'em , and fry them up as a veggie. The call 'em nopales. They also make a decent jelly, but when strawberries are around the corner, I don't think you'll have folks beating down your door to make preserves....lol
jaceymae
2 years ago
WOWZER...people want to pay for prickly pear??? Where do I sign up, LOL! I want to know if anyone knows how to keep them from coming back after being pulled by the roots out of the ground, twice burned on the burn pile and now thinking how much more will it take? I read somewhere a 18" trench covered in dirt would do the trick. Better yet I can probably burry it in ash from that same ash pile in use for 34 years. That's my question if anyone still on this!

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