Does a spineless and glochid free opuntia exist?
kfless
10 years ago
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
10 years agokaktuskris
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Anyone growing Prickly Pear (Opuntia) for its fruit?
Comments (31)Where are you located Annamaria? This will dictate everything. If you are in a mild climate, you won't want to bother with one of the wild species, but should definitely get a cultivar of Opuntia ficus-indica. These should be readily available from warm-climate nurseries. If you're in a colder zone, you could try Opuntia engelmannii or related wild types. Many of these are available through mail order nurseries specializing in cacti and succulents as well as unusual edibles. I see that Edible Landscaping sells one that is hardy to zone 7. Of course, anywhere in the arid but not-too-cold western part of the country you are likely to see some growing wild or as part of landscaping. Just collect some pads from a variety of plants and wait a year or two to taste the fruit!...See MoreThe Spring 2014 edition of Never Plant This
Comments (28)One gardener's problem child is another gardener's darling, lol! The only thing I really regret planting so far is forget-me-nots, Myosotis sylvatica. For me, they never quite turned into that gorgeous spring carpet of blue that I had dreamed of. Instead, I got a horrifically weedy, rangy, reseeding eyesore of a mess that chokes out any desirable plant in its path. The seedlings just never seem to end and emerge in thick carpets as soon as I can weed them out. I now have to go through my entire garden multiple times each season specifically to weed out these pests and somehow a few manage to escape my watchful eye and grow to maturity. Right now, they are germinating by the millions!!! That is no exaggeration!! I have dealt with and almost eradicated other pests like garlic mustard and stars of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum) and they are actually pleasant to deal with in comparison. Verbena bonariensis reseeds like mad but is also much easier to remove than those dreaded forget-me-nots!!! A plant that I love but regret planting where I did are the giant globe alliums like 'Globemaster' and especially 'Ambassador'. In my soil, they have been doing extremely well and multiplying like rabbits. Which means that the clumps of huge, strapping leaves are now so large that they are smothering many other desirable plants that would be dead by the time the allium foliage dies back in June. 'Ambassador' is a most gorgeous, tall cultivar with the most exquisite deep purple globes, but it's foliage is the largest and most smothering of all. Because of this, I have been forced to remove a lot of them as they emerge this spring. Either that, or lose most of my desirable geraniums, penstemons and other perennials. Sigh....See Morewhere to get free cacti
Comments (22)Eloquent arguments...much ado about nothing. Craig, How snifty that your kids want to start a cactus garden! Gardening is a wonderful experience for children and a great teaching tool. Do you have much experience growing cacti? Will you be using pots, in-ground or raised bed? Drainage will be important for a *successful* cactus garden. As to collection of plants for your garden, let the lessons begin! Why not order one package of assorted seeds (a couple of bucks plus postage) *and* go to Wally World for one (another buck.50) *and* locate someone (in Tx that won't be a problem) who will allow you to remove one or two pads from their prickly pear. Now you've got a show going. Again, I don't know if you have experience with cactus but there are some simple tips that will help you help your children get a good start towards a successful garden. Many here, as myself, will be happy to help, if we have a bit more info. The first that comes to my mind is 1) steer the kids away from the colorful grafts at WM. Eventually the top section dies and we want success growth for young gardeners. 2)wash all dirt from the roots before planting into its new home. 3) when collecting opuntia pads, take the Sunday paper (a section for wrapping the pad), a set of tongs (in case the spines are so long they poke thru the paper) and your sharpest *long* knife (it can be tricky to get down between pads). 4) cut pads at the joints and let them scab over in a dry, shady spot for a couple of weeks before planting. 5) discuss the pros and cons of wild collection of native plants while retrieving your new project. hth - Jo...See Moreopuntia sp. with out glochids?
Comments (10)Austrocylindropuntias aren't too bad. My A. Subulata, is very non-heavily spined, and there really aren't any glochids per se. Maybe a few. They don't puncture or detach. The normal spines -- which tend to be in groups of zero to one -- DO readily detach and sort of hook in, but they're huge and easily removable. They don't look like traditional opuntias, but they're still really neat as they get lots of leaves and branch out fairly young. I do not have a clue what cultivar I have. It was labelled as monstrose, does not LOOK monstrose, but IS displaying some monstrose tendencies, such as branching quite freely. It's not knobby and ugly, though. This might effect spininess. I don't know. Brasilopuntia might also work. They look sort of like regular opuntias except they're... more arborescent, sort of? I don't know much about them but they don't look like they have glochids, though the normal spines like vicious....See Morewantonamara Z8 CenTex
10 years agocactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
10 years agodavidrt28 (zone 7)
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agocactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoUser
9 years agodavidrt28 (zone 7)
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agokaktuskris
9 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years agoitay gazit
7 years agoGreenLarry
7 years agoGreenLarry
7 years agoitay gazit
7 years agoitay gazit
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
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6 years agoMike Joseph
3 years agocokgroot
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoPolypompholyx
3 years ago
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