That's some nice color. I have the same opuntia on the other side of the bay, but it's not quite as colored. It's also a little thick, so I have cut back on watering it.

Castro_gardener, Yes... big reservations about accidentally killing an otherwise happy TML after three years in the yard. Finally decided to chance it because the new plant is just so much further along; you can see the difference in the photo. Also means it should begin screening one of our window views two or more years sooner. Annieinaustin, Thanks for the details about the buds. Guess I'm guilty of only looking closely while in bloom, so had no idea buds set that quickly afterwards. Suspect we'll occasionally lose some with the relatively late freezes we sometimes get north of Dallas. Mindshift, Interesting about the taproot being less prominent in deep rock-free soils. Noticed there was not much of one in the large plant's loose potting mix and same for the small plant dug out of deep blackland prairie clay (unless I couldn't tell I broke it off). Pretty much followed the approach you described and seemed to work well. One twist was the number of roots growing up into the rootball from the neighbor's pecan and shrubs - guess they were attracted to the occasional watering; took a bit of time to sort out which ones to preserve and which to cut away. One quirk with shade in the location is that not much sun light makes it to the ground from mid-May to mid-September. Plant would catch more light year round once it got above about three feet. So, another reason the taller plant will likely grow faster in the near term. No immediate signs of transplant shock from the dig, so hoping the small TML will make it for another opportunity. Thanks for all the info and guidance!

Thanks Irina, I am a little intimidated by wicking. I have read lots of articles, and some recommend acrylic yarn , some fishing twine, or some kind of twine. Not sure what to pick and isnt that an extra step when potting plants up? Right now my plants are in a 1040 tray, if I were to wick, then I would have to figure out a water source to dangle the wicks in. I have capillary matting. Could I lay the 1040 tray with capillary matting and then put the wicked pot directly on the mat with wicks in contact with the mat, dome the trays and then just water till the mat is moist? I did recently lay a 1040 tray with capillary mat and then put my pots directly on the mat, but the mat kept getting dry and I was watering frequently.....but I didnt dome the trays, maybe thats why they lost water quickly. Also, I wasnt sure whether the pots would get water through holes I had drilled if they were just sitting on the mat. Just a few thoughts, thanks, Cooks

Yes, I cut them down to about 6 inches. I do this here in the Fall, and then over the Winter they grow better roots, and in the Spring an entirely new set of leaves grows up. Jackie P.S. My only real problem with digging up and transplanting overgrown Iris beds is what to do with the zillions of left over corms!