It has been a cold winter with these cacti living outside, they seemed to have handled it quite well and are now putting on new growth now the weather is warming up and spring is here. I redid their baskets a year ago and seems they are really bouncing back now. With weather in the 70s and 80s this is the time they come back into an active state and start producing new growth. Hard to say if they will flower yet, but I should know pretty soon.
The three kinds of Opuntia are doing well, and I wonder if I will see some flowers this year. If they do, fruits are on the way shortly after. The taste of these fruits are unique, and they can differ in color.. some are red, others are yellow. But their flavor is like a watermelon and strawberry was crossed.
I have the following in the baskets:
Opuntia Erinacea (Mojave prickly pear)
Opuntia Humifusa (Eastern Prickly Pear)
Opuntia Fragilis (Brittle pricklypear)
Each of these cacti has a strong cold resistance. Out of thousands of cacti species only a few dozen can handle living outdoors where I live. Most the freezing weather will kill them outright, though a few have evolved to grow in much more harsh winter environments.
And being able to be grown in baskets they are truly hardy, as it gets quite cold in the root zone when out of the ground like this.
I wonder if those new growths are going to be paddles or flowers.. hard to tell just yet.
Seeing so much new growth tells me they are happy. Hah that lone grass in there needs to be pulled out, its hard to do without getting stuck by a cactus needle though.
All of these cacti should produce fruits eventually. But unless I put them in the ground they will not get very big I would think.
Excited to see in a few months how they come along.
I really like the new growth on the Opuntia Fragilis cacti.
One of the paddles fell off but could not grow due to it not being in the ground. Normally when they drop paddles they can start new plants from them with roots coming out the bottom and starting a whole new cactus.
The soil I gave them was a mix of native soil, along with volcanic rocks, wood chips and other good soil building materials.
I was worried about the Opuntia Erinacea cacti as they were getting quite droopy looking during the winter. Covered in snow and ice I really thought they would die back but they did not.. And even put on new growth.
Wondering how long they can live in the baskets, it is going to get quite full in the next few years. I need to consider somewhere to plant them I think. Though this will require lots to consider, as they are a pain to move due to the thorns. And if they spread in an area I do not want them to its a pain to remove them. So for now I will let them grow in their baskets and see how big they get.
En mi provincia natal, estos captus son autóctono. Por cierto la provincias se llama, Las Tunas en referencia a estas plantas. Pero no hay habito de consumirla como alimento. Sin embargo, cuando yo, era muchaco, comía mucho sus frutos, tambien mis amigos, me gustaban más los amarillos.
Listo. Ya vote por usted como testigo, me gustaría saber, sus propuesta. Sería bueno, divulgarlas (no como una peopaganda o campaña política, sino, como una manera de mostar su estrategia de sostenibilidad de la cadena. No se si me supe explicar), así más personas se unirían a votar. Gracias.
Oh nice, I have heard them called tunas for the cacti fruit as well. I bet there is alot of them growing there if they call it by that name for the region.
I like eating them too.. they can be quite seedy but besides that they are great.
Thanks for the vote, I should do more posts on promoting my witness.. You are correct :-)
Sounds like they are a lot more sturdy than you would think for being a warm weather plant. I have had fried cactus before, but I don't think I have ever had the fruit from one of them. It sounds interesting.
I have been surprised they have not taken more damage during the cold.. pretty amazing little plants.
Ah yeah they are quite tasty, had a bunch on the west coast back in the day.
Oh nice.. I need to try cactus paddles fried.. never heard of that.
It was at a Mexican restaurant in Nashville. I figured why not try it. Living in the environment they do I guess it isn't too surprising how well they can adapt!
!PIZZA
That’s some very cool cactuses you e captured . There are somewhat rare over here and I have so my seen one in a very long while. Am afraid of those spikes though, simply admire from afar
Thanks.. hehe yeah you do need to be careful of their spines.
it's fascinating how resilient these cacti are, bouncing back with the warmer weather! The Opuntia fruits sound delicious with that watermelon-strawberry flavor. Looking forward to seeing if they flower this year
Ah thanks.. I will do another update post if they end up bearing fruit, so I can show off what they look like.
I didn't know these plants were alive in blankets, I think it is better to Plant in the soft soil for their long lives.
Ah yeah they would probably like that more.. But I like being able to control where they grow.. when in the ground they can hard to manage.
Yes, I agree 💯 with you. I am trying to manage, but it is difficult. The growth of the saffron is poor and slow.
The cactus are amazing, they made it through the winter. Hopefully this spring they will grow quickly and produce fresh fruit.
Sure is amazing.. and me too.. hoping the best for them.
Opuntia Blooming
Very lovely. It is not Opuntia Santa Rita the purple one?
it similar to Opuntia Santa Rita.
But very nice looking Cacti blooming. I think i need to see what happened with my cacti too, i think they are overgrowing right now
Nope these are not Santa Ritas, I tried growing some but did not have any luck. I may give them another try as they are cold hardy down to zone 7.
hehe well glad they are growing so well for you.
Nope my Santa Rita have died too. Even though in my city is really hot, but it still wont help. I dont know what the problem. But my hipotesis is my city lack of wind. Really hot but still too humid. Thats why it makes my Santa Rita died like overwatering
The new growths look exciting—I hope they flower soon! Kinda wild how a cactus fruit can taste like watermelon and strawberry, now I want to try one someday.
Hehe yeah the first time I ate one it was really suprising.
Be careful with cacti man, my mom grows one at home and I recently got a thorn in my hand. It was a pain for a few hours xd
You gotta wear gloves.. and use tongs.. haha
Shit man well I hope you got the thorn out.. sometimes they can really get ya bad.. I have bled from my cactus before.
Dear @solominer
Your post is very informative and heartbreaking. Really wonder how hard these cactus lives, live in the snow and the cold, and are now extracting new branches. The different types you have grown are very interesting, especially the taste of their fruits that are like watermelon and strawberries. Their upbringing in the baskets is a hard work. Hopefully they will give flowers soon.
Ah thanks much, glad you liked the post.. indeed I am looking forward to flowers soon enough.
I love cacti, but none of mine survived, not because of the weather, but because of my ignorance when it comes to taking care of them haha and I never saw a flower 💔
I hope yours will bloom, if they survived the hard frosts, they will surely surprise you with beautiful flowers 🙏
Oh shucks.. well hope you have some better luck next time. They mostly just need a little water every few weeks.
Me too.. hope to see buds soon.
Cacti are interesting species, I have attended a few botanical exhibitions and have been amazed at the variety, even some quite strange to me. Yours have adapted quite well to cold weather but apparently all indications are that you will have to plant them in soil for them to thrive better.
Yeah they are quite interesting, I am amazed I found such cold hardy cacti that can grow here.
They have adapted very well to the cold, which is amazing.
Wow, what a beautiful and unique type of cactus that is! I’ve never seen one quite like it the shape and texture are so striking. Nature really has a way of surprising us with its creativity 😍
Hehe yeah they do come in all sizes and shapes.
Wow, I am so happy to see it. Your cacti look so lush after the winter. Hopefully this year they will bear fruit and I am so curious that it tastes like a mix of watermelon and strawberry, hehe.
Enjoy your day good people🤗
I hope they do produce fruit this year as well.. thanks. hope you have a good day too.
Wow, really very cool your photos in my place are usually called cactus flowers or cactus trees
thanks much.. they did come out cool
Love the cacti.. my favorite plant.. it does always amaze me they live thru winter like that. I left a huge cactus in the house in New Mexico.. I hope it's as good as yours are.. it's almost outgrown it's pot
Ha ha! Baby cacti they are just super awesome, very cool and very cute. I'm glad they have survived the winter and I hope they blossom into full cacti. But I'm very curious about something, now unless I have misinterpreted something do you actually get fruit from cactus plants? I have never heard of that. All I'm aware of is that tequila is made from cactus, I think that's right anyway, correct me if I'm wrong.
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Amo ese tipo de cactus