Anyone have an interest in O. polyacatha?

[Weiser]

Just wondering if anyone is interested in Opuntia polyacantha and all it's many derivations and forms.

[RickR]

Although I like to see Opuntias and photos in other people's gardens, I don't grow any myself.  I like cactus, but prefer to shy away from those with "inescapable" glochids.  The exception would be if I could find a tree form (ex: O. imbricata) cold hardy enough for me.

[Weiser]

The reason I ask this question is that a lot of rock gardening people don't like to deal with the glochids.
 And I didn't want to bore the members since O. polyacantha has so many varieties and the distinctions between them, are very confusing.

Of all the cylindropuntias, C. imbricata is the hardiest, but in your climate it would be very marginal. I wish you luck in finding a clone that will grow in your area. The good thing is, it only takes a small branch cutting to get a start going.

[Nold]

I never met an opuntia I didn't like, but I transplanted all (or almost all) of my polyacanthas to the front yard next door, because they take up so much room and there was plenty of room next door (and my neighbor likes cactus). And because I have the habit of putting my hands on them when I'm weeding in my front yard.
There aren't any forms of O. polyacantha that I know of that are as wicked as O. rufida, which fortunately proved not to be hardy in the place where I put it, though I recently got a dwarf form of O. basilaris that's nothing but glochids. It's staying in a pot outdoors this winter.
Now, cylindropuntias, different story. There is a forest of them in the front yard. And a large collection in the back. I still manage to walk backwards into one every so often.

Bob

[Weiser]

Bob
 It's good to hear that you like Opuntias. They do indeed like a bit of space if allowed to do their thing unchecked. I trim all my patches to keep them within bounds and out of the paths. That usually means I have plenty of pads to share.
 O. polyacantha has a very wide distribution across central and western North America with several varieties recognized. There are a lot of unrecognized local forms with names that are not considered valid or in dispute at this time.
In general O. polyacantha is a highly adaptable species across it's range and hybridizes readily with several other Opuntia species. Due to it's genetic flexability, there is a wide range of physical characteristics within the complex. The differant forms grow as low spreading mounds. Flower colors are normally in a range of intensities, in the colors pink or yellow. Spine counts, color, thickness, length and density vary widely across it's range. The fruits are always dry when ripe.
 
I started growing O. polyacantha about thirty years ago with plants collected from The northern Great Plains.
The variety found there is Opuntia polyacantha var.  polyacantha. This is one of the hardiest cacti found in North America and can handle frigid winter temperatures.
As you will see from the photos there is a range of yellow to cream colors displayed by the clones I grow. The red stamen filaments setting off the green stigma and medium length spines seem to be consistant in this Great Plains native.

This clone was collected in the Badlands of South Dakota.

                            

This one from Emmons county North Dakota.

                            

This one is a selection that has been given the name 'Crystal Tide'

                            

And here is an over view of the general appearance of this variety.

                            

[Hoy]

A Prickly Pear was the very first plant I started growing as a boy. I got a pad from someone (have forgotten who) and it eventually grew to 2m in a pot at home. I still have a piece of it but a more mangable size.
I dream of trying some in the garden but I think it is too wet here in winter   Your plants are beautiful, John

When I visited Galapagos I remember well the tall Opuntia trees there. A very special forest. Sorry, no pictures as all are on slides but it looked like this:

http://www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com/Galapagos%20Islands/Day%202/slides/Galapagos%202-2-05%20Santa%20Fe%20Prickly%20Pear%20Cactus.html

[Weiser]

This species is more tolerant of winter moisture than most. It shrivels, losing half it's volume, as the days grow short in the fall, preparing for winter. In the winter, at freeze up, it is dormant and not affected by the frozen moisture. I have seen this variety survive many windy -20f > spells with just a light blanket of snow. I think being inbedded in ice for long periods causes the most damage but even then I have never lost the whole plant. I don't know if it would bloom well for you, it likes some late spring heat to flower well.

[AmyO]

When I visited Galapagos I remember well the tall Opuntia trees there. A very special forest. Sorry, no pictures as all are on slides but it looked like this:

http://www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com/Galapagos%20Islands/Day%202/slides/Galapagos%202-2-05%20Santa%20Fe%20Prickly%20Pear%20Cactus.html

Holy Cow! I never imagined they could grow like that! 
I just planted my first O. humfusa this year in a new & very small rock garden. Hopefully it will bloom at some point. I am always amazed at the way the pads shrivel up and droop to the ground in winter, looking like they are dead. But come spring..up they pop! So cool!!

[RickR]

...I think being inbedded in ice for long periods causes the most damage...

That is interesting.  One year, during a brief January thaw, the area where I had stored my potted Coryphantha (Escobaria) vivipara became a "lake" (unbeknownst to me).  It then froze for the remainder of the winter, and the entire pots and plants were encased in solid ice.  I could hardly believe my eyes when normal growth and flowering commenced the following spring and summer.

--------------

Trond, those Galapagos Opuntia trunks are massive!!!

[DesertZone]

I love them, but I try and stay away from them because they are not good for the reptiles in my garden.  My lizards run into the spines.

[Weiser]

I could hardly believe my eyes when normal growth and flowering commenced the following spring and summer.

I would have been rubbing my eyes in disbelief also. Luck was on your side.

I love them, but I try and stay away from them because they are not good for the reptiles in my garden.  My lizards run into the spines.

I wish they would live in my yard. I'm just too far from the edge of town.

[Weiser]

Thought I'd post a couple of shots of pink flowered O. polyacantha variety polyacantha. These two plants were collected in Wyoming. Note the longer spines on these clones it is not uncomon to see the spine length increase, the further south you go in their range.

The first photo shows the longer spine. This clone blooms a magenta pink color and was collected in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

                                        

This plant was collected near Medicine Bow, Wyoming.


                                        

[DesertZone]

That has some good color.

[Hoy]

John, does any of your O. polyacantha set seed? - and do you sell

[Weiser]

Trond
I do not save the seed. I would if I knew people wanted them.
They can be hard to germinate.

Here is information about germinating them from Dr Deno's "Seed Germination: Theory and Practice"

Opuntia (Cactaceae). Seeds are in a fruit and were WC.for 7 d. 0. tuna germ 70D GA-3(5/40 in 8th w) and 70D(none), but the seedlings quickly rotted.Extensive experiments on 0. phaecantha have failed to give a single germination although this species self sows here. It is significant that seedlings appear years afterthe plants-have been removed. Some germination was obtained immediately at 70 for 0: aurea,. humifusa, imbricata, leptocaulis, phaecantha, polycantha, rhodanthe, and rutila, but these were qualitative experiments performed twenty years ago. It has been reported that cactus have impervious seed coats. Extensive experiments on 0. phaecantha showed that at least for this species impervious seed coats are not the problem.
Some sources on germinating them say that four-five year old seed, germinate at a higher percentage rate than fresh seed.
Every year I send pads to cactus gardeners around the country as trade items. That is how I have collected the plants I grow.