Friday, February 20, 2015

Opuntia polyacantha is my favorite plant in the garden, this week…

I was out doing a bit of the ongoing winter clean-up when I noticed the Opuntia polyacantha was upright again and showing off it's beautiful spikes.

This is what it looked like back in November when we had our first cold of the season. Rather deflated.

I've got other opuntia which get the bends and never seem to snap out of it.

I proped this one up but it's still trying to lay down.

In fact one section got so heavy it popped off. Here it is rooting and waiting to be planted in the spring...

The pads planted in the container by the front door are also leaning, hopefully as spring progresses they'll come to.

I know these sad looking characters will (and as you can see I have plenty more clean up to do).

Every year the Opuntia humifusa flop and look all pathetic (a reaction to the cold) and every year they perk up and reliably bloom.

So back to this guy, my favorite plant this week...

I bought this bad boy at Cistus Nursery last February, the label reads..."Opuntia polyacantha – dark pink flowers. A Tim Harris collection from the amazingly diverse hybrid population near St. George, Utah, this is a very furry-padded creature with white and hay colored spines and cherry colored flowers in mid-spring. Vigorous, forming 2 ft clumps in only a few short years. Easy both in containers and garden with easy drainage and bright sun. Frost hardy to at least -20F, USDA zone 5."

It was just a single pad when I bought it, it's grown three more...

But wait, what's this and what does it have to do with opunita? On our way back from the Northwest Flower and Garden Show we stopped at the Ft. Lewis Army Museum just south of Tacoma. Andrew has wanted to check this out forever and the opportunity finally presented itself.

I was surprised to find an opuntia pad encased in acrylic as part of the Lewis and Clark display ...

Poor guys.

But back to my feature plant, ain't she pretty?

Any favorites in your garden this week/month? Please post about them (anytime), then come back here next Friday, the 27th, for the end-of-month favorites wrap-up and share a link...

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

24 comments:

  1. She is pretty but I wouldn't want to walk through acres of her on my way out west. Love the way she looks so furry and cuddly.

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    1. Speaking as someone who once stepped on a cactus spine I agree.

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  2. OMG that is a prickly one! Luckily my O. are still buried under snow so I can't run out there and see how they look. I think you need some of the species/varieties that turn dark purple in the cold. You've got a touch of it there on that one, but not enough...

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    1. They don't seem to like it here. I've tried a few times and they tend to melt, rather than color up, during our winters. I wish this were not true.

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  3. Oh my! Just imagine those spines on someone's foot! I like how dense the spines are on this Opuntia and the fact that it springs up when warmer weather arrives.

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    1. It's a really good one, I hope it continues to thrive in my garden.

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  4. This is one of the most beautiful opuntias, I think. I'm almost tempted, but my experience with opuntias hasn't been the greatest. Somehow even the nicest specimens seem to contract scale at some point, which is too unsightly for my eyes.

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    1. Well that's no fun! Do you think there is something about your climate that makes them particularly susceptible? I've (knock on wood) not had much of an issue with that here (current Joe infestation excepted).

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  5. I'll bet it looks like it's wearing a halo when backlit. Very impressive. Here's my fave post today: http://bannersbyricki.com/archives/4360

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    1. Darn, wish I'd planted it somewhere that I'd get to see it backlit.

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  6. Haha, I understand why those pads tormented the corps feet...that must´ve been awful.
    That opuntia is very hardy, i´m impressed.

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    1. I'm glad it had a mild first winter in the ground to get established.

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  7. I've been tormented, but not trekking over the dunes, not the plains.

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  8. That's spiky even by your standards! Opuntia is a pretty plant - I've wanted a O. 'Santa Rita' for some time but the idea of planting it, much less caring for it, scares me. My favorite this week is a very bright daisy without a single thorn: Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach.'

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    1. Santa Rita is lovely, you should try one in a container!

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  9. Beautiful! I need to get out to Cistus this month and see what's coming down the pike. Your garden is beautiful and it is amazing to see it so perky and awake so early this "winter". I've never seen in PDX a January/February so mild as this year. I'm lovin' it

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    1. Me too (lovin' it) and hoping it continues. Enjoy your trip to Cistus, it's always a inspiring place to visit.

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  10. Now THEY are some good looking spikes! I've never seen anything quite as heavily covered here as that, which is a shame. I hope you never have to move it. As for stepping on them... I can't imagine, and I hope I never experience it! Here's my favourite.

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  11. haha, the deflated opuntia is sad but in a comically tragic way that I find entertaining too. I'm glad yours perked up!

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  12. The Opuntia polyacantha sure does look pretty and her spikes are really perky. It's at the point where I just can't wait for spring to arrive.

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  13. It's fun to see plants that are not dusty due to lack of rain. I guess that is my version of what for you is a brightly sunny winter day?

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  14. So...cuddly. I do like the way the spines catch light, though. My favorite opuntia so far is Opuntia macrocentra. I saw a selection of it at PDN with bluish spines and 4-inch, purple spines.

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  15. Based on the look of all the gray spines, plus the source location in St George, it looks more like O. erinacae or. O. hystricina (can be considered a variety of the first). I have never used or even found either available, and the latter was common in the wild above my old place.

    Good find!

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