Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Wednesday Vignette, oh to have an opuntia tree

I snapped this photo at the Ruth Bancroft Garden last April, during a visit with Gerhard. Can you imagine having an opuntia of tree-like proportions?

From Brian Kemble (curator at the garden) I learned it's an Opuntia leucotricha, one of the tall-growing species from central Mexico. He says the name “leucotricha” (white hair) refers to the trunk, which sports wispy white hair-like spines. Sure enough, if you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see the white "hairs". Aren't plants cool?

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Weather Diary, Nov 19: Hi 55, Low 47/ Precip .29

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

12 comments:

  1. It would be interesting to have an Opuntia with tree-like stature and proportions. I still have the ones you sent me several years ago, they survived in the gravel garden despite extreme neglect, although they grew very crooked and fell over, especially after last winter's snow. The base wasn't really strong enough to support the weight of the top. So just recently I took a handful of pads and rooted them and started over.

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    1. Glad to hear they're still fighting on! One of mine looked like it was going to fall over winter before last so I braced it with rebar, that did the trick.

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  2. I was given a couple of pads. I stuck them in a pot in the sunniest corner of my yard. They survived, but something (probably slugs) started gobbling them up. Poor things - they look like a half-eaten cracker! That Opuntia tree is stunning. Any idea how old it is? It looks ancient - like it's been there for an eternity...

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    1. How sad! I remember seeing pots of opuntia at a nursery in AZ that had been nibbled on by rabbits. That's a pretty desperate rabbit.

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  3. I gave up on the idea of planting Opuntia in my garden after getting glochids stuck in my finger from 2 pads gifted me by a friend (even when I thought I was being careful). Luckily for me, the local botanic garden has many in all shapes and sizes.

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    1. The trickiest moment for me is when I back into one working in the front garden...

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  4. Opuntia tree in my garden? In a word: no. In my youth I went after the sweet fruit, and IT went after me. Getting rid of the glochids was prolonged and unpleasant. Since then, my relationship with Opuntia is one of mutual respect and great distance. Good photo though :-D

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  5. There are some ancient specimens in the BG on Santa Catalina Island, quite memorable.

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    1. Sounds like someplace I need to visit...

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  6. Great plant. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is on my must see list.

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  7. Another tree opuntia is Opuntia echios from the Galápagos Islands. There are just forests of them there.

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