Monday, August 24, 2009

Never Say Die---Mystery Cactus

When we bought this house a few years ago there was a lonely cactus growing amongst the heavy weeds along the house. This little cactus keeps appearing year after year. It was even pulled out and tossed frivilously back on the ground. It managed to re-root itself and continue to thrive. I didn't even know that a cactus could be hardy in zone 6! See what I know? I have no idea what kind of cactus it. I never bothered to figure it out, but if you have any idea, let me know. It's one tough little plant that refuses to die. I'm glad though, because this little oddity has grown on me.

4 comments:

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prickly_pear

    Might be a prickly pear--check out the mature pod picture.

    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pagard/msg0207191029854.html

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  2. Looks like a prickly pear to me, and yes they root where they hit the ground. The can get really large, and they have gorgeous blossoms. They are also edible, but I've never taken a bite out of mine ;-)

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  3. Thanks. I just looked them up. It is an Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia compressa syn. O. humifusa). I found that they can grow to around 6-18" high x 12-30" wide. Hardy in zones 4-10. I'm so glad I did a poor job of killing it when we first moved in. :)

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