Hardy Tropicals UK

I purchased this cactus today which I'm presuming is an opuntia of some description but does anyone know which type? Also what minimum temperature it takes? Also is opuntia a prickly pear?

Very difficult to ID from the pic. Probably O. Ficus Indica, the most widely grown prickly pear but if you bought it from a specialist nursery it could be O. humifusa or one of a number of hardy Opuntias which would be fine planted outdoors.

Watch out for the glochids, the little spines that grow out of the areoles. They can cause severe irritation.

looks like one of mine which was labelled simply as opuntia sp.

you've prompted me to do this, may be useful to you if you want to collect more or make a backup plant for winter

http://exoticgarden.co.uk/2012/09/05/ho ... ia-cactus/

Thankyou for the information, I may try to propagate next year after its established after repotting yesterday. I think I'll leave it in the greenhouse as its easier to keep dry and it will probably grow quicker, although I like the idea of having one outside!

The pads root very easily. I've also grown them from seed which can be very slow but worth it fo you want to obtain specific plants which can't be bought. I've also collected seed from a O. Macrocentra which flowered last summer which I'll be sowing soon. They are slow to germinate and can take a year or more as well as being quite slow growing plants so it's always best to get pads if you can.

I know this is an old post but I have 2 types of opuntia, one wild harvested in KY woodlands the other I got from a neighbor. one is humifusa the other is not ID'd but both very hardy in zone 6 KY. I would be willing to send you some pads for postage if you want a hardy type that you know will grow outside.

miketropic wrote:I know this is an old post but I have 2 types of opuntia, one wild harvested in KY woodlands the other I got from a neighbor. one is humifusa the other is not ID'd but both very hardy in zone 6 KY. I would be willing to send you some pads for postage if you want a hardy type that you know will grow outside.

That would be great! Its not the cold that would be the problem here, but the potential for very wet winter weather.

they take the snow rain all of the above if you want a few pads send me a PM with your address. postage can't be much they dont weight anything as it is and i';; try to get them over asap.I can send a few of each type no idea what the one is though.