Drive-by Nature of the Day

Screeeech....

 These pads have grown abt 8-9 inches... so heavy that their own weight breaks the plant!  Standing abt 4 ft tall.  Oh My!  Full sun - hot Oklahoma weather!

Pictured below... this little stumpy cactus was almost tucked back in the shade???  I wonder what it is??

Against this  large two story building,....   outstanding  4-5 HUGE prickly pear plants blooming Yellow Flowers  ~ Optunia

 Optunia... upside-down and pear shaped pad/segments.  Gray-light green fleshy pad produce a larger, wonderful yellow all thru flower in the being May/spring time.   I'll have to do another DRIVE-BY to see the plant as it is said that the flower turns into red-spiny fruit later in this years season!!!

I kinda wonder if these shoots(in phot below....)  are new growth (pads) or if the shoot is a bloomin flower!

I tell you... my God is a wonder.... Such a Happy Gardner - Creator is My God!

Yes indeedy -- the prickly pear fooled me...   the tiny hairs are called glochids and you don't really notice a pinch until you swipe your thumb or fingers... and ouch!  Even my pant caught a sticker and rubbed PAIN against my leg!  The experts say that these hairs will embed themselves in the skin at the slightest contact and can only be removed with a magnifying glass and tweezers.   Straight home... I GO!!!  with a few lovelies.

I didn't have a knife or gloves.... so I just broke off a few pads!  I'll go back and sharpen the removal area....  I'll let the pad sit for a few days... so that the cut joint dries out!

SOIL:   I'll need part perlite/part compost via a well-draining plant soil.  Fill within abt 2 inch top of pot-- which has to have a drainage hole!!

4

Set the cactus cutting with the callused edge resting on the soil in the center of the pot. Push one-third to one-half of the cutting into the soil mixture. Tamp the soil down around the base of the cactus until the cutting is able to stand upright on its own.

5

Water the planted cutting using a watering can until the soil is evenly moist. Place the pot in a warm room -- 60 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer -- in filtered sunlight. Water the cactus when the top inch of soil begins to dry out.

6

Decrease supplemental watering to 1/4 inch of water applied every seven days once the cactus becomes established and begins to produce new growth. Follow this water regimen during the months when nighttime temperatures remain above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Give the cactus 1/4 inch of water every 14 days when nighttime temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

7

Move the cactus to full sunlight indoors once it begins producing new growth to begin acclimating it to brighter light. Move the cactus to full sunlight outdoors after two weeks if you eventually plan to plant the cactus outdoors in the ground.

8

Grow the cactus in the container for at least one year. Transplant the cactus plant in the spring once soil temperatures reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant the cactus in an area that receives full sunlight and contains well-draining soil. Dig a hole equal in depth and twice as wide as the plant's root ball. Place the root ball in the center of the hole. Backfill the hole with soil and tamp it down firmly. Water the cactus immediately after planting.

9

Water the planted cactus once per week when nighttime temperatures are above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Water the cactus every 14 days when nighttime temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.