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Prickly Pear

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by Tonya on November 02, 2006 10:02 PM
I see pics of everyone's Prickly Pear and although mine appears to be quite healthy(it is growing and looking good) it lies down instead of standing up like everyone else's does. Am I not doing something right? Any suggestions? It stays outside in mostly full sun and gets watered sparingly now. In the summer- I watered it about every other day because I had the hose out anyway, but it is in well-draining soil mixed with small stones and dries out quickly because the pot it is in is shallow. [dunno] What am I doing wrong??

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by badplanter on November 03, 2006 07:50 AM
hhmm..... Don't they droop (and get all black) anyway..? Mine hasn't done that yet(if it's supposed to).... but I remember reading it somewhere.....(maybe it was Lynne..... in her old prickly pear thread.. not sure.. [Big Grin] )
This is my first year with mine, so not too sure...
Good luck! [thumb]

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by plants 'n pots on November 03, 2006 08:03 AM
Mark - you are right - I did say that they get all flat and black here during winter - but mine are planted in the ground, so I didn't respond to Tonya. I do actually have a few small pieces in the multi-pot that I just took inside today. They are all laying flat in the pots too. I've never tried to overwinter any inside before, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

These are not the same as the small prickly pears that you buy in the indoor garden centers - they weren't grown in a greenhouse for indoor use.

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"I'm spayed, declawed, and housebound - how's YOUR day going???"
by badplanter on November 03, 2006 08:09 AM
I knew it was you, Lynne! [Big Grin] [thumb]

quote:
These are not the same as the small prickly pears that you buy in the indoor garden centers - they weren't grown in a greenhouse for indoor use.

I get it.... thnaks for clearing that up! [thumb] [kissies]

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by Jiffymouse on November 03, 2006 11:05 AM
tonya, they will flatten out, if they are the "only" piece. when they get more pieces on them, it will stand up more.

kinda like the christmas cactus that has the first joint or two laying flat.
by Tonya on November 03, 2006 09:34 PM
Mine were wild here and I pulled and potted them up. They were very small, and have grown by leaps and bounds, so it must be that they just need to get bigger. They started as about 1-2 inch single sections and some pieces now have 2 or more 3-6 inch sections. [thumb]

Lynne- I'm glad you mentioned the black part...I almost edited to ask about the black tint to them.... [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

Thanks you guys!

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by plants 'n pots on November 03, 2006 11:00 PM
Tonya - some of my black parts never do recover, but I just cut those off, and the rest of the plant has done well year after year so far. (knocking on the wood of my desk now! [Big Grin] [dunno] [thumb]

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by gomerp618 on November 12, 2006 01:33 AM
I have mine planted outside as well.. and they lay down more than stand up but seem to be healthy so I just never worried about it.

My worry at first was that it would sit on wet soil and not make it, but they are pretty tough plants. I'm in zone 5 and they are perennials here.

I've never had any of the indoor ones though.

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Lord, please let me be the person my dog thinks I am!
by njoynit on November 12, 2006 01:48 AM
some of mine have black and gray parts and some wrinkled,but hubbys hit them with lawnmower&weedeater ......so its kinda expected here.I got one kind that gets wrinkley in winter,but they plump back up in summer.Some do lay flat....but if you seen the transported method.......a sheet of plastic was a stretcher..it was planed how it landed.Fruits are tastey.I got seeds too,just ask.I share them with my nephews iguana,butI give her the seeds too.the pods are ready but I'm waiting for them to get a lil more ripe so will sweeten up some more.I'm going to do a smoothie with one soon and see how it tastes.
Indoors.I have one thats a donkey ears prickly pear and is not frost hardy.I do grow it indoors in winter in cold GH.I dry to keep it on the dry side.I need to transplant it cause my dogs have broke some ears off.I can't believe my dog was CHEWING it...its like HELLO!THORNS puppies are NOT bright& this rotti pup is destructive.

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

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by Jiffymouse on November 12, 2006 09:28 AM
lynne, while i was in memphis, at the botanical gardens, i thought of you and had to take this pic...

love can be prickly!
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there were so many laying flat, it was a wonder this one was standing up!
by badplanter on November 12, 2006 09:34 AM
quote:
I got seeds too,just ask.I share them with my nephews iguana,butI give her the seeds too
How do you get seeds from it? are you talking about the wild kind, the house-grown, or both? [dunno]

Jiffy-- you gotta 'love' it! [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

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by plants 'n pots on November 12, 2006 09:47 AM
Thanks, Jiffy! [kissies]

I just LOVE that picture - that pad looks like it's a heart shape - terrific!

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by Jiffymouse on November 12, 2006 09:50 AM
tonya, i went back and read this post, and realized that it was you who had the laying down pricklies! [Embarrassed] sorry!!! in my head it was lynne [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

but, there is another pic somewhere where you can see that it is the eastern prickly pear that lays down so much. i'll try to find it!
by Jiffymouse on November 12, 2006 09:54 AM
it was almost a pearfect heart shape. and looked like it had a smiley drawn on it....

and yes, the pun was intended [Big Grin] [Big Grin]
by badplanter on November 12, 2006 09:56 AM
Jiffy- i looked back at it, and i do see the smiley! [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin]

quote:
and yes, the pun was intended
[Big Grin] [thumb]

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