News flash: If you’re new to succulents, beware the prickly pear. It is the one cactus that strikes fear into every desert gardener, and now the drought has made these cacti available far and wide. Its paddle-shaped leaves make it the most easily recognized of all cactus, a playful shape that hides a devastating secret. In homes with kids and dogs, this is a need to know before planting anything from this genus.
Prickly pear cactus are all genus Opuntia, along with their cousins, the cigar-shaped cholla. Many are native to the American West, with many more ubiquitous throughout the warmer New World regions. So why are the prickly pears so despised by those who love cactus so much?
It’s their spiny armor. Each stem is pocked with orderly grids of tubercles, which are the source of spines, flowers and fruit.
There are two types of spines that occur on the tubercles of Opuntias.
The large, wickedly sharp spines are dangerous because they are stiff and penetrate deeply with some so barbed they become very difficult to remove from flesh.
The second spine type is called a glochid. These are like human eyelashes or even smaller, almost microscopic sometimes. They tend to exist like fur in the tubercle, appearing soft and fuzzy to the touch.
Glochids enter skin at the slightest contact, then often break off in the process of extraction. Various removal methods include painful bikini wax or sticky tape for larger areas. Otherwise it’s magnifying glass and tweezers time with a very bright light. Unless removed immediately after penetration, it’s almost impossible to get them all. We cactus aficionados are the living burial ground of many old glochids that eventually disappeared.
With hundreds of Opuntia species, there’s a great deal of variation. Many lack big sharp spines, but they retain their microprotection, so don’t assume spineless is safe. In fact, these spineless looking ones are all glochids, making them the most hated of all. Inevitably they end up coming home from succulent racks at the garden center only to get spread everywhere. Once infested, leather gloves and clothing are useless and must be discarded.
One of the popular Southwest natives, Opuntia basilaris, looks touchable because it lacks visible spines, but each tubercle is packed with small, dark glochids. The plant’s roots are studded with glochids, too, to keep thirsty desert rodents from their succulent tissues and roots. Many desert gardeners have discovered this the hard way when transplanting what looks like a spine-free native prickly pear.
When bringing new prickly pear plants into your dry garden, be ever aware of their locations. Keep them well back from activity areas so there’s no chance of a misstep. Don’t hesitate to prune your plants at natural joints when they grow too close for comfort. Anytime you handle a plant or those pruned-off pieces, use newspaper layered thick enough to resist the bigger spines, or try barbecue tongs. Root the cuttings after they’ve sat in the open air for a week so the wound dries out. Line a plastic nursery pot with newspaper, fill with moist sand, insert paddles and place in bright shade until roots form. Check often for signs of rooting. Once they start, transplant into well drained garden soil or pots of cactus potting soil to encourage growth.
Prickly pear is one of the most diverse and useful cacti for home gardens. Cacti in larger containers sold at home improvement stores can be highly successful, but don’t assume they are cold hardy enough to survive the winter. That’s why some of the most successful garden plants have been grown from cuttings taken from locally established prickly pears that have proven their ability to adapt best to your yard.
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Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at www.MoPlants.com
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