Dorothy Gilman
Years ago, when shopping for rock garden plants at my local nursery, I was surprised to find a cactus, eastern prickly pear, Opuntia humifusa, on offer. The notion of growing cactus in my east coast garden, some 2,500 miles from the nearest desert, was intriguing. I bought one and planted it at the back of the bed. It looked good in the rock garden and I thought myself clever to find such an interesting plant. Unfortunately, during fall cleanup, I found my cactus crumpled on the stones, a sad and desiccated specimen. Out it went with the oak leaves. (Nowadays I would keep those oak leaves, but that is for another article).
The following spring I planted a replacement. I had never tried prickly pear before and the rest of my rock garden plants were thriving; I decided to give it another try. Come fall, this cactus also turned up its toes; that was the end of my cactus growing experiment. I thought no more about it until decades later when I learned, to my great chagrin, that eastern prickly pear self-dessicates as part of its winter dormancy. Two perfectly nice plants relegated to the dust bin because I did not know any better.
Eastern prickly pears are a low growing sprawl of a plant, rarely reaching more than 18 inches in height. They range across the United States from New Mexico to Florida and north to Montana and Massachusetts. The fleshy oval pads are modified stems, not leaves, which photosynthesize and store water. Each pad may have a few formidably long spines–cactus spines are modified leaves–but the thing to watch out for is the glochids, tufts of barbed hairs dotting the pads. These easily catch the skin and may be quite irritating. The large lemon-yellow flowers (sometimes with an orange center) have a silky, almost glossy, appearance. The flowers are diurnal, lasting only one day, but the blooming period extends over three to four weeks in early summer. Flowers are followed by red “pears” which some folks like to use to make jelly. The fruits persist after frost, bringing winter interest to the garden. Prickly pears are what you might call semi-evergreen; they wilt (as we know) but revive in early spring.
This year, I am giving prickly pears another whirl. A gardening friend gave me two freshly cut pads from her own garden and two seedlings grown from seed she collected herself (color me impressed). I left the pads to dry out for a few weeks and then pressed them cut side down into a small container of ordinary potting soil. After a month they were well rooted, it really is that easy.
Prickly pears are somewhat salt tolerant and not fussy as to soil. They like full to partial sun; more sun yields more flowers. Good drainage is an absolute must. I planted mine on a sunny slope near the side of the road. So far, so good.
Dorothy gardens in Belmont where she lives with her husband, Steve, and their two dogs, Rosie and Jasper. She has six grandchildren — all perfect by definition — and has enjoyed introducing them to gardening. She has an abiding interest in nature and is always amazed by the wonders to be found in her own backyard.