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Score a nice Opuntia Thornton's Blue

Paradise Found

By Paradise Found
in TROPICAL LOOKING PLANTS - Other Than Palms

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Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
Posted

Opuntia Ellisiana Thronton's Blue. 

Can anyone give me some advise on how to grow this opuntia, its a monster ! and any other info like hardiness, sun exposure, wind hardy, watering and where it comes from naturally.  Safeway card for scale. 

Any info would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

 

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Tom in Tucson Veteran

Tom in Tucson

Posted
Posted

Opuntia cacanapa 'Ellisiana' should be treated like most other prickly pears: full sun with good drainage. It should be hardy to zone 8.

Hi 74˚, Lo 50˚

  • Like 3

Casas Adobes - NW of Tucson since July 2014

formerly in the San Carlos region of San Diego

Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
39 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

Opuntia cacanapa 'Ellisiana' should be treated like most other prickly pears: full sun with good drainage. It should be hardy to zone 8.

Hi 74˚, Lo 50˚

Nice! Thanks You! I'm still worried about high winds we get in winter and again in May. It's like a wind tunnel between the houses where I want to put it sunshine is only 1/2 day in afternoon.  I think I will pot it up in bigger container and put inside a cool greenhouse.  Oh well! It was an impulse buy, LOL!... Sure you can relate.  Thanks again Tom. 

Edited by Paradise Found
Silas_Sancona Grand Master

Silas_Sancona

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Paradise Found said:

Nice! Thanks You! I'm still worried about high winds we get in winter and again in May. It's like a wind tunnel between the houses where I want to put it sunshine is only 1/2 day in afternoon.  I think I will pot it up in bigger container and put inside a cool greenhouse.  Oh well! It was an impulse buy, LOL!... Sure you can relate.  Thanks again Tom. 

If wind were an issue w/these, all the Prickly Pear out in the desert/ in landscapes here would've been wiped from the earth long ago, esp. during our summer monsoon wind events.. Things are sturdier than the over planted, non native Mesquites /  all Palo Verde around here.

  • Like 1
Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

If wind were an issue w/these, all the Prickly Pear out in the desert/ in landscapes here would've been wiped from the earth long ago, esp. during our summer monsoon wind events.. Things are sturdier than the over planted, non native Mesquites /  all Palo Verde around here.

Thanks for replying, you have given me something to think about. I also have to worry about slugs eating the pads. Slugs love to eat prickly pears pads in my garden, I think I have some worry-free slug bait. I have to go out of town today for a week so I will make my mind up then, I really do want to put it in the ground. 

Thanks guys! :lol2:

JohnAndSancho Grand Master

JohnAndSancho

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Paradise Found said:

Thanks for replying, you have given me something to think about. I also have to worry about slugs eating the pads. Slugs love to eat prickly pears pads in my garden, I think I have some worry-free slug bait. I have to go out of town today for a week so I will make my mind up then, I really do want to put it in the ground. 

Thanks guys! :lol2:

Cheap beer makes great slug and snail bait lol 

  • Like 2
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 2/4/2021 at 5:29 PM, Paradise Found said:

Opuntia Ellisiana Thronton's Blue. 

Can anyone give me some advise on how to grow this opuntia, its a monster ! and any other info like hardiness, sun exposure, wind hardy, watering and where it comes from naturally.  Safeway card for scale. 

Any info would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

I dont want to be a Debbie Downer, but are you sure that's an Opontia ellisiana?

Looks like it might be Opuntia gomei var Old Mexico.

Edited by amh
  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
11 minutes ago, amh said:

I dont want to be a Debbie Downer, but are you sure that's an Opontia ellisiana?

Looks like it might be Opuntia gomei var Old Mexico.

No tag but the container had written on pot Thornton’s blue  so I don’t know

 

amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Paradise Found said:

No tag but the container had written on pot Thornton’s blue  so I don’t know

 

The Opuntia ellisiana pads are usually very flush looking with little to no undulation.

I could be mistaken, but if you have an ellisiana, it is a bulletproof cactus that will survive wet and dry conditions as well as zone 7 or possibly colder.

Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
6 minutes ago, amh said:

The Opuntia ellisiana pads are usually very flush looking with little to no undulation.

I could be mistaken, but if you have an ellisiana, it is a bulletproof cactus that will survive wet and dry conditions as well as zone 7 or possibly colder.

Thanks for asking I’ll check the name you gave when I get back in town, your not a Debbie downer, LOL!

  • Like 1
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Thanks for asking I’ll check the name you gave when I get back in town, your not a Debbie downer, LOL!

I could be mistaken, but Opuntia gomei should be very hardy too.

  • 2 weeks later...
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted

My Opuntia ellisiana survived this cold spell like champs.

Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 minute ago, amh said:

My Opuntia ellisiana survived this cold spell like champs.

Awesome said to be hardy down to 5F how cold did you get too?

amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Paradise Found said:

Awesome said to be hardy down to 5F how cold did you get too?

Between 4 and -2F, I dont have a thermometer anymore, so I'm going off of others readings.

  • Like 1
Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 minutes ago, amh said:

Between 4 and -2F, I dont have a thermometer anymore, so I'm going off of others readings.

Shoot man, that is awesome I may have to get one! lol :D Thanks for the info. 

  • Like 1
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Paradise Found said:

Shoot man, that is awesome I may have to get one! lol :D Thanks for the info. 

I'll take pics tomorrow.

The snow was 7+ inches high, but the plants are 3 to 4 ft tall.

ahosey01 Grand Master

ahosey01

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 2/5/2021 at 7:55 AM, Paradise Found said:

Thanks for replying, you have given me something to think about. I also have to worry about slugs eating the pads. Slugs love to eat prickly pears pads in my garden, I think I have some worry-free slug bait. I have to go out of town today for a week so I will make my mind up then, I really do want to put it in the ground. 

Thanks guys! :lol2:

Dude prickly pears are absurd in their ability to survive anything.

Out here, they get ripped to shreds by javelina and still come back fine.  They get torched by fire and be the only plants living in the area. They get frozen in the winter and blasted in the sun. You find them growing in washes near water and up on hillsides with none at all.  They are basically indestructible.  The only thing that will kill them is some eastern varieties don’t like Arizona-level drought (10 months with one rainfall event).  Wind? No issue.  You could probably plant that sucker in a tornado and it would look great after.

And in the event wind did break it - just plant the broken end of the fallen pad in the ground, give it water and sun, and you have two prickly pears.

Edited by ahosey01
  • Like 2
Merlyn Grand Master

Merlyn

Posted
Posted

I saw this one at Leu Gardens in Orlando, FL.  It was labelled Ficus-Indica, but maybe it is actually Opuntia gomei var Old Mexico?  It definitely has the irregular edges, not really like the Ficus-Indica ovoid shape.  Any thoughts on a positive ID?

479574193_OpuntiagomeivarOldMexicoLeuGardenscropped.thumb.jpg.f24846ccdcfe6798ffa1312c3dedafba.jpg

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Silas_Sancona Grand Master

Silas_Sancona

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I saw this one at Leu Gardens in Orlando, FL.  It was labelled Ficus-Indica, but maybe it is actually Opuntia gomei var Old Mexico?  It definitely has the irregular edges, not really like the Ficus-Indica ovoid shape.  Any thoughts on a positive ID?

479574193_OpuntiagomeivarOldMexicoLeuGardenscropped.thumb.jpg.f24846ccdcfe6798ffa1312c3dedafba.jpg

There is a listing for this species on Opuntia web but, at least on the site, what we are familiar with as O. gomei may in fact be Opuntia undulata, perhaps a cross..  O. gomei, as described, supposedly has more spines and is far hardier ( to zone 8/ 10F ) despite where it originates in S. Texas/ adjacent Mexico. O. undulata is less cold hardy, has fewer/no spines. There are pictures of O. gomei w/  few/no spines however on the site and Mountain States Nursery describes this selection as a spineless form, so,..  tough call..

From their site ( Opuntia Web )
https://www.opuntiads.com/opuntia-gomei-2/

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted

all of my ellisianas are looking good, still upright and firm.

13_31_15.thumb.jpg.d014c0d72fd91b248ac0ab1f10189fe6.jpg

  • Like 2
Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Took a beating and keeps on growing. Can't even tell you had record cold and snow, wow! :yay:

  • Like 1
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Paradise Found said:

Took a beating and keeps on growing. Can't even tell you had record cold and snow, wow! :yay:

Record since the last one.

Some of the native opuntias have laid over, but look like they will survive.

Looks like no bluebonnets this year.:(13_32_32.thumb.jpg.b42e74fb489f444af5fa1f066b8dc849.jpg

  • Like 1
Silas_Sancona Grand Master

Silas_Sancona

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, amh said:

Record since the last one.

Some of the native opuntias have laid over, but look like they will survive.

Looks like no bluebonnets this year.:(13_32_32.thumb.jpg.b42e74fb489f444af5fa1f066b8dc849.jpg

Delayed?, possibly, but wouldn't completely axe Bluebonnet season there just yet.. Lupinus are pretty resilient -as is- and sure the TX species evolved to take quite a beating.

amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Silas_Sancona said:

Delayed?, possibly, but wouldn't completely axe Bluebonnet season there just yet.. Lupinus are pretty resilient -as is- and sure the TX species evolved to take quite a beating.

The seeds should survive, but all of the sprouts were killed. Luckily most seeds hadn't germinated because of the extreme drought conditions.

Merlyn Grand Master

Merlyn

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

There is a listing for this species on Opuntia web but, at least on the site, what we are familiar with as O. gomei may in fact be Opuntia undulata, perhaps a cross..

I'm mostly ignorant of Opuntia, so thanks for the info!  The Leu Gardens one does look quite a bit like Undulata, I'll have to take a closer look when I'm there the next time.

  • Like 3
Silas_Sancona Grand Master

Silas_Sancona

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I'm mostly ignorant of Opuntia, so thanks for the info!  The Leu Gardens one does look quite a bit like Undulata, I'll have to take a closer look when I'm there the next time.

Trust me,  this one has confused me as well.. At least it is one of the " friendlier " species, lol.

  • Like 3
Merlyn Grand Master

Merlyn

Posted
Posted

Hah, true!  I have one called Polyacantha "Dark Knight" that hurts just looking at it!  But the microdasys are actually worse, because I forget how much the glochids hurt...  :D

  • Like 2
Silas_Sancona Grand Master

Silas_Sancona

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

 But the microdasys are actually worse, because I forget how much the glochids hurt...  :D

:greenthumb:...Especially when you forget you were wearing gloves when handling, and handle the gloves ( or Towel you set pads on ) later:wacko:  Went to get feeding tongs the same day..

  • Like 2
Paradise Found Mentor

Paradise Found

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, amh said:

Record since the last one.

Some of the native opuntias have laid over, but look like they will survive.

Looks like no bluebonnets this year.:(13_32_32.thumb.jpg.b42e74fb489f444af5fa1f066b8dc849.jpg

They'll be pumping up and jamming in no time!

  • Like 1
amh Grand Master

amh

Posted
Posted
Just now, Paradise Found said:

They'll be pumping up and jamming in no time!

I figure that, 1949 was a lot colder.

  • Like 1

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