Description
We have native cacti that are growing in northern New England.
When you first read that statement, it’s kind of a hard pill to swallow isn’t it? When folks see these growing in my nursery I get all kinds of comments. When I tell them that this is a native species they look at me bewilderingly. Surely I must be pulling their leg? Most laugh out loud, then quickly grow silent as they see the dead serious look on my face, but even then they walk away shaking their heads. I take my native plants very seriously, as you probably already know, and this is no joke. To be honest, when I first read about this cactus when I was a young adult, I had a hard time comprehending that cacti could be growing in our area, but here they are. And they are really easy to grow! Propagation is even easier than a willow (yes, these are vegetatively propagated, and I have no shame about that.) Simply detach a pad from the mother plant and lay it on the surface of some soil in a pot, roots start growing in a few weeks and off you go! These plants will grow in full sun to full shade, sand, or loamy soil. They have an interesting overwintering strategy, in the fall going into winter they prickly pads start to shrivel up. By first snow fall they look like they have been through a food dehydrator; wrinkly like an ole’ prune. But, come the first warm rays of the spring time sun, they start plumping up again and are growing in no time.
Well rooted, multi-“padded” plants in 1 gallon pots
