Frequently Asked Questions

 Q.  Can I plant a nopale from the store?
    A.    There is the possibility that a fresh cutting from the store might strike roots and grow, but in all cases we recommend that one buy a named variety of a mature leaf that grew and matured the previous year, this will ensure that you will have a leaf with plenty of stored food for the good quick growing of the first years' leaves, this will get your plants off to a good healthy start.

Q. Can I cut a mature purchased leaf in two and make two plants from the one?
A.  This would reduce the stored energy of the original planting stock leaf and reduce the size of this years leaves. Great care has been taken to select for you only the healthiest largest leaves to ensure you get your plants off to a good start. It is better to grow a few fewer leaves, but have the optimum size for good looks and disease resistance.

Q. Can I grow these plants in pots?
A. These plants will indeed grow well in pots and can look quite attractive in a nice terra cotta style pot.  As the plants are inclined to grow quite large however they can in a few years overwhelm the pot and can tip in winds. This danger can be reduced by pruning the plant to keep it from getting too large.  A large wide pot works best also.
 

Q. Can these cacti be grown in cold weather areas?
A.  Of course they can as long as you keep them in a pot that can be moved into a generally non-freezing area for the winter.   One can also take cuttings in the winter before the heavy cold, and store them indoors in a cool dry shady spot for a couple months, they will put out root ends and can be planted into a moist mix before spring, when the warms weather arrives they will be well rooted and ready to put out in the garden to get a really good quick start on the weather as new plants for fresh nopales.

Q. How close should Opuntia be planted?
A.  There are several ways to go about this, some commercial growers like to plant extremely close together, one foot between plants in wide rows about four feet wide, this would give sixteen plants in a four by four foot area. A very heavy planting indeed, at this close spacing the plants are difficult to grow to maturity, this planting scheme is well suited to single year growing of heavy fresh nopales gathering, with the plants being disked into the soil after a year or two, but yields per square yard can indeed be very heavy.  We like to grow the plants larger mainly for large mature leaf harvesting, so we go with four feet between plants and five to six feet between rows.
 

A.  They can grow massive, but the ones I put in pots grow slower. So I'd suggest trimming the roots around the plant each year, perhaps twice a year. That will chop off the roots, and make the plant slow it's growth.
  Each year you could get in a little closer to the plant, reducing the overall root size. Be careful not to do too much too fast. Try even going in little quarter circles, cutting the spade into the soil eight inches deep. Don't lift the soil, you just want to trim the roots. This will introduce the plant to this more gradually. Also, withhold water and fertilizer. This will reduce the color depths some, and stress the plant. But it will grow more slowly.
  Also you can trim the leaves. Cut the ones near the base, perhaps one two or three whorls high around the plant. Be care not to stick yourself on the tips and sides. And it is fine to snip off the tips of the leaves, to make them less spiny.