cactguy:

cactguy:

I’ve finally had enough of the trimming and weeding around the Santa Fe cholla. For now, I’m keeping one section in the back, but the rest has been removed, and I’ve planted a variety of Opuntia cuttings from Kelly Grummons at Prairie Storm Nursery (the home of ColdHardyCactus, where all of the work specimens come from):

Opuntia rhodantha ‘Snowball’
Opuntia debreczeyi ‘Alberta Sunset’ (Spineless Cat’s Paw Cactus)
Maihueniopsis darwinii
Walk in Beauty ™ Opuntia hybrid ‘Prairie Fire’
Opuntia hybrid WALK IN BEAUTY™ Garnet Glow
Opuntia hybrid WALK IN BEAUTY™ Mandarin Sunrise
Opuntia hybrid WALK IN BEAUTY™ Colorado Sunset
Opuntia hybrid WALK IN BEAUTY™ Chocolate Princess
Opuntia hybrid WALK IN BEAUTY™ Apricot Glory

Most of these are sport sized, so they won’t need trimming back for quite some time, and, inevitably, not all of them will make it. I’ve kept the one section of cholla mainly to deter the dogs from cutting through until the pads have firmly rooted in – and then we’ll see.

First update since planting in June. Despite some crazy (even for Dallas) heat, all are looking good!