#purple prickly pear cactus

[snototter]

A purple prickly pear cactus (Opuntia azurea) in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA

by Alan Cressler

[desert-love]

[suitdistracted]

Brick Pavers Front Yard Phoenix Here is an illustration of a mid-sized, partially-sunny, southwestern, drought-tolerant front yard brick retaining wall landscape in the summer.

[creativecommonsplants]

Prickly Pear by Mike Lewinski on Flickr.

This work is licensed under CC BY 2.0. 

[cselandscapearchitect]

Creating a Colorful and Biodiverse Garden: Companion Planting with Firecracker Penstemon

Welcome to our gardening blog, where we explore creative and sustainable ways to enhance the beauty and biodiversity of your outdoor space. Today, we’re excited to delve into the world of companion planting with Penstemon eatonii, commonly known as Firecracker Penstemon. This stunning native plant with its fiery red blooms can bring a burst of color and attract beneficial wildlife to your garden.…

[the-habitat-ring]

The (Real) Stardew Valley Farm Update 2024

I’m wrapping up my third year trying to grow everything from Stardew Valley in our yard, with substitutions as needed, preferably with Midwest USA native plants.

I’m continuing to battle the invasive plants (why won’t the honeysuckle and thistles stop?????), beg for truckloads of woodchips (Google decided our address isn’t real anymore), and deal with a body and brain that makes going outside impossible sometimes (the past two years have been rough medically). But despite all of that I still managed to make a ton of progress!

Here’s how things stand as of now. If you’re looking back at previous posts you might notice some differences, but that’s mainly because things I planted died (drought + medical crises don’t bode well for newly established plants). I’ve also added the additional crops from the new update.

2021

Amaranth - Native white amaranth

Grape - Native riverbank grapes (so many grapes). I’m hopefully going to successfully propagate some cuttings from the neighbor’s green cultivated variety

Dandelion - Obviously

Maple Tree - Native silver, red, and sugar maples

Pine Tree - Douglas fir

Apple Tree - Three old apple trees of different varieties in very rough shape. I’ve been working to prune them up and two are looking a lot better. I’d love an Enterprise apple tree at some point

Coffee Bean - Chicory (a naturalized plant commonly used as a coffee substitute)

Salmonberry - Native black raspberries since salmonberries aren’t from around here, although I really want to add raspberries of various colors in the future

Starfruit - Native wood sorrel

Cave Carrot - Queen Ann’s Lace, AKA wild carrot

2022

Kale

Rhubarb

Strawberry - Both cultivated and native

Tulip

Radish

Tomato

Eggplant

Fairy Rose - Native prairie rose

Cranberries - Native cranberry viburnum

Orange Tree -Native persimmons, which produce orange fruit

Daffodil

Spring Onion - Native nodding onions

Spice Berry - Native spicebushes

Wild Plum - Native plums

Crocus

Cherry Tree - Native black cherries and nonnative bush cherries

Banana Tree - Native pawpaws, which are also known as Indiana bananas

Sweet Gem Berry - Native Juneberry (Downy Serviceberry)

2023

Garlic - Native wild garlic

Blueberries - I planted three varieties and only one survived. Don’t shortcut your bed preparation, friends

Wild Horseradish - Not wild, but contained with my mint

Hops - Teamaker hops which is good for tea since we’re not alcohol fans

2024

Blue Jazz - Native Ozark Bluestar

Beets

Apricot Tree - Native passionflower vine, also known as wild apricot

Sunflower - Both native and non-native sunflowers

Pumpkin

Cactus Fruit - Native prickly pear cactus

Melon - Cantaloupe

Oak Tree - Native dwarf chinquapin oak, which took me forever to get

Hot Pepper

Palm Tree/coconut - Native palm sedge

Poppy - Native purple poppy mallow, after other native poppies failed. I still want to grow bread seed poppies, though

Corn - Tried some gorgeous colored corn and popcorn that didn’t grow great but they did grow!

Green bean

Hazelnut - They’re supposed to be easy to grow but they do not like me. Third time’s the charm, right?

Carrot

Summer squash

Powder melon - I decided to do honeydew melon because it’s kinda powdery and I don’t really have any other ideas

Planned for 2025 and beyond

Potato

Pineapple - White strawberries (pineberries)

Winter Root - Hopniss, a native root vegetable

Red Cabbage

Artichoke - Native Jerusalem artichokes

Yam

Bok Choy

Leek

Fiddlehead Fern - Ferns do not like me

Blackberry

Crystal Fruit - Probably honey berries, which produce fruit earlier than anything else

Ancient Fruit - Native Aronia berries. They’re blue(ish) and have lots of antioxidants so you live to be ancient

Tea Leaves - Native New Jersey Tea bush. The previous ones were murdered by rabbits

Mango Tree - I thought one of our pawpaws was a variety called mango but I was wrong

Ginger - I want to try growing native wild ginger again

Rice - Native rough-leaved rice grass

Wheat - I have some gorgeous ornamental blue wheat seeds

Summer Spangle - Possibly native prairie lily? I was unsuccessful growing it from seed this year but maybe in the future

Parsnip - I can’t get them to germinate to save my life but one day I will be successful

Sweat pea

Holly - Native winterberry holly

Mushrooms - I'm just gonna ignore varieties and try some plugs or similar

Peach - Vine peach. It’s a melon, and more doable than a tree

Mahogany Tree - I think I’ll resort to mahogany nasturtiums

Broccoli

Pomegranate Tree - I could try Russian pomegranates?

Taro Root - I would have to plant it in pots

Snow Yam - Not actually a yam but maybe native sweet potato vine?

Qi Fruit - Very creepy, not sure what to do with this

Over halfway there! If anyone has suggestions for plants please let me know because I’m still stuck on a few and very open to alternatives.

In other news, I’m making Stardew Valley Fair displays with cross stitch patches for each of the items I’ve added that year. I’ll have to post pics of those at some point.

[tomorrowsgardennc]

how do i do this again? oh yeh...

garden update // august 20th 2024

the pollinator garden that was literally a "toss seeds and see what happens shrug emoji" has officially reached covering-the-view'of-the-house stage. eventually over the course of this fall and winter we will add a fence and plant perennials instead of whatever annual flower seeds i had lying around. asters are popping up in the shade of them all which i find funny since asters prefer cooler weather.

speaking of cooler weather... from the first bit of fall seeds i started i find the interesting germination contrast of saved seeds (not even my saved seeds, a friends) dwarf siberian kale versus bought online. the left was the saved seeds 📝👀 her's grew 10 minutes from my house, the one bought online was from a big boi store further up north. and these did hit 90°+ weather too, which technically was bad BUT not for the seeds that are all "yeh, we know how crazy this weather is nbd 😎"

my favorite basil ever, the spicy globe basil, is finally bolting for seed. i kept harvesting just one bush so i could get seeds sooner rather than later. okra is doing great, too. still giving off flowers and already got a first batch of dried okra for the seeds. i let the okra dry on the plant itself to ensure the most energy gets into those suckers as much as possible.

ok, so i'll start a separate thread for my quest for a frog pond, but i plan on putting it in the middle of the large square bed. everyone, even hubs, was like why big square you cant reach the middle and i was like it fits the space though!! but they were all right, hurts my back trying to reach the middle and tripping over the plants defeats the purpose. but it fits so nicely in the spot!! so frog pond will go in middle, around it is brassicas during the winter, then 2025 is purple tomatillo, 2026 is corn, 2027 okra, and then repeat indefinitely. so tall plants to shade it during the summer, and short plants so it gets plenty of sun in the winter. should be ok right?????? also i have yet to plant my prickly pear cactus because i legit dunno where to put them. i keep moving them around the garden and just not loving wherever they go. ughs.

peppers are almost done, so fall must be around the corner. but don't worry, tomorrow i'm going to dig up most of them and overwinter in the greenhouse. hawks claw totally, cayenne probably not because they had such stunted growth, lemon drop totally not because i have too many, but totes the giant marconi because that's my favorite sweet pepper so far. haven't tried many sweet pepper varieties though, and would love to grow an heirloom not a hybrid. my purple bells still haven't produced anything 😭 but i'll wait to pull those at the last minute... just in case...

lots to do this week. tomorrow is a false fall day, so going to spend it all outside and enjoy it 💚

[todaysbug]

November 8th, 2023

Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus)

Distribution: Mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions; from South America northward to the Southern USA.

Habitat: Deserts and arid areas; found on prickly pear cacti.

Diet: Herbivorous endoparasite; nymphs and female adults feeds mainly on the moisture and nutrients from its host plant, most commonly the prickly pear cactus. Males do not eat.

Description: The cochineal is most well-known for being the insect from which carmine dye is produced. This insect contains large amounts of carmine acid which, when extracted, can produce beautiful dyes ranging from scarlet to crimson. Due to their sessile lifestyle, cochineals are easily swept up from their host plants, after which they are dried and crushed into powder. It takes around 70,000 cochineals to make one pound of dye.

Cochineals spend the majority of their life on one prickly pear cactus or another. The female will feed on the cactus pad, piercing its thick cuticle with her beak-like mouthparts. Once fertilized, she lays her eggs on the same cactus pad, hatching little purple nymphs. After a certain point, the nymphs will form long wax filaments and move to the edge of the cactus pad, where the wind will take them to a new host. At maturity, only males have wings, but they live only to reproduce then die.

(Images by Frank Vincentz and Vahe Martirosyan)

[jenfoundabug]

I discovered these interesting scale insects on my prickly pear cactus (opuntia).

It turns out these are cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus), the source of the natural dye carmine. You can see some of this pigment in the third picture (purple splotch) where the bugs may have been injured. Carmine, aka crimson lake, is frequently found in cosmetics (blush and lipstick) and food (ice cream, yogurt, soft drinks, sausage, and candy). Farming these bugs began as early as 700 BC in South America, and carmine has been used by many indigenous cultures to dye textiles and create artwork.

While mature females are about 25% carminic acid, it still takes tens of thousands of them to produce one pound of pigment.

If I get enough of these, I may try making some dye myself XD

[dr-pamela-isley]

Favorite plant? or like maybe top 5?

It seems like a copout answer to just say all of them so I'll give you five in no specific order (below the cut)

Colobanthus quitensis, also known as Antarctic pearlwort. It's one of two known flowering antarctic plants (the other being Antarctic hair grass), it was discovered in the late 1700's-early 1800's. Since Antartica is a dessert it's native plants have a special kind of leaf structure to account for the lack of rainfall.

Cornus florida, or the flowering dogwood. It's native to North America and Mexico, the trees are monoecious meaning that it has both male and female flowers. It also serves as a place for more then 12 species of moths to lay their larvae in.

Phlox subulata, or moss phlox. It's an pink, purple, blue, or white evergreen native to the united states that commonly covers ground in wooded areas. It also serves as a pollinator and can be used to prevent erosion.

Pinus strobus, or the eastern white pine tree. These trees have been known to live for over 400 years and are largely considered the tallest trees in eastern North America. They also serve as habitats for other plants along with animals and insects.

Opuntia, also known as the prickly pear cactus. I had to include some sort of cacti in this because they are so vital to the ecosystem and water cycle. The prickly pear cactus in particular are some of the most cold tolerating cacti, and like many other cacti are only native to the Americas.

[macabremomo]

Plant Therapy Plants left to Collect (30) Alocasia Frydek, Alocasia Frydek Variegated, Amaryllis, Banana Leaf Ficus, Boxwood Bonsai, Christia Obcordata, Golden Barrel Cactus, Greenovia Rose Succulent, Laceleaf, Lemon Lime Philodendron, Madagascar Palm, Olive Tree, Philodendron Pink Princess, Pitcher Plant, Poinsettia, Polka Dot Begonia, Purple Heart, Rat Tail Cactus, Red False Banana, Sansevieria Cylindrica, Satin Pothos, Silver Dollar Jade, String of Buttons, String of Turtles, Tree Philodendron, Weeping Fig, Whale Fin Plant, Xanadu Philodendron, Yellow Orchid

Plants Owned: 59 African Violet, Air Plant, Albuca Spiralis, Alocasia Bambino, Bat Flower, Boston Fern, Bromeliad Antonio Pink, Bunny Eared Cactus, Calathea Freddie, Chinese Evergreen, Christmas Cactus, Desert Rose, Donkey Tail Succulent, Dragon Tree, Dragon's Blood Succulent, Echeveria, English Ivy, Fiddle Leaf Fig, Giant Variegated Monstera, Golden Pothos, Heart Leaf Philodendron, Hedgehog Aloe, Hens and Chicks, Hoya Heart, Hoya White Leaves, Iresine Bloodleaf, Jade Plant, Jellyfish Air Plant, Lemon Button Fern, Lemon Lime Prayer Plant, Living Stone, Lucky Bamboo, Maidenhair, Mini African Violet, Monstera Deliciosa, Peace Lily, Peperomia Puteolata, Peperomia Watermelon, Peruvian Apple Cactus, Pilea Peperomia, Pink Orchid, Polka Dot, Ponytail Palm, Prickly Pear Cactus, Rainbow Coleus, Red Agloanema, Rosemary Topiary, Round Cactus, Rubber Plant, Schefflera, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Spiderwort, String of Hearts, String of Pearls, Swiss Cheese Monstera, Venus Fly Trap, White Wizard Philodendron, Yucca, Zamioculus Zamiifolia, Zebra Plant, Zig Zag Cactus

[violetequus8]

thanks for the tag, @teejaystumbles! I'm alive believe it or not :)

Rules: Tag 10 (or less) people you want to get to know better

relationship status: as those in my server know, I am for the first time in my life Not Single. The Girlfriend is why I haven't been writing as much, LOL. (I'm very happy)

favourite colour: green! with purple coming in close second! But always, always, green my beloved

song stuck in my head: Right now it's DEAN's "come over," and Shocking Blue's "Venus."

three favourite foods: I am a sucker for mac n' cheese, and cheese, and olives. Yeah.

last song I listened to: "Back in Town" by Tuxedo

dream trip: I will admit, I've been enthralled by the Mongolian Plains for years and years. I'd love to go out into them, on horseback, and just be out in the middle of nowhere with all that empty space, in the six feet of space between heaven and earth and something like that... Admittedly, I am from the Appalachian regions. I should probably visit Ohio or another flat, empty state before romanticizing Mongolia.

last thing(s) i googled: "native pennsylvania cactus" There is, in fact, a cactus species native to PA. It's Optunia humifusa, the Eastern prickly pear cactus. It has edible fruit, and looks like this:

tagging: @tj-dragonblade, @fractalspaces, @blueberrymffn, and anyone else who wants to join!

[tomorrowsgardennc]

flower update // october 28th 2024

we actually did all this work yesterday, but it took every last spoon hubs and i had to do it. so i post today what we (finally) did!

we dug holes. a lot of them. but look at the difference here:

clay on the left, which is the entire yard. but ACTUAL SOIL on the right, where a bradford pear tree was when we first moved in and fell down within a month of moving in lmao. it was huge and shaded the entire front yard. i do miss it. but of course it fell down right after we bought the house. that was 2016, and the trunk was not removed but chopped up and decomposed in place. and this was the result.

the best damn soil in the entire front yard.

hubs was a sweetheart and knows my fight on finding good soil and he said he would dig up every last grain of it and put it wherever i meeded LMAO! but instead the flower we planted there will be the best damn flower out of all of them. speaking of all of them...

ta-daaaaa!! all but the cacti are in the ground!! we had to draw a line somewhere because we were both getting tired so i said the cacti can be the ones to wait. but here is the final list:

white rose of sharon (hibiscus)

purple/pink hydrangea (dwarf)

pink butterfly bush (dwarf)

spanish lavender 

false sunflower (native)

spotted bee balm (native)

prickly pear cactus (edible)

now that they are all in their final homes i'm thinking of getting a couple more spanish lavender and false sunflowers... just to scatter them about more. OH and that massive gap that keep bugging me near the right side 😤 is actually where the water line from the city leads to the house. no plants, no raised beds, nothing will go over that line. not just because it's smart but because it's old and needs replaced and costs 8 grand to do so... ain't nobody got money for that. cheaper to just never cover it and when it leaks to pay for a patch. even get a discount if i pre-dig the leak area 🫠 only happened twice so far... didn't want to jinx it by putting an amazing flower over the line.

another important line: what will eventually be the white split rail fence that goes behind these babies!! probably won't be until spring market sales when we can do it. but fences can go in whenever - perennial plants needs to go in now!

another to-do list item for later is the ground cover. we decided yesterday between digging holes to have a mix of wild violets and false strawberries. they're already covering about 20%ish of the front anyway... but next spring ill collect wild violet seeds from the back yard and spread in the front, and i'll buy more false strawberry plants. the wild bunnies adore the false strawberries, and that was enough to sell hubs into the idea. he wants to feed nature, too, and as naturally as possible. since we already have some growing in this area i will not be laying down mulch. just gotta kill the grass every time it starts to get tall.

[iffoundreturntosea]

November 3, Day 307/308

Day 307 2015

Thanks, Walmart, I'm inspired.

#holidaycards #walmart #magicmikexxl #smh #picoftheday #project365 #day307

Day 308 2016

Crafting for kindergarten

#craft #art #create #november #orange #red #yellow #shadesoffall #picoftheday #project365 #day308

Day 307 2017

Found a whole bag of newspaper plastics on my walk...

#walk #outdoors #plastic #trash #pickitup #throwitaway #notthathard #everydayisearthday #nastytrash #november #picoftheday #project365 #day307

Day 307 2018

Red vine

#fall #autumn #vine #nature #outdoors #flora #red #leaves #fallleaves #november #picoftheday #project365 #day307

Day 307 2019

Spent my extra hour today processing a few images. Enjoy

#light #color #playtime #frozen #ice #flowers #mum #chrysanthemum #purple #pink #nature #extrahour #fallforward #daylightsavingstimeends #november #november3 #2019 #nationalday #nationaldaycalendar #picoftheday #project365 #day307

I think of all the flowers I've frozen the mums did the best.

Day 308 2020

Another week down

#garden #pumpkin #crow #flowers #twilight #tistheseason #fall #falldecorations #falldecor #november #november3 #2020 #picoftheday #project365 #day308

Day 307 2021

Bzzzz

Not sure if it's a bee or wasp...thoughts?

#insect #closeup #nature #buzz #november #november3 #2021 #picoftheday #project365 #day307

Day 307 2022

Just breathe

#breathe #oceanbreath #gulf #water #beach #shore #waves #november #november3 #2022 #picoftheday #project365 #day307

Day 307 2023

I get so caught up i the moment of getting a shot that sometimes the waves get me 🤷🏻‍♀️

*note cat trap worked beautifully on Leo*

#carrieandleo #beach #water #wave #ocean #sand #barnacles #cattrap #imissmybaby #november #november3 #2023 #picoftheday #project365 #day307

I almost lost Leo in one of the waves that I think this is the last one near the water! 😅

Day 308 2024

Prickly pear on the prairie

#colorpop #dailytheme #pricklypear #cactus #prairie #november #november3 #2024 #picoftheday #project365 #day308

[plantsgeoph]

English:

Plant Name: Drooping Prickly Pear

Scientific Name: Opuntia monacantha

Origin: Native to South America, particularly Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Description:

The drooping prickly pear is a type of cactus known for its flat, oval-shaped pads that tend to droop or hang over as the plant matures. It can grow up to 15 feet tall and forms a bushy appearance with branching pads. The plant produces yellow or orange flowers in the spring, followed by reddish-purple, edible fruits called “tunas.” The pads are covered in clusters of small spines or glochids, which are tiny barbed hairs that can easily detach.

Care:

• Light: Requires full sun for healthy growth.

• Water: Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings. It is highly drought-tolerant.

• Temperature: Prefers warm, dry conditions and can tolerate some cold but not frost for extended periods.

• Soil: Well-draining, sandy or gravelly soil.

• Fertilizer: Little fertilizer is needed; apply a balanced cactus fertilizer during the growing season.

• Pruning: Prune dead or damaged pads to control size and encourage growth.

Uses:

The drooping prickly pear is grown for its ornamental value, especially in xeriscape or desert gardens. Its fruits are edible and used in jams, jellies, or eaten fresh. The pads (called “nopales”) are also used in some cuisines, especially in Mexican cooking. The plant is also used as a natural barrier due to its spiny structure.

Español:

Nombre de la Planta: Nopal Caído

Nombre Científico: Opuntia monacantha

Origen: Originario de América del Sur, especialmente de Argentina, Brasil y Uruguay.

Descripción:

El nopal caído es un tipo de cactus conocido por sus almohadillas planas y ovaladas que tienden a caer o colgar a medida que la planta madura. Puede crecer hasta 4.5 metros de altura y forma una apariencia arbustiva con almohadillas ramificadas. La planta produce flores amarillas o naranjas en primavera, seguidas de frutos comestibles de color púrpura rojizo llamados “tunas”. Las almohadillas están cubiertas de pequeños racimos de espinas o gloquidios, que son diminutos pelos con púas que se desprenden fácilmente.

Cuidados:

• Luz: Requiere pleno sol para un crecimiento saludable.

• Riego: Riega con moderación, dejando que el suelo se seque completamente entre riegos. Es muy tolerante a la sequía.

• Temperatura: Prefiere condiciones cálidas y secas; tolera algo de frío, pero no las heladas prolongadas.

• Suelo: Suelo bien drenado, arenoso o pedregoso.

• Fertilización: Se requiere poca fertilización; aplica un fertilizante balanceado para cactus durante la temporada de crecimiento.

• Poda: Poda las almohadillas muertas o dañadas para controlar el tamaño y fomentar el crecimiento.

Usos:

El nopal caído se cultiva por su valor ornamental, especialmente en jardines xerófilos o desérticos. Sus frutos son comestibles y se usan en mermeladas, jaleas o se consumen frescos. Las almohadillas (nopales) también se usan en algunas cocinas, especialmente en la cocina mexicana. La planta también se utiliza como barrera natural debido a su estructura espinosa.

[littleapocalypsekitten]

I grew up in the Sonoran Desert and it IS that pretty. A saguro cactus is a neat thing to stand up near. Watch out for cholla. Seeing quail is cool. Prickly pears in winter go all kinds of beautiful purple. But it does hit triple digits (F) for much of the summer, which sucks. Dry heat isn't as bad as wet heat, but there's a point where it doesn't matter and is just horrible. I want to go visit home more (I'm on the East Coast / temperate climate now), but I don't want to live there again. Neat place to grow up, but it's a pretty harsh place for a good part of the year. "Winter" is awesome, though.

“oh, I live in a desert and-”

“wow that must be so terrible” “deserts are so ugly” “I would never want to live in a wasteland like that” “it’s just empty nothingness”

wishing 10,000 exploding hammers upon you

behold New Mexico

[ID 1: tall, snowcapped rocky mountains rising above a plain filled with desert scrub

ID 2: brightly colored banded cliff walls of several mesas climbing their way into mountains

ID 3: a desert prairie

ID 4: colorful hoodoos against a twilight sky

ID 5: white sand dunes as far as the eye can see

ID 6: a collection of hoodoos against a stormy sky at sunset

ID 7: a juniper tree standing with a cliff wall in the background

ID 8: several juniper trees on a rocky landscape]