Cactus pads

[Raymo2477]

Yay! The grocery store near me just got cactus pads in.

What do you do to prepare them? They appear to have the spines removed (unlike the opuntia fruit they sell!)

Also what is a good portion for an adult Hermann's and can you freeze/dehydrate it for later use?

Any advice appreciated!!!

 

[wellington]

Just chop in up in smaller pieces. Take off any big spines. Some will scrape or burn off the tiny hair like spines. I don't. I have tried freezing it. It was not a great idea. Just leave sit out and you might even get new growth, I did. If you are in planting zone 4 or higher, plant some in the ground and start growing some yourself. I live in Chicago and I have it growing like crazy.

 

[Masin]

Excuse me while I give you dirty looks! It's been hard to find any ( read: impossible) since we moved
I scraped ours with a butter knife and sliced em thin but our kiddo is a sulcata newb.

 

[Raymo2477]

I have one growing out back but it is full of spines .

I'll try to root on of the pads. I used to work at a greenhouse and I used to grow Christmas cactus from random broken off bit for fun.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[CactusVinnie]

Raymo,

Do you have a SPINY Opuntia growing wild and outdoors in PA?? You do have indeed a native cactus there, Opuntia humifusa, but with few spines if at all. Can you post some pics, if yours it's a species hardy outdoors in PA?

 

[GBtortoises]

Opuntia humifusa is also native to southern New York state but can be grown outdoors in much of central New York state up to about the center of the state, basically using I-90 (the NYS Thruway) as the dividing line. It can likely be established north of that line in certain environmental pockets too. It grows very well outdoors at my house which is in the northern Catskills at about 2,200 feet above sea level.
Can't speak for elsewhere, but all O. humifusa I've seen growing in the wild is loaded with fine spines!

 

[CactusVinnie]

Thanks for details, GB!
Where do you live, more precisely? Oneonta?
Your O. humifusa is native to your location in the Catskills, or brought from a nearby location? And when you refer to "fine spines", you mean the glochids, those short, hair-like ones present in budles on almost each areole, or REAL spines?
I have a few NJ plants- most spineless, but some with only a few spines on the top of the pad.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Yay! The grocery store near me just got cactus pads in.

What do you do to prepare them? They appear to have the spines removed (unlike the opuntia fruit they sell!)

Put the pad in front of my torts and they take it from there!

Also what is a good portion for an adult Hermann's and can you freeze/dehydrate it for later use?

About 1/3 to 1/2 pad, depending on the pad's size...offer 1/2 a pad and see if any is left.

Never tried freezing or drying it, so can't offer insight there.

Any advice appreciated!!!

You can also chop the pad into 1 cm squares and mix it w/ other foods, like soaked Marion or Mazuri.

Would you like me to send you some spineless Opuntia? I've got 3 or 4 varieties growning (no idea what ssps they are, though).