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HAVE: Etiolated Opuntia pads in need of good home

Hi, everyone!

I live in New York and only have window sills to offer my poor plants. Unfortunately, some of the cacti are badly etiolated for lack of sun.

What I thought was a San Pedro, reverted to a juvenile and turned into a Fairy Castle Cactus. This cactus grows as one stalk up to 8 feet in the Caribbean!

My opuntia just grew as one stacked 6" pad on top of another. It was so bad, I had to separate the pads into several smaller pots because I had a 6-pad "daggar" on my hands.

Now I have 4 rooted pads turning into 4 daggars and a 3-pad cactus on it's way to daggar city! This opuntia is supposed to grow into a beautiful, balanced, thick plant with "Bunny Ears" and flowers, then grow delicious Cactus Pear fruit. This is how it grows in the Caribbean, but in NYC...

So I have 5 Opuntia - 4 rooted single pads and a 3-pad plant - All skinny and etiolated. I will have to cut down that 3-pad plant for mailing. If anyone is interested in giving my poor butchered & skinny Opuntia (Tuna/Nopal) plants a warmer, sunnier, outdoor home, please let me know. I will ship bare root.

I can also throw in a rooted pup or two from one or two other cacti. I have Echinopsis and Cereus, as well, that need thinning out. Just let me know if you want them. The Cereus is supposed to grow one single 8' stalk when planted outdoors - If you cut it into 3 parts, all 3 parts will root, so easy to propagate. The Echinopsis is a Barrel Cactus that grows about 8" tall in an hour-glass shape and throws off tons of pups (with aerial roots) once it's matured (about 2-3 years). Also, if you cut it straight across, that piece will root, so also easy to propagate.

Interested primarily in finding a good home for these so they have an opportunity to grow properly & fruit. Will swap/trade for interesting succulent / cactus / variegated Rope Hoya / Tillandsia (non moss/non grass) air plants. I like interesting, undulated, ruffled, variegated colorful and "different" or "odd" plants - The kind that people point to and say, "What on earth is that?"

I already have and do not want the following, but all else are welcome:
- Deep green Jade (variegated varieties welcome)
- Stapelia
- Haworthia
- Huernia
- Opuntia Mycrodaisis
- Cereus (Fairy Castle Cactus)
- Echinopsis (Barrel Cactus)
- Kalanchoe
- Christmas Cactus
- Easter Cactus
- Sansevieria Cylindrica (African Spear)
- Sansevieria Trifasciata (Snake Plant)
- Euphorbia (Dragon Bones)
- Aloe
- Marginata
- Hawaiian Schefflera (Umbrella Tree)
- Chinese Evergreen
- Dieffenbachia

First Come/First served.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Comments (2)

  • greenman62
    10 years ago

    i am interested in Opuntia
    and Barrel Cactus

    i have lepismium Cruciforme cutting
    not rooted, but it is calloused.

    is this the kind of air-plant you wanted ?
    I have lots of these
    {{gwi:63307}}

    you can also check my list
    i have lots of stuff, especially
    fruit tree seeds, entheogens and medicinal herbs,
    dream herbs + seedlings

  • Maria Elena (Caribbean - USDA Zone 13a)
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Update:

    I'm happy to report that the larger Opuntia / Prickly Pear Cactus and three 6" pads have been adopted and moved to warmer climates - Good for them!

    I still have two 5" Opuntia pads available if anyone is interested. They are skinny for lack of adequate sunlight, but have always been fertilized and should recover quickly when gradually moved to full sun, thicken up, flower, and bear fruit. Just remember to keep these in containers or they will take over your yard!!

    I can include four 2" Echinopsis / Barrel Cactus and two small 5" Aloe Chinensis (flat, fan shaped, spotted, decorative and dainty) plants with them.

    Thank you to those three persons who have already responded and swapped plants with me. I hope to hear from one more person soon.

    Plants I am interested in:
    - Cacti/Succulent: Will welcome any interesting varieties that will do well in low-med sunlight and fit in a 2-4â pot to start. NO Opuntia of hanging cacti, please.
    - Grafted Moon Cactus in red &/or orange
    - Hoya Compacta (Hindu Rope: variegated preferred)
    - Hylocereus Undulatus (Dragonfruit Cactus)
    - Sedum Rubrotinctum (Jellybean: red, orange preferred)
    - Tillandsia (Air Plants: non-mossy/non-grassy, bulbous, thick leaves preferred)

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