Flushed with success
W
HILEbeachcombinglast
year,I stumbledacrossa
miracle.It wasaboutthe
sizeof a bagelandroughly
asthick,butasrareasa mermaidona
skateboard.There,amongsttheflotsam
andjetsam,wastheglistening fleshy
ellipseof anOpuntialeaf!
Mymindracedaboutwherethis
vegetativerefugeecouldhavecome
from.Aseverybotanistknows,Opuntia
(akathepricklypear)is a memberof the
cactusfamilyand,likeallthecacti clan,
harksfromtheAmericas.
Ourshoresarewashedwithtrade
winds,weatherandseawaterfromthe
Gulfof Mexico,socouldthisOpuntiahave
bobbedherefromtheBahamas?Or
evenfurther– allthewayfromTabasco?
Withouta luggagetagorplantlabel,it
wasimpossibletosay,butI knewthat
thisstrandedstraydeservedthechance
of a newlifein mygreenhouse.
Therearemanybooksoncacti,and
allwilltellyouthesepricklycustomers
arechild’splaytopropagate.Breaka bit
off and leave it in a sunny spot and, after
Sometimesnothingbeatsa cheekydrink,asToby
discovers while propagatinganeccentricpricklypear
“Years oftrial
and tollaren’t
necessary”
awhile,rootswillappearfromthecallus
aroundthewound,at whichpointit’sinto
grittycompost,andtheplantis away.
Well,myOpuntiahadn’treadthebooks
- orat least,itsmemoryhadbeenwashed
duringthosesaltyyearsat sea.Shortof
mouth-to-mouth,I triedeverythingtoget
thelumpygreenleaftoroot:bakingon
a windowsill;beingblanketedin moist
newspaper;eventhesaunatreatmentof
a heatedpropagator.Butnothingseemed
towork...untilI taskedmysontowater
thegreenhousewhileI wasaway.
It obviouslyenjoyedhishapless,
rushedsplashing.Aftera fewdaysof
Eddie’s ‘care’, it was happily rooting and
Points of interest
shootingin equalmeasure.Proof– if it
wereneeded– thatyearsof study,trial,
toilandprofessionalqualificationsaren’t
necessarytohavesuccessasa gardener.
I alsogottothebottomof theplant’s
origin,afterspottinga pottedOpuntiaof
thesameilkgrowingbehinda beachhut
justupthepathfromwheremine ‘swam’
ashore. Tabasco, indeed!
SUMMERis a goodtimetopoton
cacti,astheplantsarein growth.
Usea cacticompost,ormakeyour
ownwitha 1:5ratioof horticulturalgr
andJohnInnesNo2compost.My
cactusis a thorn-lessvariety– possibly
O.engelmanniitardospinaf.inerme
- soprotectionwhenhandlingisn’t
necessary,butif youhavea spikytype,
thenewspapertrickworksa treat.Roll
a sheetintoa 1in(2½cm)stripandwrap
asa bandaroundtheplant.Pinched
tight,thepaperbecomesa handle
thatallowsyoutoliftandsafelypotthe
cactus without handling the spiny stems.
All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited
Myeccentriccactusseems
to berespondingnicelytoa
generous watering!
Nativepricklypears
areusedtothrivingin
Insets: Alamyparched conditions
Potting on a cactus
Usenewspaperwhen
handling spiky types
Alamy
To b y’s top tips
1
Thehardiervarietiesofprickly
pearwillgrowoutdoorsif they
aregivena veryfree-drainingsoil
and a protected spot in the sun.
2
Plantonmoundstoaiddrainage,
andaddbagsofgrittothesoil,
plusmoreasa thickmulcharound
thestems– thismeansnoweeding
amongst the cacti’s prickles.
Alamy
Asforwhereminecame
from,a beachsiderelative
is identifiedaslivinga lot
closer than Tabasco...
Main image: Toby Buckland
58 AMATEUR GARDENING24 AUGUST 2019
Toby Buckland
