OPUNTIA HUMIFUSA

Description

Large, yellow, waxy-petalled flowers with orange centres grow along the margins of the mature, succulent flattened leaf segments. Barbed bristles are found around the surfaces of the segments, and longer spines are sometimes present. As the juicy edible red fruits mature they change colour from green to red, and often remains on the cactus until the following spring.

Sowing Advice

These seeds have already been thoroughly cleaned and should be sown into a well-drained, sandy compost at any time of the year, and covered thinly with sand or grit and kept moist. They need a cold period (fridge) in damp compost, not dry, for 2 to 3 weeks before raising the temperature to 20-25 degrees C. Seeds sometimes germinate within 4 to 6 weeks. Please be patient. Plant out in the open ground in well-drained soil or in a large container elsewhere.

Key Facts