Does anyone know this cactus's name?

Pam Davis
by Pam Davis

I started this from a clipping of my neighbors big catus.I’m wondering if the flowers only open to this point or could I be doing more so they would grow bigger and open up more. Thanks in advance.

  19 answers
  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Apr 02, 2019

    that is about it they only last a day or so, the pods/fruit that the flowers are on are ready to eat when the flower falls off. Eat them either green or wait til they turn ruby red and are so sweet when red ripe, you can make lots of good stuff from them, the pads of prickly pear and the fruit are both edible here are recipes for both https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DIYprickly+pear+recipes you'll have alot YUMMY!!! here is great info. on growing cycles,harvesting and many great uses for all parts of prickly pears

  • Patricia Bourque Patricia Bourque on Apr 02, 2019

    looks like a prickly pear cactus

  • Frank Frank on Apr 02, 2019

    Indeed, l agree it certainly looks like a prickly pear cacti.


    Frank

    stay low, move swift, stay safe.

  • Judy Judy on Apr 02, 2019

    Prickly pear. We would see people selling the 'leaves' at the farmers market.

  • Betty Albright-Bistrow Betty Albright-Bistrow on Apr 02, 2019

    Hi Pam! It's a prickly pear cactus and are so beautiful when blooming!


  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Apr 02, 2019

    Hi there, Optuna (not sure of spelling) - common name - PRICKLY PEAR

  • Sarge Sarge on Apr 02, 2019

    Mine hasn't bloomed like that but it is a prickly pear cactus. I am however in New York and mine is a house plant.

  • Cate harris Cate harris on Apr 02, 2019

    hi... if you're saying you would like it to get bigger, just start increasing the size of the CLAY pot, not more than 1-1/2" every time . before you know it, you've created a monster! then let it almost dry out before you water it each time. give it a little sand/dirt mixture on top each time you re-pot. then ~ talk to it...

  • Cate harris Cate harris on Apr 02, 2019

    it's beautiful now...

    • Pam Davis Pam Davis on Apr 02, 2019

      Thank you. I agree! It’s just outside my window so I get to see it many times a day ❤️

  • Pam Davis Pam Davis on Apr 02, 2019

    Wow! So many replies. Thanks to you all. Now I know what this beauty is. Have it in a regular plastic flower pot in my small outside garden bed. I live in Florida where it gets very hot 🥵. I don’t have to do anything for it to keep growing. When a piece drops off it starts a new plant in the dirt. I have to keep removing them. What I wondered the most was if those pretty flowers were only suppose to grow to that particular point then stop. Or could I do more to get them to grow bigger and open up more. I just recently started to give them a flower fertilizer and what you see are the results. I love it as is but just had this wonder if I could do more to help the flowers get larger or was that the normal size.

    Again, thank you all so very much! 🤗💕

    • See 2 previous
    • Pam Davis Pam Davis on Apr 03, 2019

      Thank you. It is in a flower bed with a slight hangover roof but the sun is there. I live in FL.

  • Countrycharm Countrycharm on Apr 02, 2019

    nopales cactus when cooked in the Mexican culture it resembles green bean taste

  • Tracy D Jackman Tracy D Jackman on Apr 02, 2019

    His name shall be Fred!

  • Diana  west Diana west on Apr 02, 2019

    prickly pear cactus, the purple fruit is used to make jelly and other desserts

  • Adri Weir Adri Weir on Apr 02, 2019

    It is a Christmas cactus because it only blooms once a year

    • See 3 previous
    • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Apr 03, 2019

      not a christmas cactus (which are not really cactus at all they are Epiphytes) Prickly pear bloom end of Feb,March into April sometimes thru April(rarely) depends on weather conditions

  • Carrie Lee Kent Carrie Lee Kent on Apr 02, 2019

    Its calle a Christmas Cactus.

    Because it blooms around Christmas. My husbands late Granny and his late momma had a Huge Selection of this very plant.

    They always called it a Christmas Cactus so.....

    If im wrong, SOMEONE, ANYONE PLEASE SET ME STRAIT. I so have some starter offspring from thier Big Hige Plants. Blooms are Actually VERY PRETTY.

    ENJOY IT.

    • See 2 previous
    • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Apr 03, 2019

      Spines, so common on desert cactus, have been reduced to a minimum on this jungle Epiphyte- commonly called Thanksgiving Christmas & Easter cactus: all that remains are small soft hairs at the tips of the segments, so insignificant that you would probably never have noticed them if I hadn’t mentioned them. The older the Thanksgiving,Christmas or Easter cactus the more predominate the glochids. Glochids are tiny little hairs that grow on several members of the cactus family, including Thanksgiving,Christmas & Easter cacti.

  • Betty WeLton Betty WeLton on Apr 02, 2019

    Prickly Pear cactus

  • Lizbeth Lizbeth on Apr 02, 2019

    It doesn't look like a Christmas cactus to me. All of those I've ever seen had smooth leaves and this one has bumps. Same for Thanksgiving and Easter varieties. But it is hard to get a sense of scale from the photo.


    I'm not convinced it's a prickly pear either but I'm leaning that way. Prickly pears do have the teeny tiny spines in clusters (the bumps seen here) but usually the also have a few big spines. Also they fruit...hence, the name "pear." If this came from a neighbor's plant, does that one fruit?


    • See 1 previous
    • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Apr 03, 2019

      Like other cactus, most prickly pears and chollas have large spines -- actually modified leaves -- growing from tubercles -- small, wart-like projections -- on their stems. But members of the Opuntia genus are unique because of their clusters of fine, tiny, barbed spines called glochids.There are 12 varieties of fruiting Opuntia cactus. Opuntia engelmannii (Englemann'sPrickly Pear) is native to the Sonoran Desert. Opuntia ficus indica is a larger, cultivated prickly pear that is often thornless and therefore easily harvested. Every cacti produces fruit/seedpods some just are not as desirable by humans to eat however produce feed for many desert creatures.

  • Regina Regina on Apr 03, 2019

    I don't know the name but the flowers do get bigger.

  • SpudBread SpudBread on Jan 30, 2020

    Having lived on the Arizona desert for 20 years-- at first glance I instantly said PRICKLY PEAR -- all of these others have confirmed my diagnosis! The fruit is used for jellies and all sorts of sweet things-- and do BE CAREFUL of little spiney hair like things-- also as mentioned-- do not eat them of course! It looks like a very healthy and happy plant--- luv it and ENJOY it!