Opuntia macrocentra

Description

Rooted single paddles of Opuntia macrocentra, a beautiful, purple paddle cactus that produces showy yellow flowers with a brilliant red center. Compared to Santa Rita, these have enormous black spines that are the most visible when the cactus is grown in full sunlight. Product image is the mother plant; gallery shows the cacti availabile.

These love bright sunshine, hot weather, and to be kept on the dryer side. Opuntia grow in one season per year, usually spring through summer, producing a single round of new paddles that grow and harden off over the summer and fall – and the cacti hold tight over winter, just to start over again in spring!

This makes them ideal container cacti for those who want to develop sculptural looking specimens that can overwinter with minimal impact (although they’ll still need supplemental lighting if kept indoors) and can be moved back outdoors as weather improves.

After receiving your cacti, don’t immediately move them into full sunlight – give them a few days in shade, a few days in partial shade, and then move them into full sun after that. They look best with full sun and mild under-watering, which stresses them enough to blush that brilliant purple color that is so striking. The cactus will not stay purple unless it’s receiving adequate sunlight, and the giant black spines that differentiate it from Opuntia santa-rita don’t develop if the cactus is kept in too much shade.

Shipped bare root (no pot, no soil) in compliance with CA regulations.