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Opuntia, a Wandering Cactus

A cactus that grows and thrives in New England. The pads get pretty tired looking in winter but it perks right up in the spring. A plant that can grow to several feet across, and plays nicely with other vegetative features in the garden. Great for a border or short retaining wall.

 

Each pad is a stem, and the stems are a kind of wandering modular growth form. This cactus spreads by vegetative (asexual) reproduction and when one of the pads breaks off it just starts a new plant.

 

 

 

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Uploaded on December 14, 2009
Taken on April 20, 2007