I picked this native cactus up at a lake

Hi, yeeh, I love cactus, when I talk of it, I will remember the Mocico,in my country, there is no cactus, at least, I have never seen some, except some in the flower pot.

I don't know how native they are, but hubby puts down a cactus pad anywhere he thinks one will grow. We love to eat the nopales but we buy them in a jar. I have bought the leaves from the market before and pickled them myself, but now that they are widely available and not that expensive we just buy the Dona Maria's. That is the one that tastes best to me. Hubby likes to eat the cactus fruit (tunas) but that is something I can live without. I did make jelly out of them once and it was good, but way too much effort for the result. Hubby and I both love cactus, especially in a salad. After writing this, it occurred to me that some people don't eat their cactus but rather just use it for landscaping.

How neat! I have always loved cacti, but I haven't had one in years. I think the last one I had (indoors) I killed it with too much water or something. There are NO native cactus here unfortunately, the winters here would surely kill them. I would love nothing more than to go out west and see those huge suagaro (spelling?) in the desert. The closest I can get to an old west look in my garden is by growing Yucca plants, seems like they don't mind these northern winters and can take any weather and any temp. They sure are hardy!

I love cactus. When I lived with my grandfather he had a beautiful succulent garden and then many cacti in containers. One time when I was exploring out in the Mojave Dessert we were exploring a canyon when there was a small flash flood, we scrambled up the steep side of the hill and waited for the water to recede. When it did I found an uprooted barrel. I took it home and had it for years. What was really cool about this cactus is that when the needles got wet they turned a dark burgundy color. It only flowered one time in all the years that I had it. It had a red flower.

Inmy experience Gerty, cactus do not do to well out of doors here in TN. Although we have very mild winters we do freeze and stay in the 30's and 40's much to cold. When I lived in AZ I loved the cacti and was always trying to make little gardens out of them. You learn real fast to wear proper clothing when landscaping with these succulents. In the end they are so beautiful.

There arent any cactus here growing naturally. I have one my grandma transplanted from 8 hours away where my other grandma's ranch is. There they have cactus growing natively all over. I found out at an early age not to sit on them cause they hurt! I dont like the cactus here in mu flower bed as i find that grass grows around it and its so hard to weed it properly so you can see it.

no I am in Canada here, there is no cactus plants at all that I know of, they need really warm weather, but we can buy them though

Yes, living in south Texas we have a lot of cactus around. We also call it prickly pear. My father in law used to live on the river and he had a lot of natural ranch land and there was cactus all over. It is real pretty when it blooms and some even eat them but I have never done that. I do know that the cactus stickers sure do hurt.

I don't think that we have any native cactus, but it wouldn't surprise me if we did. Sounds easy enough to grow. But I'm sure that my four year old would insist on helping me "grow" it and wind up with cactus splinters. She's really smart. She would only do that one time and then never again. I'm always cautioning her about things. But like most children, she insists on trying everything out for herself.

That's a really nice specimen of opuntia there! I really like cactus too. I used to have a whole bunch of them but once I had children I gave them all away because I didn't want the kids to fall on them and hurt themselves. They are so easy to take care of. I especially like the ones that have blooming flowers. I never dared to take an ear of one from the wild though. When the kids get older I might just do the same thing you did. It is a nice way to keep a remembrance of a visited place.

Cacti do grow wild here occassionally, although I've no idea if they are native. I'd guess that the larger sorts have been introduced. We have a cacti garden at the top of our garden, with probably about 25 plants. It looked beautiful last year, though it's a little neglected now. That part of the garden has very little top soil, so cacti work well there where nothing else will.

Though I don't know the proper name, around, we have some that most people in these parts call prickly pares.

I do not believe that the conditions are right for the cactus to be able to do well in the uk,but I have grown some,they were not big,but they were very attractive in thier own way,and I have also grwon aloes ,they turned out well,but my favourite is the christmas cactus,the red or pink flowers are a sight to be seen,and a good show is in in time for Santa coming.

That is nice, I would grow something like that If I had the room to grow it. Have you found any more besides at the lake?

Wow that is so cool. It gets too cold here for cactus. I dont think they could stand the below 0 temperatures in winter.