What to do with flower bottoms?

[Pia]

As I have told, my Opuntias flowered outside in a rockery. As some of you suggested, I removed the flowers after blooming. What to do with these 'cups' under the flowers? Autumn with rains is coming, and these cups are going to be filled with water. Should I leave them or cut them off? If I leave them, where does the new growth emerge next spring? Or are they going to be dropped off by themselves?

[Greenlarry]

Let them ripen, eat them, and then sow the seeds...

[Pia]

I removed the flowers right after they had died, thus I think there will not be any seeds. Do these empty cups fall off by themselves?

[anders]

Do these empty cups fall off by themselves?

Yes, they dry up and fall off. I don't remember how long time it takes, two weeks perhaps.

[ragamala]

I have little experience with "growing" opuntias, at least in more northern areas, but have seen in Italy their habit and observed them in my garden. I am not sure why the remains here are cupped, in my experience - which is of course seeing opuntias untouched no flower removal - the fruits remain full-bodied, rounded and er fruity. It looks to me that these remains of the fruits are empty, I am not sure that these cups will actually contain any flesh and seeds. I would avoid picking them off as this may cause damage, probably less than letting water into the cups which have probably skinned over well by now. I have not seen a link between pad growth and fruit nodes.

I think they have done brilliantly flowering for you. I would leave them be. They will fall off in their own time. May be months.

Personally I would advise next year when they flower again you let nature take its course and leave the flowers be.

[Liz M]

These cups surely would be fruits by now, if the flowers were pollinated. Is it possible there are no insects pollinating your flowers? In fact, I have seen pictures of humming birds pollinating Opuntia flowers and I am certain you don't get them. As there are no Opuntias growing naturally where you live, it is very possible there are no pollinators either.

[ragamala]

Opuntias aren't fussy as to pollinators. In Italy and other Mediterranean countries where they have been imported they are easily fertilised by any passing insect! In Italy the fruits are often found sold in markets (known as Indian figs) for eating. Personally the hassle of getting rid of those glochids makes the whole idea of eating them impossible for me. I still have a glochid-phobia from my young years when my mother used to hang my socks to dry in my father's greenhouse where he grew opuntias. A sock fallen on an opuntia is not a pleasure to wear.

[Pia]

Thank you for your answers! I will leave the cups be. I removed the flowers soon after they were dead because I did not need the seeds and wondered if seed production would take the energy away from growing and preparing for the next winter (in Finland!). Moreover, one member suggested that these might be clones that do not produce seeds anyway.

Liz M, I know they are not producing any fruits because I did not want them to do so for the reason I just wrote above. There were A LOT of pollinators in those flowers, as you can see:

And for those who did not see the pictures previously, here are two more photos showing the flowers. This was their first winter outside in Finland, and we had the most terrible winter for plants in 30 years (a mixture of very warm (+10 C) and wet and extremely cold (-30 C) with very little snow protecting the plants). These four small Opuntias (O. fragilis 'Füssen') produced about 40 flowers.

[Diane]

I find that Opuntia flower stems take quite a while before they dry up and drop off, which they will, when they are ready, so don't be too hasty in trying to remove them.

[Pia]

Thanks, Diane! I will keep that on my mind.