Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

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AnthonyT
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Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by AnthonyT »

I'd like to grow a couple of spineless, or near spineless Opuntia, fast growing preferably as they are for tortoise food and he's a big lad! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_spurred_tortoise
They are excellent tortoise fodder, as they have a good calcium to phosphorus ratio which is important, and lots of fibre!

Opuntia Ellisiana I've heard of, any other's worth considering, ideally hardy enough to be outside all year with a little protection from excessive wet?

IMG_2541.JPG
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habanerocat
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by habanerocat »

Opuntia ficus-indica is easily got and is certainly frost hardy and spineless if you can find the right cultivar.

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... uth_Africa

I always enjoyed this image of Einstein, he is inspecting a Luther Burbank spinless variety in the Huntington Botanical Gardens.
e9a834c29912d0f7affeb746f3c14b9b--cactus-pictures-einstein-quotes.jpg
e9a834c29912d0f7affeb746f3c14b9b--cactus-pictures-einstein-quotes.jpg (80.78 KiB) Viewed 3760 times

He developed many spinless cultivars. You may be able to find some with a bit of searching.

http://www.lutherburbank.org/about-us/s ... ess-cactus

Hope this helps in your search............
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ragamala
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by ragamala »

Never mind the spines, what about the glochids? Wouldn't fancy those on my tongue.

Albert E may have been a genius but if he fingered the areoles without problem he must also have been superhuman.
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KarlR
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by KarlR »

I doubt you'll find any Opuntias fast-growing enough for your tortoise if you're going to grow it/them outside. Unless you're seeing the Opuntia pads as more of a snack from time to time.

I'd also guess O. ficus-indica is the best bet, but I suppose you'll either need quite a few plants if grown outside, or else you'll need a greenhouse for them.

Most of the lower growing hardy Opuntias I just can't see growing fast enough when planted outside to keep your wee lad well supplied.

As for the glochids, I don't know if this would apply to all tortoises, but the Galapagos species at least eat Opuntia pads, spines and all.

A very handsome tortoise by the way! 🙂
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AnthonyT
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by AnthonyT »

KarlR wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:53 pm I doubt you'll find any Opuntias fast-growing enough for your tortoise if you're going to grow it/them outside. Unless you're seeing the Opuntia pads as more of a snack from time to time.

As for the glochids, I don't know if this would apply to all tortoises, but the Galapagos species at least eat Opuntia pads, spines and all.

A very handsome tortoise by the way! 🙂
Yeah, its more of a snack food, rather than a daily feed, 1 biggish pad every week or so in the summer would be good, so yes, probably 5 or more mature plants required I expect.

The Glochids are no problem for the tortoise, as you say, they will eat the spines as well, I was going to say easily, but i doubt that's the case even for them! but for my own well being when harvesting as well as his tongue, the less proper spines the better :shock:

I already have a Opuntia Compressa Monmouth, which is spineless, but I dont think its a particularly fast or large growing form.
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KarlR
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by KarlR »

AnthonyT wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:40 pm Yeah, its more of a snack food, rather than a daily feed, 1 biggish pad every week or so in the summer would be good, so yes, probably 5 or more mature plants required I expect.

The Glochids are no problem for the tortoise, as you say, they will eat the spines as well, I was going to say easily, but i doubt that's the case even for them! but for my own well being when harvesting as well as his tongue, the less proper spines the better :shock:

I already have a Opuntia Compressa Monmouth, which is spineless, but I dont think its a particularly fast or large growing form.
Maybe some on here can help you out with cuttings of ficus-indica?

I suppose if you happen to know anyone living by the Mediterranean they might be able to cut off and mail you some pads to get going in spring. At least in Italy and Spain I think they have become naturalised in quite a lot of places.

If not, I'd guess big nurseries like Uhlig or Haage could probably offer cuttings. Or maybe some English nurseries though, not being English, I'm not really familiar with any.

I don't think I've ever seen one on offer in ordinary garden stores.

Opuntia basilaris is spineless (and very pretty too), and O. compressa as you mention. But I'd think ficus-indica grows considerably faster than both of those. I'm not sure exactly how hardy ficus-indica is though.
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AnthonyT
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by AnthonyT »

habanerocat wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:02 pm Opuntia ficus-indica is easily got and is certainly frost hardy and spineless if you can find the right cultivar.

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... uth_Africa

I always enjoyed this image of Einstein, he is inspecting a Luther Burbank spinless variety in the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

e9a834c29912d0f7affeb746f3c14b9b--cactus-pictures-einstein-quotes.jpg


He developed many spinless cultivars. You may be able to find some with a bit of searching.

http://www.lutherburbank.org/about-us/s ... ess-cactus

Hope this helps in your search............
That's a great picture, especially as most Opuntia seem to flop over and sprawl before getting anywhere near as tall as Einstein!
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Mike P
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by Mike P »

Feeding Opuntias to voracious reptiles whatever next.....
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AnthonyT
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by AnthonyT »

Mike P wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:35 pm Feeding Opuntias to voracious reptiles whatever next.....
accidentally clicked the tick icon which added the solved notification on your post :???:

can a admin/moderator revoke the solved notification please?
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Re: Spineless Opuntia Recommendation

Post by Phil_SK »

AnthonyT wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:47 pm accidentally clicked the tick icon which added the solved notification on your post :???:

can a admin/moderator revoke the solved notification please?
Done! (you just click the 'tick' icon again to toggle it off)

If you've got O. humifusa/compressa then I'd say you've already got the best option. I have this same Monmouth Co, NJ form and, for the size of plant, I'd say it produces new pads at a pretty fast rate for an Opuntia. If you could accommodate a 3m x 2m O.ficus-indica then, yes, the mass of new pads would be more than enough but a single rooted pad might not even produce one each year for the first few years. Break up your O. humifusa, root all the bits in rich but well-drained compost, keep it in the garden and I'd say that by the third year there should be enough new growth to provide a dozen pads for eating each year. If the attention paid to my plant by the snails and slugs is anything to go by, you'd be as well to train him to eat molluscs.
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
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