I'd like to purchase a pad or two of a cold hardy spineless (or nearly spineless) Opuntia that I can plant in a pot or in the ground in Salt Lake City that has a decent chance to survive our winters.
Opuntia basilarus is native to Utah and is almost completely spineless (it does have lots of glochids, but no big spines), and our native Gopher tortoises eat it quite happily, which would be a good option except that it only grows in southern Utah and doesn't do well in the colder northern Utah climate...
Searching online I've found a few other varieties that are listed as spineless but very few results that are OK in hardiness zones of 7a or colder. I did find one that grows all over eastern Canada called Opuntia cacanapa "Ellisiana" that should fit my needs very nicely, but all of the for sale listings I've seen so far have VERY mixed reviews ranging from OK, to rotten product, to being shipped something entirely different than what was advertised.
I figure I'm more likely to get what is promised from a forum like this, assuming someone out there actually has an Opuntia that doesn't have large "danger daggers" all over it and that might have a chance of surviving through the winter.
If you have something like that, please let me know what your price would be for a couple of pads including shipping to ZIP Code 84070. Thanks!
Opuntia basilarus is native to Utah and is almost completely spineless (it does have lots of glochids, but no big spines), and our native Gopher tortoises eat it quite happily, which would be a good option except that it only grows in southern Utah and doesn't do well in the colder northern Utah climate...
Searching online I've found a few other varieties that are listed as spineless but very few results that are OK in hardiness zones of 7a or colder. I did find one that grows all over eastern Canada called Opuntia cacanapa "Ellisiana" that should fit my needs very nicely, but all of the for sale listings I've seen so far have VERY mixed reviews ranging from OK, to rotten product, to being shipped something entirely different than what was advertised.
I figure I'm more likely to get what is promised from a forum like this, assuming someone out there actually has an Opuntia that doesn't have large "danger daggers" all over it and that might have a chance of surviving through the winter.
If you have something like that, please let me know what your price would be for a couple of pads including shipping to ZIP Code 84070. Thanks!