Scientific: Opuntia gomei (Synonyms: Opuntia gilvoalba, Opuntia laxiflora, Opubntia cyanella)
Common: Old Mexico pricklypear
Family: Cactaceae
Origin: South Texas Rio Grande Valley
Pronounciation: O-PUN-tee-a go-ME-i
Hardiness zones:
Sunset 12-24
USDA 8-11
Landscape Use: Xeric and arid desert landscape design themes, large cactus rock garden, barrier, screen, textural accent for large desert landscape areas only.
Form & Character: Upright, much branched, imposing, old fashioned Southwest desert impressions.
Growth Habit: Succulent perennial, moderate growth rate with much variation in its mature size.
Foliage/Texture: Flattened stems are jointed into fleshy pads (clades or cladodes) that are mostly rounded, sometimes oblong to elongate, 15 to 24 inches in diameter. Terminal clades have distinct, scalloped to wavy margins. Areoles have 2 to 5 yellow, stout, straight spines and a sometimes dense cluster of short glochids; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Mostly yellow, rarely white, apricot or magenta, 3- to 4-inches across, are borne on upper terminal margins of pads; fruit oblong, 2- to 3-inches long, reddish to dark purple.
Seasonal Color: Flowers in mid to later spring, fruit in summer.
Temperature: Highly heat tolerant, cold tolerant to 10oF.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: None after establishment.
Pruning: Prune by removing pad segments of any length to control spread.
Propagation: Cutting and dispersal of clades; as with other Opuntia species, just stick 'em in the ground.
Disease and Pests: None
Additional comments: This is an "old fashioned cactus" for creating that feeling of the old desert southwest.
