Hi Gwennie, I don’t think it’s a green plant. I think it’s supposed to be purple. The white lobes are a worry. I have to water it. But now I’m not 100% sure I want a prickly pear. So I’ve been not watering it. I kind of changed my mind.
I know. I heard about the devastation there. I thought about that before I planted mine, but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to be a problem here! Especially contained in my yard.
It covered a huge percentage of Queensland back in the day. The climate seemed perfect for it and it took off. hat and the rabbits nearly wiped the agricultural economy out.
That’s right. I was told that was a successful example of eco-control. Not the right word but you know what I mean. Invasive non-native organisms are devastating. I mention The Statues that Walked in my post about Easter Island. In that book the authors propose the theory it was the rats that came with the first settlers that killed all the trees.
My little prickly pear received a bit of water from the sky today. Not enough rain to fix the drought but probably just the right amount for my plant. So I better decide now if I really want it because I’ll need to pull it out while it’s small if I don’t. I’m leaning that way…though I do find it beautiful.
It’s amazing what one species can do to an eco-system. The North-East US, prior to the first white settlement was heavily forested. Why? Because they didn’t have earthworms. They came in the ballast barrels of ships servicing the fledgling colony. The worms ate the forest mulch of a couple of hundred years and changed the whole system. Unless you start throwing seeds from your cactus far and wide, I think your wee prickly pear will be innocuous. 🙂
Nicci Carrera 
Will the catus turn green again in Spring ?
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Hi Gwennie, I don’t think it’s a green plant. I think it’s supposed to be purple. The white lobes are a worry. I have to water it. But now I’m not 100% sure I want a prickly pear. So I’ve been not watering it. I kind of changed my mind.
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Poor cactus !!!! It is such a lovely plant ! Don’t you like cacti ? I do !!!
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Prickly Pear, definitely doesn’t have any friends whatsoever in Australia. 😦
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I know. I heard about the devastation there. I thought about that before I planted mine, but for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to be a problem here! Especially contained in my yard.
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It covered a huge percentage of Queensland back in the day. The climate seemed perfect for it and it took off. hat and the rabbits nearly wiped the agricultural economy out.
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Yes, I heard about it being everywhere, as far as the eye could see. 😦
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Where it originated it had a predator, the Cactoblastis beetle. Once they finally introduced that it knocked it on the head.
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That’s right. I was told that was a successful example of eco-control. Not the right word but you know what I mean. Invasive non-native organisms are devastating. I mention The Statues that Walked in my post about Easter Island. In that book the authors propose the theory it was the rats that came with the first settlers that killed all the trees.
My little prickly pear received a bit of water from the sky today. Not enough rain to fix the drought but probably just the right amount for my plant. So I better decide now if I really want it because I’ll need to pull it out while it’s small if I don’t. I’m leaning that way…though I do find it beautiful.
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It’s amazing what one species can do to an eco-system. The North-East US, prior to the first white settlement was heavily forested. Why? Because they didn’t have earthworms. They came in the ballast barrels of ships servicing the fledgling colony. The worms ate the forest mulch of a couple of hundred years and changed the whole system. Unless you start throwing seeds from your cactus far and wide, I think your wee prickly pear will be innocuous. 🙂
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I had no idea.
🙂
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