I recently went on an archeological dig to Israel. On one of my day trips I stopped by Qumran (where the dead sea scrolls were discovered) and I picked a piece of cactus off one of the local plants. Im quite excited to say it is growing well in my backyard, enjoying the warmth of the sun while it lasts. However, the nights seem to be getting cooler and cooler progressively. You may or may not know how harsh and inconsistent a NY winter can be. So, I am worried about my warm-loving cactus which has never seen a cold day in the west bank and must now experience a New York winter. Do you have any recommendations on keeping it indoors? Is there anything I can do to help it survive the winter? Does it require any extra lighting/heat? Thank You Lorenzo
We keep different cactus and succulents indoors as house plant all year round. We plant them in sandy soil, put them in the brightest window sill and make sure the temps never go below 10 deg C/50 deg F where the cacti live. They often bloom for us too, so our way of keeping them can't be too bad.
thank you, that helps alot. I have it in regular black soil right now. Its probably some form of manure. Should I relocate it into a sandy substrate and if so how would I go about doing this without damaging the roots. Lorenzo
Cactus generally live in sandy soil with good drainage. They won't need transplanting very often because of their slow growth rate. This is how I transplant our cacti: Pick a pot about a cm (1/2 inch) wider than the old one, put some gravel or leca in the bottom for drainage, and a layer of soil on top. Tip the cactus carefully out of it's pot, and check the roots. If it's terribly root bound, try loosening the roots a bit without breaking them off. Put the cactus in the new pot, fill up with soil in the gap, press it lightly down, and water normally. If the cactus is very spiny, wear gloves or ball some household paper around the hand you're going to handle the cactus with. Otherwise repotting might be a very painful experience. Good luck with your souvenir-cactus.
I know its a little late but here is a picture of the 'souvenir cactus' from Qumran, Israel. Growing well. What do ya think? Anyone have any suggestions as to when I should bring it indoors in a temperate climate like New York? -Lorenzo
Lovely cactus! I generally bring my plants inside when night temps are around 10 C/50 F. Is that a fig cactus?
I believe that's a Prickly Pear Cactus, when it gets enough sun it will have yellow blooms, then the pears form. In late summer/early fall when they are a dark red wine color then is the time to pick and eat them. They make really good jelly too. The pads, Nopales, can be peeled and eaten too. The one in our neighbors yard made it thru a couple of light snows we had last winter. It lost a few of the younger pads but the basic plant came thru fine. But in your weather, definitely take it in before first frost. Cool nights and days won't hurt it, but the frost will. As far as the soil goes, most everyone here has them growing in our black clay. Out further west they grow in clay, sand or whatever they can find actually.
Ah, so that's what you call them. "Fig cactus" is a translation from Norwegian, sorry. I didn't know you could eat the pads. Do you just peel and eat or do you prepare them by cooking or such first? I learn something new every day!
I haven't had a desire to try them but this site is full of info on eating them and the fruit. Now for my next magical trick I shall actually insert the web link INTO the message http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/nopalitos.htm
are you sure its prickly pear?... i dont want to eat it and find out its not lol. well it will still be a long time before it starts making fruit because it is not that big. I will probably bring it indoors around the end of october.
It looks like prickly pear to me. We have a lot of them here in Arizona. I've made jelly from the fruit. It's full of stickers though so it's done carefully. The best way to extract the juice is to freeze the fruit. After a couple of weeks set over a colander and let mash a bit and let the juice drain. You will have to strain it through fine cloth to get out all of the stickers. You won't however have stickers in all of your fingers. dooley
Do a google search for Prickly Pear Cactus, you will find all sorts of pictures of your plant. How much sun is it getting? It really doesn't have to be older to have blooms. If it gets enough hot sun it will bloom when it is no older or larger than the one you have. But in NY it will probably take longer.
It definitely looks like a Prickly Pear to me also. I didn't know they grew in Israel, that's pretty cool. I remember a few years ago during the "epidemic" around AZ, the ones in my front yard got the white fungus prickly pear disease and we had to knock off dozens of pads from each plant to save them...
the pads didnt look like any prickly pear pictures i found... (boy thats a tongue twister). It hasn't flowered. But is it true you can eat the pads?
I have a question about bringing cactus indoors. I had one that did really well then it started dying on me. I was told that I needed to put it in the dark and not water it during the winter months except maybe once every three months instead of once monthly. Do you do this with your cactus? I reallly would like to get another one.
