permaculture

["Ava Devenport" <essenheal@iname.com>]

Joseph:

I had brought some prickly pear cactus from Colorado with me to Indiana, 
planted them outside in the spring, and they survived very well.  I don't 
know what variety they were, but if you contact a Southwest plant 
specialist, they could probably send you in the right direction, or furnish 
them for you.  There's one company I know of in New Mexico (?) and they 
have a website at   www.plantsofthesouthwest.com

The cactus I brought with me were basically thornless, but what I 
considered more dangerous are those teeny-tiny little 'prickles' that get 
into your skin, itch, burn and are VERY hard to see.  They really hurt and 
sting when you try to pull them out, too.  You can ask my Mom.  I had 
potted the cactus from a bed I had in my yard, placed them on my passenger 
front seat in the car (part leather/part cloth) and the little prickles, 
unbeknownst to me, got into the cloth.  A week later, Mom and I went 
shopping and those nasty little critters work their way through her clothes 
into her skin.  It took months to get them all out of both Mom and the 
seat.  I'd rather deal with the thorns, at least you can see them, I had 
never even considered the tiny little 'hairs' on it, nor the pain and 
discomfort associated with them.

If you do get some, please be wary of the little devils, wear some good 
thick gloves when handling, don't get them on your clothes and DEFINITELY 
peel them!  I brought mine from Colorado, USDA zone 5, which is consistent 
with zoning in Indiana also.  They should have no problem in NC, especially 
if you get them out of CO or NM.

Blessings,
Ava