S.WI, more like z4, prickly pear is hardy here, more likely to die from
damp/diseases and competition from grasses than from cold tenderness. As
you can imagine, under these conditions fruiting isn't common; I got to try
ONE once. As I recall, it was tastey but I didn't pine for more, and anyway
on this topic we get into taste-bud and cultivar differences. Didn't get
sick.
Does anyone know if the cold hardy varieties are edible? If not is it that
they are not palatable or are they poisonous? I've got one growing here in
zone 5 that I got a start from a neighbor a while back. It has smaller
fruits than those I've seen in the store.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lon ]
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 6:03 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Opuntia?
There isn't a group for it, partly because the ones that exist were
developed by Luther Burbank and they aren't cold hardy. 25 F will damage or
kill many of them. The California Rare Fruit Growers http://www.crfg.org
does work with them, and there are a number of people working with several
types of edible cactus on Leo Manuel's Rare Fruit newsletter. Look for
Pitaya. Leo's e-mail to get on the mailing list is: "Leo Manuel"
<leom@rarefruit.com>
From: william anderson
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Opuntia?
hello. I'm interested in finding a source of spineless prickly pear. I've
heard that someone has developed such a variety. Thanks.
Is anyone either involved in an Opuntia (prickly pear) interest group,
or just plain interested? I had a request for the name of the
chairperson of that interest group, and I don't see any record of such a
group.