My prickly friend - what is he?

[Andyman]

I have had this cactus for the past 5 years. It's a cold hardy cactus that I purchased from Lowes here in north Texas one late fall - they had a few small cacti that they were selling for under $2 on clearance. I bought a couple and this particular one was not really the one I was focused on. I planted the other and this one kinda got forgotten. Infact, the wind blew it across the yard in it's small plastic 4 inch pot during winter and I found it in the spring in the corner of my yard half under leaves.

The other cactus went mushy/limp and did not make it through the ice storm we had. I planted this cactus which was maybe no more than 3" tall in it's place. With the help of a few drops of Shultz 2-7-7 Cactus Plus Liquid Plant Food every now and then, this thing just keeps adding fresh pieces and you can see the result. In the past two years it has started to bloom flowers during spring and has now become my prized plant. I have an offshoot from it now planted in the front yard in the soil without a pot and it too is already starting to grow new pieces and it's only been out there for about a month. I'm real curious to see how well it does growing without a pot. I am betting it will grow even more vigorous as time goes by.

I do not have a label for this cactus so I do not know what it's called. Hoping some of the experts out there can tell me.

Regards!

[Kamos]

Cylindropuntia ,but not sure of the species. Maybe acanthocarpa?

[Shmuel]

I doin't know opuntiods at all, but a very nice specimen with great flowers!

[sundanz]

Cylindropuntia spp ( unknown ID). Grows just like the full sized Cane Cholla but much smaller with the same beautiful magenta- purple flowers. This plant needs little or no water but Zi prefer to give mine a little water now and then! Texas just gets too hot for no water!
Karin

[bluetexasbonnie]

The arms/segments will break off fairly easy. Keep it out of the pathway. Every segment will root. A blessing or a curse, depending upon where you live. If you live where these can grow natively, you might find the concepts in this posting useful: viewtopic.php?t=32367&p=285442#p285442

[sundanz]

This is not a Pencil Chollo! Spines are too short.

[Andyman]

Good information. Thanks everyone for posting.

[bluetexasbonnie]

Sundanz, I know it is not a pencil cholla. For one thing, it is way too fat. The flowers are also much too pretty. However, the 'care' of out of control chollas is roughly the same.

At this point, i don't know where Andyman lives. Out-of-control may not be an environmental possibility. ... in any case, whether possible or not, if kept in a pot and care is taken with broken pieces, it need never be a problem if you are forwarned. Hopefully Andy sees that posting as a humorous 'welcome'.

P.s. I had not noticed until I re-read the posting that the actual kind of cholla hadn't been given by anybody yet. It was so obviously not a pencil to me, that I didn't pay close attention to the lack of clarity. Peace?

[Andyman]

bluetexasbonnie - I'm in Texas, too. Dallas/Fort Worth area.

[bluetexasbonnie]

Hello Neighbor Andyman!