The foliage is just as impressive as its flowers, which are pink. Very well-suited for mild Southern California winters. And those rare o...Read Moreccasions when we do get frost, the leaves remain unscathed. The plant flowers in the spring time, so be sure to fertilize on the last week of February, preferably with fish-based fertilizer (Salmon or Mackerel leftovers). Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer works well. If you have no other fertilizer, use kitchen scraps, like egg shells, leftover meat or fish, and bury it at least an inch below the soil surface.
I grow this plant in pots. I have a pink one and a purple one. They love to bloom and grow. The purple makes red fruits and the pink one ...Read Moremakes green fruits.
I have grown this plant for several years now. I got an 'innocent' cutting from a local cactus nut, about 2' long that was just a spiny p...Read Moreiece of wood. Two years later the entire back of my planter was a massibe, spiny green wall of cactus over 10' tall and nearly as wide! This is a FAST-growing species! I have had to cut it back at least once a year. And let me tell you, this is a nasty plant to have to deal with. It has incredibly sharp, thin, long spines that penetrate any glove I have tried. And the spines radiate it all directions making it nearly impossible to handle (secret is grabbing it by the branch tips where the flowers and fruits are- no spines, yet). I have since grown my own cuttings off this and they are amazingly easy. Anyone want one? Flowers are an attractive pale pink and then they morph into weird, small knobby apple-like fruits that fall off all over the place (haven't tried to eat one yet). Leafless in winter
A great plant! Nearly indestructible. For 5-6 years I've had several I grew from seed. I can't really figure out a system to get it to bl...Read Moreoom, but when it does, it goes crazy. Easy from seed, and can be propagated by cutting shoots and letting them sit in a jar of water. Some seedings have developed with spines, but others have none at all. This is a nearly foolproof houseplant.
This is a cactus with (surprise!) broad leaves. A medium shrub, with thick but fleshy leaves and beautiful white, tan or pink flowers wit...Read Moreh lots of coloured stamens. The fruit is a curious structure, even with small leaves on it, looking more part of the stems than actual fruits.
The plant requires full sun and well drained soils, preferably rich neutral organic soils, but may tolerate acidic ones. The only remnants of "cactus" on this plant are the flowers and the tiny hairs around the foliar nodes (which, in common cacti, turns into a crown of spines around one or more bigger spines)
The leaves are used in green salads, or can be cooked. "Pray-For-Us" is the translation of its popular name in Brazil, though I don´t know why it's called this.
It's very easy to propagate from cuttings - I had two cutting that I forgot for three days in my back pack. When I remembered it, the leaves were all squashed, so I planted it expecting nothing but death, but they are currently doing well, sharing the vase with a crinum. Quite an interesting experience.
The foliage is just as impressive as its flowers, which are pink. Very well-suited for mild Southern California winters. And those rare o...Read More
I grow this plant in pots. I have a pink one and a purple one. They love to bloom and grow. The purple makes red fruits and the pink one ...Read More
I have grown this plant for several years now. I got an 'innocent' cutting from a local cactus nut, about 2' long that was just a spiny p...Read More
Other common names are "Guamacho Morado, Quiabento & Sabonete.
More synonyms of this plant are Pereskia grandifolia subsp....Read More
A great plant! Nearly indestructible. For 5-6 years I've had several I grew from seed. I can't really figure out a system to get it to bl...Read More
This is a cactus with (surprise!) broad leaves. A medium shrub, with thick but fleshy leaves and beautiful white, tan or pink flowers wit...Read More