Cactus Opuntia Microdasys var. Albispina

Today, I present you with a cactus that you should not allow yourself to be deceived by its soft and appealed appearance, since under this appearance are the feared spines that if you nail them in, you can catch tapping and magnify. It is the Opuntia Microdasys var. Albispina, originally from Mexico has different common names, but the most common are white rabbit ears and angel wings.

Not many things are known about this Opuntia; it is made up of flattened leaves called “pencas” and covered with white tips that are white spikes, which as I said before, if you get punctured by bad luck, you can settle down because you’re bored with thorns.

They are relatively easy to care for, being able to survive on any substrate as long as it is not exposed to too much moisture (since too much moisture is the most direct way to kill the plant). It may be directly exposed to solar radiation all year round, but the season where it is strongest is recommended to protect it in some way to prevent burns. Examples that just start to take root, that is, recent cuttings try to provide half-shadow all year, so this is a way to prevent the sun from taking too much humidity.

Irrigation often in the hot season, once every fortnight in the spring, once a week in the summer, once a month in the autumn and stop giving water completely in the winter. It tolerates heat well and can be exposed to minimum temperatures of up to five degrees negative, as long as it is not very tracked. A clear sign that our cactus has suffered a deadly frost is that we can see its leaves (or fronds) becoming black and then falling.

If I had to say anything wrong with this Opuntia, it would be bloom. It blooms in the summer, between June and August offering large, very open and colorful flowers that vary between yellow, orange, red and even purple and appear on the edges of the leaves. When it is marred, it gives way to a very sweet edible small fruit reminiscent of berries. Now you’re wondering, and what’s the patch? So that only adult plants are ready to give flowers, and as you can see from the photograph, I still have a lot of time to enjoy this specimen.