4

There are two large, about 35 yo Opuntia engelmanii in my yard in Phoenix Arizona USA. Both recently flowered extensively and the fruits are now maturing. I've lived here about 6 months. There is no irrigation in this area of the yard, and I have not watered them (ever). Rainfall last winter was about 1/3 of normal and the previous monsoon season had little rain. So it's been dry even by local standards.

I noticed this week that some pads of one of the plants are turning yellow. In this picture you can see the yellowing, which was not present a month ago. The other plant, only a few feet away, is nearly twice the size and shows no yellowing.

Is this a problem? I could be convinced that this is part of the normal aging of the plant -- this species gets woody near the base. But I also know cacti can get into trouble beyond the point of salvage quickly. I see plenty of cactus turning yellow/rotting questions on this site but they seem to all be about potted cactus, so they don't really apply.

Yellowed Cactus

Bryan Hanson
  • 141
  • 3
  • The cactus in the background looks a bit yellow, as well. – csk Jun 20 '21 at 22:15
  • That's some kind of *Cereus*; it has been that color since we moved here, so I'm a little less worried about it. – Bryan Hanson Jun 20 '21 at 22:26
  • Update: we had a lot of rain over the winter months. At this point the yellowed pads are much less yellow, and the plant is doing well. Apparently it was some kind of transient stress. – Bryan Hanson Feb 06 '22 at 19:54

0 Answers0