Opuntia pottsii var. nova DJF1441 SW Albuquerque, NM

Opuntia pottsii var. nova DJF1441 SW Albuquerque, NM is an undescribed variety that was collected by Dave Ferguson, Curator for the Desert Collection at the Rio Grande Botanical Gardens in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Taxonomically - as with most things Opuntia - there is some debate. Opuntia pottsii is officially considered a subspecies of Opuntia macrorhiza. David Ferguson considers it a separate species. He is one of the most learned persons on the face of the planet regarding Opuntias, whose numerous corrections to Benson's book 'The Cacti of the United States and Canada' have been invaluable to anyone interested in this fascinating group of plants. He lives, works and collects in New Mexico, an Opuntia-rich part of the world.

The original collections for both Opuntia pottsii and Opuntia macrorhiza var pottsii were made back in the middle part of the nineteenth century by John Potts, a partner in the Guanajuato Mint and a plant enthusiast who collected for Prince de Salm-Dyke. Lyman Benson proposed that Opuntia pottsii was a subspecies of Opuntia macrorhiza in his famous 1982 book.

Dave Ferguson argues that although Opuntia pottsii is a variable species it differs from Opuntia macrorhiza in growing upright from a single central stem rather than having a prostrate or decumbent habit and in having pastel shaded flowers - pink, red, orange, or salmon - rather than the more usual bright yellow. Well, yes, but I have grown this form DJF1441 for many years now and I do find it has rather a decumbent habit...

Whatever the taxonomic reality, this is a choice Opuntia with distinctive blue-green pads, a compact habit and very beautiful pale creamy flowers becoming inwardly more yellow with orange markings near the centre.

The glaucous cladodes have relatively few spines but the reddish-brown glochids are fierce. Thick gloves are needed.

Most importantly, this is a cactus that is hardy in the UK which - considering the short and relatively mild winter of Albuquerque - is surprising. As always, drainage needs to be perfect with very little or no organic matter in the substrate. A rain-shelter in the wettest months is advisable.