When a cactus moth lays its eggs on an Opuntia cactus, it creates one of nature’s most effective camouflages. The eggs emerge as what is called an “egg stick”, because they look like the cactus spine.

The most well-known prickly pear cacti are the almost spineless hybrids, developed and grown by the renowned local plant breeder Luther Burbank. Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol. They have a new cactus ...

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers. Prickly pears (aka opuntias) have the widest ...

The Opuntia cactus in Kenya has become a thorn in the side for many residents as it slowly chokes their livelihoods. With thick leafless and fleshy stems, the Opuntia cactus, which is covered in ...

The desert prickly-pear, known to botanists as Opuntia phaeacantha, is the Southwest's most widespread and abundant species of cactus. Unlike the giant saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) that is restricted ...

: I enjoy reading your column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and now I have a question about my cacti. They have been wilted or thin for about 8 months. I bought them in October 2006 and planted them ...