[Arid_gardener] transplanting cholla

[Olin Miller]

----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene Kinder" <gkinder2 at cox.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 8:47 AM
I recently acquired a 1 acre plot of land west of Tucson.  There are many 
cholla there but need to be moved so that a house can be started on the 
land.  Are there any precautions to be concerned with in transplanting the 
cholla?
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You did not indicate which cholla variety or the size.  Most of the 
segmented cacti are some type of cholla, e. g., Prickly Pear, Teddy Bear 
Chainfruit (Jumping), Pencil, Staghorn, Buckhorn, Cane, et. al.  If it's 
over three feet tall or if it's a Teddy Bear you might want to consider not 
moving it .  If it's one of the sprawling Prickly Pears, it would be a good 
idea to prune off the side branches first.

Chollas are so easy to propagate and so fast-growing I probably wouldn't try 
moving one unless it is very small or very rare.  Just cut off a link or 
branch making certain that the terminal link has an intact meristem 
(growing) tip, allow it to callus in the shade for about one week, then 
stick the callused end into the ground.  I usually put it in a pot first 
until a new link forms so I can keep an eye on it but I don't believe that's 
necessary.

There is a transplanting document at
AZ1376 How to Transplant a Cactus
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1376.pdf

It's a humongous (>5M) document with photos but should load pretty fast on 
your broadband connection.  The examples in the photographs indicate Barrels 
and Saguaros but the techniqyes could also be applicaple to Chollas.

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer, Maricopa County AZ