I was in the outback (the undeveloped part of our lot) trimming back a mesquite tree and getting rid of the dead branches. When I was done with the mesquite, this Christmas cholla cactus was exposed. It has nasty spikes and colorful berries that are covered with glochids. This individual plant is about three feet high and a diameter of four feet. It is one of several in the outback, which I would like to remove except for all the hostile features that a good set of work gloves won’t keep out of your hands.
FireFlyForest.com has quite a lot of information on this cactus (cylindropuntia leptocaulis), but no mention of how to remove them. They are an Arizona native species and are a “protected native plant (salvage restricted)” whatever that means. Click on the image to enlarge.
Yeah, AZ protects all its cacti, but this one can be a real pest at times.
During the landscape process, we had all of them removed from the area where people and dogs have access. They didn’t have any problems digging it out and hauling it away. Maybe I’ll give them a call and see if they can take a couple more out.