@purpleinopp
Those flower buds you keep seein are ripe seed heads stuff to the gills with sweet pulp and black seeds, they are delicious in my book!

You most likely will need an open fire to burn the spines off, few seconds in the fire and your gums will thank you!

It makes great jelly too!

TY, Sway! I wish there was a giant Optunia on a route I drive more often. Obviously I'm hopelessly behind on observations! I'm hesitant to try to add one to our yard because they're almost always seen with weedy vines all over them, probably because getting close enough to weed around these things is dangerous. I've heard Optunia fruits are delicious. So you have had the jelly? I'm surprised I never did when our family came down here when I was a kid. My Aunt Myrtle always had jellies I'd never heard of before, we only had fig jam when we visited AL. Maybe Mom wouldn't mind one at her house? Her back yard could use more dog-proof plants anyway - LOL!

Hope everyone is keeping their tender stuff covered at night. I would have lost everything if I didnt throw blankets over my rock gardens at night.

My nieghbors look at me like I'm crazy, tucking plants in for the night. I look at them like they are crazy for letting half their plants get frostburn and die.

Aw! Go with the blanket!!

this is what 18 f does. Someday soon i will upload some photos of the ones that should of died but did not.
some of these are sill alive

Here's an aeonium offshoot that I cut off from the mother plant but I forgot and left it out in the cold (28 degree weather).
I think it is toast but it's interesting that where the center's cell walls froze, an open lace pattern appears that I find nice to look at. I'm sorry I didn't catch the pattern before the brown coloring appeared.

I find that picture most interesting and would add it to the database.

But, Hetty, it's dying if not already dead

yes, but the picture is so interesting. I would make a note that this is what it looked like after frost.

I clearly understand what you Beverly, and you Hetti are saying. It is an interesting photo. Would you like me to turn it into art? I can!

Would I have to ID it beyond "Aeonium" if putting into Plant Database...??? So will do it if I can ID it further...

Can't do anything until you help me ID it, David...

Its clearly Alien. It is the rare stroptocarpia xenonepthus from Saturns Moon Dione. This is proven under blacklight.

Ok, into the OutWorldly Plant Database it goes with the rest of the xenos under Stroptocarpia...
Thanks for the quick ID, David!

Bev!

I love it!

I think I'm going to start leaving mine out in the cold.