Chollas are members of the Opuntia genus....

Allow the branch to callus over (about a week) before planting it...

Select a main stem with most of its appendages at the tip if possible. Then, once cured, plant the majority of the main stem in the ground.

They are tree chollas (opuntia imbricata). I took a segment off of one I saw out in the west mesa and planted it this spring. It already sprouted 2 new 'limbs'.

adp abq----did you plant it as soon as you cut it off?

I allowed mine to callous over before planting them...

This plant can be massaged into a small tree\shrub. I have seen some single stemmed versions in well-watered sites in the foothills with trunks of 3 to 4 inches. Trim it to grow a single trunk. I don't believe the fruit is edible, either way its not like the prickly pears. Nice purple flowers in the spring. It will root from cuttings. No water for a while after planting the cutting.

wineandlobos:

No. I let it dry for about a week. That seems to be the general rule of thumb when taking cuttings from cactus. I've successfully done this with prickly pear as well.

well I clipped some,I got a branch that had flowers I think about to bloom,I put it in the ground but I guess I'll pull it out and let it dry,I broke a pad off of a prickly pear and planted that pad about a 2months ago and its just now starting to produce a little pad.I also did this with the purple prickly pear and the ocotillo,but nothing yet,but those have only been there a few weeks,but I like the shrub/tree idea for the cholla, I'll have to try that.

I meant single stemmed for 12 to 18 inches above the ground before it branches out; these won't ever really be trees although they can grow pretty tall if forced. They just get kind of cool in their old age if they have some sort of a trunk to them rather than just sprouting from a clump. They are called tree cholla...There are nice specimens in the northern Sandia foothills.

Can I plant it in a pot, or does it need to grow in the ground? (I'm in Zone 4)

I JUST BOUGHT ONE OFF EBAY AND THEY APPEAR TO BE SPROUTING NEW SHOOTS. NOW THE QUESTION IS WHAT AND WHEN TO FERTIZE AND HOW FAST DO THE GROW? IT IS MY INTENTION TO PLANT OUTSIDE BY MAY 2011.