I wandered past prickly pear cactus for years, somewhat mystified as to why anyone in the humid hot magnolia-laden South would grow a cactus native to the Southwest and Mexico. Wrongly, I abscribed certain oafish qualities to those hillbillies that would grow prickly pear cacti among azaleas…that is until one day I was wandering around the industrial area where I have an abode and came upon a large, mature prickly pear cactus in full bloom. We think we know a thing, and if we keep our eyes open long enough to realize we don’t know as much as we think, then we learn. Indeed, prickly pear cactus are the only cactus native to the Eastern United States…Eastern prickly pear cactus, Opuntia humifosa.
You can also find prickly pear cactus in Europe and Australia, but these were introduced.
The prickly pear cactus in the photograph is the thornless variety, Opuntia tuna, which has a fascinating history. Hang out by a thornless prickly pear cactus, and you’ll get no end to the hilarity of listening to parents explain to their children that “the thorns have been removed.” It would be rude to correct a parent in front of their children so keep a lid on it, but indeed, there is a thornless variety, useful if one has clumsy children or golden retrievers. There is no thing so pitiful as a dog with a thorn (or porcupine quill) in its nose.
You can grow prickly pear cactus just about anywhere it seems, as they are the most cold tolerant of the cacti nation. By the way, prickly pear cactus also have thigmotactic anthers…poke the anthers of an open prickly pear flower and they curl, depositing their pollen.
There are about a bunch of varieties, members of the genus Opuntia, a partial list of which can be found below. You’ll often find prickly pear cactus in a variety of recipes for jams and the like…the culinary version is most usually Fragile Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica.
BEARDED PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia strigil
Desert: Chihuahuan Desert
Height: Up to 3 feet
Pads: Small, oblong, yellow-green with short, colored spines
Flowers: Cream-color
BEAVERTAIL CACTUS
Opuntia basilaris
Desert: Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran
Height: 12-18 inches
Pads: Greyish green to 13 inches
Flowers: Bright rose, 2-3 inches
BLIND PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia rufida
Desert: Chihuahuan near Big Bend, Texas
Height: Up to 6 feet
Pads: Circular, 6 inches, covered with velvety hairs and reddish glochids
Flowers: Bright yellow, orange with age
BROWN-SPINDED PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia phaeacantha
Desert: Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan
Height: 2-3 feet
Pads: Oblong, blue-green, 4-6 inches
Flowers: Yellow, sometimes red at the base
ENGLEMANN’S PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia engelmannii
Desert: Sonoran and Chihuahuan
Height: Up to 5 feet
Pads: Blue-green, 12-inch circular or oblong
Flowers: Yellow to peach with age
HEDGEHOG PRICKLY PEAR/PORCUPINE PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia erinacea
Desert: Mojave, Great Basin
Height: 12-18 inches
Pads: Spiny, 5 inches
Flowers: Bright yellow or rose
LOW PRICKLY PEAR/SMOOTH PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia humifusa
Desert: Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan
Height: Up to 2 feet
Pads: Oval or round, 3-6 inches
Flowers: Sulfur yellow with red base
NEW MEXICO PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia phaecantha
Desert: Chihuahuan Desert
Height: Up to 3.5 feet
Pads: Green, 4-6 inches with downward spines
Flowers: Bright yellow, 2 inches
PANCAKE PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia chlorotica
Desert: Mojave and Sonoran
Height: Up to 7 feet
Pads: Circular, bluish, arising from a thick, round trunk
Flowers: Yellow with red centers
PLAINS PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia polycantha
Desert: Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan
Height: 6-12 inches
Pads: Oval, 3-4 inches, blue-greenFlowers: Reddish-orange to yellow, 2.5 inches.
PURPLE PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia violacea
Desert: Chihuahuan
Height: Up to 3.5 feet
Pads: Oblong, bluish purple, with long black or white spines
Flowers: Yellow with red centers
SANTA RITA PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia violacea
Desert: Chihuahuan
Height: Up to 6 feet
Pads: Hairless lavender to purple
Flowers: Lemon-yellow
SPINY-FRUITED PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia spinosbacca
Desert: Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend, Texas
Height: Up to 4 feet
Pads: Elongated, yellow-green with orange spines
Flowers: Yellow-orange with red bases
TEXAS PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia lindheimeri
Desert: Chihuahuan
Height: Up to 5.5 feet
Pads: 10-inch oval with translucent yellow spines
Flowers: Yellow
TUBEROUS PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Opuntia macrorhiza
Desert: Sonoran and Chihuahuan
Height: 6 inches
Pads: Dark green or blue-green
Flowers: Yellow, red centers or all red
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Hardiness Zone: 6
I have been growing an orange form of the Prickly Pear in Connecticut for about 18 years. It has almost died out after a couple of winters and always seems to come back. Currently it is doing very well. Quite a novelty item in the garden.
Hardiness Zone: 4
My mom had a beautiful yellow-flowered one with full spines, but it eventually froze out (her soil is quite moist). I have a small piece that’s only 2″ long, and has been since 1999! Seems I can grow many things, but not a cactus! *sigh*
Hardiness Zone:
I was surfing the internet Monday afternoon during my break, and found your blog by searching MSN for gardening soil. This is a topic I have great interest in, and follow it closely. I liked your insight on Garden Mob Perennial and Rose Gardening very much, and it made for good reading. Keep up the good work…
Hardiness Zone: 10 equivelen
Another thing to remember is that both the flowers and the fruit are both edible as well.
Hardiness Zone: 8
I hope that you are able to get cactus fruit on these cacti in your region. Mine are in the Pacific Northwest, and they have fruit but are not ripe yet, and i suspect they will not ripen here. the flowers are great, however.
Given weather conditions in the Southeast recently, Xeriscaping with cacti and other dry tolerant plants could the the start of a new garden trend.
Not only are the fruit edible, the pads for some opuntias are edible as well. They are a staple of Mexican food and taste sort of like asparagus, to my palate.
Thanks for the interesting posting.