A surprisingly adaptable native cactus perfect for hard to fill sandy or rocky soils. Blooms are showy and more frequent than many other species of cactus. Requires well drained soil and at least a half day of sun, but is easily grown in those conditions. Tolerates humidity and winter weather. Handle the plant carefully with leather gloves or tongs when planting; the brown dots on the surface of each paddle are full of tiny hairs that will stick in anything soft. They can be easily removed from skin with tweezers, but may be difficult to see and remove from cloth gloves. 

Range/species notes at the bottom of the listing.

Planting “bare root” prickly pear paddles: The paddles will arrive with no roots at all! This is normal and the easiest way to propagate prickly pear, equivalent to taking a cutting of a woody plant. Each paddle has a scar on its edge where it broke off from its parent plant- point that scar down and bury roughly 1/3 of the paddle to plant. Replant if the paddle is dug/jostled/washed out of the ground. That’s it!

Light: Full Sun, Part Sun/Shade

Soil Moisture: Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry

Soil Type: Sandy, Rocky

Height: 9”-2’

Bloom Color: Yellow, Red

Bloom Time: Jun-Jul

Root Type: Fibrous

Notable Wildlife Interactions: Flowers attract bees. Hosts moths such as the cactus borer and arge tiger moth, and a few other insects. Seeds are eaten by turkey, and fruits are eaten by a wide variety of mammals including coyote, rabbit, skunk, and deer. Box turtles may feed on leaf pads.

Notes: Eastern Prickly Pear (formerly all O. humifusa) has recently been split into two species: O. humifusa (roughly mid Atlantic range) and O. cespitosa (see map). The northerly species is now called O. cespitosa, but our growers still use the previous species designation, which we will match for the time being. Range map is accurate!