Here’s a four-pack of live Opuntia cactus plants (prickly pear) for your pad, or more specifically your home and garden. Opuntias are known for their beautiful flowers, colorful, chunky, edible fruits, and flat paddles (or pads). The paddles are an Opuntia plant’s stems or stem segments. This is an assorted collection featuring a variety of opuntias that are chosen based on best available. Possibilities include Opuntia robusta, which develops giant round pads 12” plus in diameter, yellow flowers, and tennis ball-size fruits. Opuntia falcata is a tree-type opuntia native to Haiti that features main stems and upright glossy dark-green arms. The segments are usually noticeably longer than wide. Opuntia basilaris (beavertail cactus) forms clumps of broadly oval fleshly paddles, bluish-purple in color, with tiny cinnamon-colored spines. Another candidate is Opuntia ‘Sunburst’. Essentially thornless pads display beautiful, unique variegated sunburst patterns. Tree sized at maturity, it can easily be kept pruned to shrub size. Flowers are bright red to crimson. While your precise mix is not certain, your Opuntia foursome will bring interest to spaces such as a low-water, drought-tolerant garden, patio, or bright kitchen. Opuntias like bright, bright light and well-draining soil. Please handle your opuntias with care. Plants may contain long spines, which are quite noticeable, as well as glochids. These are barbed tiny bristles that can be very difficult to remove from the skin.
Full to Part Sun
Water when soil is dry
Hardy to Zone 9