Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia species)

Prickly Pear are wonderful, drought tolerant plants being very productive of delicious fruit and pads which are used as a vegetable called nopales. Beautiful in the landscape with their sturdy green pads, they also have abundant colorful showy flowers in the spring followed by the equally attractive fruits. They are adaptable to a variety of climates and soil conditions. All the varieties we offer have been trialed in our Northern CA gardens and have been selected for above average cold and rain tolerance. Hardy zones 8-10.

We are very excited to make available our extensive one of a kind collection of superior varieties. Our "Desert" series all came from the drylands germplasm repository in Parlier, CA. Special thanks goes to Gabriela Romano who shared her list of best varieties from trials she did some years ago. All the varieties of this series were previously un-named and only had a Parl number and very little info on their edible qualities. It was an honor to have Gabriela share her research with us, enabling the recognition and distribution of these exceptional high quality varieties to the public. 

We send a cut and calloused 3" square piece of pad for rooting. Lay them flat on top of a potting soil filled container and keep well watered. They will send out roots quickly from the bottom of the pad section, with one or more vegetative shoots arising from the top of the pad piece over the next few months. When fully rooted and establish they can be planted out by burying the original pad piece and the very bottom of the new pad growth in the soil. This way it will root from the new upright growth too giving a strong rooted start.