So the sprog and I were at the local farmer’s market the other day, and we won a prickly pear cactus. It’s just a pad, but it’s plantable. They’re difficult to kill, so I’m going to plant it, ideally in the front yard to persuade the high school kids not to throw trash in my yard.
So how do I do this? The soil in the front is pretty lousy to begin with because it’s quite hard and the slope causes it to drain quickly, but I understand that this may not be a deal-breaker, at least not for a cactus. The ground out back is largely spoken for by other hard-to-kill plants. Is there anything I should do to prepare the soil, such as it is? We live on a tree-lined street, so the front yard is mostly shaded from about April to September/October, but there is still sun. And, finally, I live in South Central Pennsylvania, where it gets cold. Not brass-monkey cold, but still chilly (20s to 30s in the winter).
As I said in the title, I’m looking for people who have done this, which is why it’s in IMHO; I’d prefer to do the Googling myself. I’m OK with potting it, but I’d prefer to plant it.
One more question: What do I do with the fruit, if I get any?
i think they can grow quite large… you can probably get away with quite sandy soil, with not a lot of nutrient and not much water once youve put it in - id have to google it though.
Set it on the ground, if it’s going to grow it will. If it’s in an area where it might not stay put you can stake it in place with a stick or a long nail.
They thrive in my desert environment, I don’t know how they will do in southern PA. If you want to amend the soil at all I’d mix in sand for drainage as cactuses don’t care for much water, although they do fine in clay here. Regularly getting in the 20’s could be a deal breaker. Most years we don’t hit freezing for more than a few hours. Once the plant is established it’ll be more hardy, but you’ll want to set styrofoam cups over new growth on very cold nights. Plant it in a spot that will get it as much sun as possible and don’t water it.
Feel free to google away, I haven’t planted one since I was a little kid. That’s just what I remember off the top of my head.
Hardy Opuntias (prickly pears) do quite well here in central Ohio, which has a climate not too dissimilar from Ms Robyn’s.
I have two varieties growing in the back yard, one a spineless kind which has flowered for the past couple of years (large yellow blooms), the other a vicious spiny variety* I started from seed. They both seem rock-hardy in spite of weather varying from dry to seasonally damp. Opuntia humifusa is one commonly grown species.
Advice for getting a plant started from a pad/cutting: do it indoors instead of trying to get one growing in the garden this late in the season. Soil should be freely-draining and kept just barely moist, in bright light (but not too much direct sun) until the plant is noticeably growing, then water can slowly be cut back. Plant out after frost next spring, giving the potted plant time to adjust to full sun, which is what you’ll need for best results. It won’t like a mostly shady spot. And if it’s not a hardy kind of Opuntia, it won’t survive your winters.
*many Opuntias are notorious for their glochids, small hair-like spines that get embedded in your fingers and are nasty to remove.
The plant should survive; it was grown locally. And it does have glochids. Ask me how I know.
Unfortunately, our front yard is, at best, partially sunny from late-ish spring through September, so I need to put it in the back. I’ll survey the back to see where it should go.
It’s not so much that cacti don’t like water as that they don’t like being wet so good drainage is important. they especially don’t like to be wet and cold but in summer it might actually appreciate a bit of water in a dry spell, it will certainly make it grow quicker. Good luck.
SfS is right that drainage is critical. Standing water will kill most succulents very quickly.
It does sound like your front yard is probably too shady for this plant to do well there permanently.
If you want to be able to use it in your front yard, your best bet would probably be to propagate it next summer so you can put a couple plants in pots and then switch them out between being in full sun and being in the shady yard. Without enough sun, the new growth will be weak, spindly and it will almost certainly never set fruit.
As far as what to do with the fruit, when I was in AZ I had some tea flavored with opuntia and they were also selling candy and jam made with opuntia.
