Prickly pear

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi.

We planted one this spring for the first time. It's right next to the house on the south side in the bed that is the warmest. The Prickly Pear cactus is hardy for us, surprisingly. We'll see how it does over winter. It has grown quite a bit in just this growing season.

The only other information I know about it is that our Black-capped Chickadees *LOVE* to eat the fruit of the cactus, seeds and all.

Yes, please Mick, what can you tell us about this very interesting plant?

[mickthecactus]

The said:

I first ate some prickly pear on a beach in Corfu about 20 years ago, didn't think much to it either and it was full of seeds.

Mick do you know what sort of cactus it is, could it be grown here and would it fruit?

It's an Opuntia species and the prickly pears are the fruits.

A few are just about hardy here.

[mickthecactus]

The said:

They are quite large plants aren't they Mick - too big for a greenhouse maybe.

The family Opuntia goes from plants that are tree size down to high altitude plants happy in a 3" pot.

However, if you are thinking of going into prickly pear production, yes, far too big for the average greenhouse.