The easy-care prickly pear (bot. Opuntia ficus indica) or prickly pear belongs to the Opuntia family, which includes more than 190 species. With a size of about one to six meters, it is not exactly a small plant.

The prickly pear needs little attention

The right location and the best soil

Opuntia ficus indica is at home in the deserts of Mexico, Opuntia tuna in the Caribbean. Accordingly, the prickly pear cactus needs a rather poor and dry soil to thrive, which may contain sand and/or stones. Plant it in special cactus soil or a mixture of sand/gravel, soil and peat or coir.

Since the prickly pear cactus can grow up to six meters high, you should plant it in a correspondingly large and heavy container. Planting in the garden bed is not recommended, because the prickly pear cactus does not tolerate a long, frosty winter. He likes light, sun and warmth, so he can stay outside during the summer.

Water and fertilize the prickly pear cactus properly

As a desert plant, the prickly pear cactus does not need a lot of water, but it should still be watered quite regularly, preferably whenever the top layer of soil has become a little dry. However, it does not tolerate waterlogging or rain at all.

If it rains continuously, it is better to put your prickly pear cactus back indoors or in a greenhouse. During the summer months, give it a portion of fertilizer containing potash about every 14 days, preferably mixed into the irrigation water as a liquid fertilizer.

The prickly pear in winter

In winter, the prickly pear hibernates. It should therefore overwinter in a cool place, ideally at around 6 °C. During this time it does not need fertilizer and should only be watered when the soil is very dry.

The essentials in brief:

  • easy to care for and undemanding
  • Location: sunny and bright, likes to be outside in summer
  • Soil: rather poor, like sand or stones
  • pour little
  • fertilize about every 14 days in summer (potassium fertilizer)
  • tolerates neither rain nor waterlogging
  • edible fruits
  • susceptible to mealybugs
  • Propagation by seeds or cuttings
  • hibernate cool

tips

The decorative fruits of the prickly pear are edible and very aromatic.

Category:

Vegetable garden