Hardy Prickly Pear Cactus for Northern Gardens
Sustainable Gardens Grow Drought Tolerant Perennial Plants
Oct 7, 2008
Opuntia humifusa is a native perennial, attractive to pollinating bees, for developing sustainable gardens. Hardy in zones 5 – 10, such as found in southern Wisconsin, this prickly pear cactus will thrive in northern gardens.
Growing Prickly Pear Cactus
Prickly pear cactus is a clump forming plant with one to three levels of thick fleshy sections called pads. The older pads are bluish-green; the plant is evergreen during winter but will develop a shriveled appearance, then recover in spring.
The areoles are sparse and usually spineless in Opuntia humifusa, except along the edge where flower buds appear. The single reddish-orange flowers open in early summer and bloom for one day. Edible dark red fruit sometimes follow.
Eastern prickly pear cactus grows best in full sun planted in fast draining soil but tolerates the high humidity and moisture found in Wisconsin. In planting beds allow cactus to dry out between rains or watering. Withhold fertilizer and cut back on watering when preparing for winter; indoor gardens should have good air circulation especially during winter.
Small reddish brown hairs found on the smooth skin surface of the cactus will easily detach and can lodge under the skin. Pliable gloves, like those reinforced with Kevlar, are helpful in protecting hands when planting cactus.
Northern Gardens for Cactus
In rock gardens with fern leaf peonies, in a xeriscape garden among bearded iris or the planting pockets of stonewalls; all these are appropriate places for prickly pear cactus. In addition, they can be companions for other drought tolerant plants that attract pollinators.
Prickly pear cactus is a year round indoor plant or grown outside in containers during the summer, then over-wintered inside. Gardeners can break off a pad from cactus in the garden and root it in sand to grow an indoor plant.
Other Prickly Pear Cactus
Opunita fragilis called brittle prickly pear cactus has threatened plant status in Wisconsin. Prickly pear cactus is one food source for the Terrapene ornate, ornate box turtle that is an endangered animal in Wisconsin.
Opuntia robusta is a giant prickly pear cactus found in the desert southwest of the United States. This cactus can grow 18 feet tall and 10 feet wide and has flowers that bloom April through June.
Spring Green Preserve
Located in the Wisconsin River valley of southwestern Wisconsin, is the Spring Green Preserve protected by the Nature Conservancy. Spring Grove Preserve is part of an unglaciated region of the state where forests meet bluffs, from there extending out into prairies and dunes. Visitors to this area will find examples of compass plant and prairie grasses and prickly pear cactus blooming in June.
The mission of Spring Green Preserve is to protect rare plant communities like sand prairie, dry bluff prairie and black oak barrens. The removal of red cedars that have over run prairies and native plant species is a primary land management goal of the Nature Conservancy.
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