Opuntia humifusa

Opuntia humifusa: A Real Cactus That Shrugs Off Winter

Eastern Prickly Pear is a native cactus, and yes, it gets through our winters with an attitude to match. Flat spiny pads, big waxy yellow flowers, then edible red fruit. A CACTUS. IN YOUR YARD. YOU HEARD US.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Opuntia humifusa
• Common Name: Eastern Prickly Pear
• Height: 15–30 cm (6–12 in)
• Spread: 60–90 cm (2–3 ft), slowly spreading
• Flowers: Large, waxy, bright yellow cups, often reddish or orange at the base
• Bloom Time: Early to midsummer (June to July)
• Foliage: Flat, oval, jointed green pads with spines and barbed bristles; pads wrinkle and may flush purple in winter, then plump up again in spring
• Features: Edible red fruit

Where to Plant: Plant it in the hottest, driest, sunniest spot you have: a rock garden, a sandy slope, a gravel bed, or the edge of a south-facing wall. It suits dry native gardens and sand-based soils near the lakes. Keep it away from paths, play areas and anywhere you weed by hand, since the small barbed bristles stick to skin and gloves.

Companion Plants: Plant eastern prickly pear in the hottest, driest, sandiest spot you have, with native prairie plants around it. Allium schoenoprasum adds lavender chive flowers at 30 cm in May and June. Asclepias tuberosa brings bright orange butterfly weed at 30 to 75 cm in July and August. Liatris spicata adds purple spikes at 90 to 120 cm from July to September. Sporobolus heterolepis adds a fine, glossy mound at 60 to 90 cm with fragrant airy flowers from August to October.

Plant Care: Sharp drainage is everything. Plant in sandy or gravelly, lean soil in full sun. Do not plant in heavy clay or anywhere water sits; winter wet is what kills it, not winter cold. Add plenty of grit or plant on a raised mound if your soil is heavy. Water lightly until established, then leave it alone. No fertilizer. Don't be alarmed when the pads shrivel and lie flat in winter; that is how it survives the cold. Wear thick leather gloves and use tongs or folded newspaper to handle it. New plants are easy to start by rooting a single pad in sand.

History: Eastern prickly pear grows across much of the eastern United States, but in Canada it's found wild only at Point Pelee and on Pelee Island in Lake Erie, where it grows on sand dunes and spits. Those wild populations are listed as Endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act, so garden plants come from nursery stock and should never be dug from the wild.

Final Thoughts: Hot, dry, sandy spot that cooks everything else? Perfect. Deer won't try it twice. WEAR GLOVES AND BRAG ABOUT IT.