Opuntia cespitosa - (Red-Center Prickly Pear Cactus)

GARDEN SITE: ☀️. Dry, Sandy or Gravelly, Well-Drained Soil.

SIZE: ⬆½-1 ft. ↔ 1-2 ft. (our old clump is 5ft. wide!)

FLOWERS: Showy red-centered 2-3”, June - July.

WILDLIFE: Bees love the flowers!

ZONE: 4-10

NATIVE DISTRIBUTION: AL, GA, OH, KY, TN,

Evergreen. Edible fruit. Huger flowers with red centers! Tolerates clay soil if it drains well and doesn’t remain wet in winter. Suitable as ground cover for rock gardens, sandy slopes and stone walls. Drought, Deer and Rabbit Tolerant. This species is thornier than our Opuntia humifusa.

We don’t know others who sell this variety! This is a gorgeous individual clone that has grown in our nursery yard for a decade. We obtained it as O.humifusa but after later examination we separated it as it’s own species. Some who have bought cacti plants from us in the past (before 2021) have got this plant under O.humifusa label.