Eastern Prickly Pear
Opuntia humifusa
Eastern prickly pear is the cold-hardy native prickly pear of the East, a low mat of flat pads with silky yellow flowers and edible red fruit. Surprisingly winter-hardy for a cactus.
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.5–1 ft
- Spacing
- 2–4 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, acidic, alkaline
- Bloom
- May, June
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals
- Landscape uses
- foundation, groundcover, container, erosion control
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV