Prickly Pear 'Spineless'
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Opuntia ellisiana
The thornless hardy Prickly Pear is a smooth and good-looking cactus that displays large, single yellow flowers in summer. Although it doesn't have thorns, it still has fine glaucids on the pads that can painfully stab into your hands and are a pain to remove. You can use duct tape to get rid of them, which is successful.
The cactus has large, big, round pads that pile onto each other up to 4 feet tall and quickly form multiplying patches up to 8 feet across. It has the best ability to deal with the wet winter weather. However, it's still essential to heavily amend the soil with gravel and pumice to ensure sharp drainage, which is crucial. It thrives on sunny slopes with sharp drainage and is excellent under the south-facing eaves of a house. It also works well in containers, but they need to be protected from extreme winter wet, and you should move them under cover in winter.
The cactus is cold-hardy below 10ºF, but wet and arctic cold can shrivel some pads. Recovery in spring is rapid. Anticipate that it will spread quickly and allocate room if needed. It's moderately deer-resistant.
Height: 3’-6’
Spread: 3’-6’
Bloom: May-June
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Zone: 7, 8, 9, 10
Origin: Texas & Mexico
Winter Shipping: We will continue to ship throughout winter. If you prefer, we are happy to hold your order until spring; please include that request in your shipping notes.
When you order plants from our nursery, you can expect them to arrive in the best possible condition. Our team carefully packs each order using sturdy, biodegradable packaging materials.
Your plants' appearance may vary depending on the season and their current growth stage. We may cut back the leafy growth of some plants to prepare them for shipment and transplanting.
5 Gallon and Up: Any plant purchased to ship over 5 Gallons will be shipped bare root. This means we will remove the plant from its original pot, remove the soil surrounding the roots, and wrap the roots with a biodegradable plastic bag. This reduces weight and the likelihood of damage during shipping.
Once your plants arrive, it is essential to plant them as soon as possible. This will help them rebound and thrive. If you cannot plant immediately, water regularly and keep the roots off heat-conducting surfaces.
Newly transplanted plants often require more water until their roots are well established. Plan to water them 1-3 times weekly for the first few months.
