Opuntia aciculata

A Chihuahuan Desert prickly pear from south Texas and northeastern Mexico, often nearly spineless but with dense clusters of glochids. It wants full sun, a hot summer, a cool dry winter and a gritty, fast-draining mix, and it handles moderate frost when dry.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Open desert scrub and grassland on rocky or sandy ground in the Chihuahuan Desert region, in full sun.

Recorded from about 400 to 2,375 m, median about 1,160 m, so upland Mexican sites are much cooler at night than lowland Texas.

TexasMexico Northeast

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.