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Species library › Opuntia › Opuntia aurea
Succulents Well documented

Opuntia aurea

A low, spreading prickly pear of the high plateaus of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Its pads are often nearly spineless, and its flowers range from yellow to bright pink. It needs full sun, a hard, dry winter and very sharp drainage, and is frost-hardy outdoors in a dry spot.

Opuntia aurea
Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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

Grows in open sandy and rocky ground among sagebrush, pinyon and juniper on the Colorado Plateau, fully exposed to the sun.

Recorded at 1,067–2,196 m, with a median of 1,768 m, based on 73 records.

UtahArizona

🔒 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 2.0 licence, unmodified.