Opuntia dulcis

An old name for a sweet-fruited prickly pear from the Chihuahuan Desert borderlands, now usually treated as part of the Opuntia engelmannii or O. phaeacantha group. We have no wild records for this name, so this profile follows desert prickly pears in general: full sun, hot summers, a cold dry winter and very sharp drainage.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets 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

Probably open desert grassland and rocky desert scrub, like the related prickly pears of southwestern Texas, New Mexico and northern Mexico.

Not measured; related prickly pears in this region mostly grow between about 500 and 1800 m.

Southwestern United StatesNorthern Mexico

🔒 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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More Opuntia

Opuntia ficus-indica Opuntia engelmannii Opuntia galapageia Opuntia polyacantha Opuntia basilaris Opuntia humifusa Opuntia stricta Opuntia fragilis Opuntia macrocentra Opuntia macrorhiza Opuntia sulphurea Opuntia aciculata All 171 →

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.