Opuntia macrorhiza

The plains prickly pear, a low, spreading pad cactus with a tuberous root, found across the Great Plains and south-western USA into northern Mexico. It is very cold hardy and best grown outdoors in full sun with a cold, dry winter.

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

Open grassland, prairie, rocky slopes, sandy flats and pinyon-juniper country, always in full sun on well-drained ground.

From about 200 m in the Midwest to roughly 2,500 m in the Rockies foothills; the median recorded is about 1,670 m.

United StatesMexico

🔒 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.