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Species library › Opuntia › Opuntia retrorsa
Succulents Well documented

Opuntia retrorsa

A low, sprawling prickly pear of the Gran Chaco and neighbouring lowlands of Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, southwest Brazil and Uruguay. It wants full sun and summer heat with rain, and a cooler, dry winter.

Opuntia retrorsa
Photo: Jctorresc, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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

Dry Chaco woodland and scrub, savanna edges and the Pantanal margin, often sprawling through grass or among shrubs. This draws on the records and the genus in the Chaco.

Mostly lowland, 9–1,450 m with a median of 350 m; the main sites lie below 400 m.

Argentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil West-CentralParaguayUruguay

🔒 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.