Sign in Start free
Species library › Opuntia › Opuntia sulphurea
Succulents Well documented

Opuntia sulphurea

A low, sprawling prickly pear with sulphur-yellow flowers and long, flexible spines. It ranges from the arid lowlands of western Argentina up into the Bolivian Andes. It needs full sun, a mineral soil and a dry, cold winter, and it tolerates real frost.

Opuntia sulphurea
Photo: Opuntia13_filtered.jpg: Mary Emily Eaton (1873-1961)Daniel Schweich for the filtred image. derivative work: Succu (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, 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

Forms mats and clumps on open, stony and sandy ground in arid shrubland, in the Monte and Chaco scrub and in dry inter-Andean valleys, with little or no shade.

Ranges from near sea level in Patagonia and the Chaco to about 3500 m in the Bolivian Andes.

BoliviaArgentina NorthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina South

🔒 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

Grow Opuntia sulphurea? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Opuntia

Opuntia ficus-indica Opuntia engelmannii Opuntia galapageia Opuntia polyacantha Opuntia basilaris Opuntia humifusa Opuntia stricta Opuntia fragilis Opuntia macrocentra Opuntia macrorhiza Opuntia aciculata Opuntia microdasys 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 3.0 licence, unmodified.