Their pads are oval, often heart-shaped with smooth powdery-blue to blue-green color. This species of Opuntia is quite variable in size and shape throughout their native range. Pads have no spines but rather wide spaced glochids that are typically cinnamon to black, less occasionally whitish in color. As if their physical texture was not alluring enough, in the spring large, rose-like blooms appear near the tops of many of the pads that are an eye-catching, radiant shade of magenta pink. Moderate to slow growing. Plant in well-drained, unimproved rocky or sandy soils.

Engelman’s Prickly Pear is one of the most widely distributed types of cacti, which gives designers a clue to their adaptability and versatility. They have pleasantly rounded green pads covered with areoles that have white, gray to golden medium sized, sharp spines typically surrounded by brown glochids. Flower color variations are quite common along with some other physical characteristics like shape, size, and spine density, due to their naturally wide distribution. If you are observant, you can find flower colors ranging from yellow, to orange or pink. They will tolerate light filtered sun locations, but they should be planted in well-drained soils, with minimal water. Pads can be removed as needed to “prune” them for shape and size.

Bunny Ear prickly pears are available in numerous versions due to various colored glochids. O. microdasys ‘Albaspina’ have white polka-dot glochids and some selections have cinnamon or golden colored glochids. The O. microdasys v. pallida forma-crista have golden glochids with wildly undulated green pads. Most have small oval to oblong shaped pads that form small, shrubby and spreading plants. As mentioned, they possess no long spines only fuzzy-looking, well-spaced glochids. Moderate to low water use in well-drained soils. They can be used in combination or as mass plantings of similar colored types.

With their round pads up to 1 ft. across, these prickly pears are colloquially known as the dinner plate prickly pear. The large green pads have numerous 1.5-2 in. long sharp, white to gray colored spines that provide a formidable appearance. With these large individual pads, the entire plants grow to a large size of 6-8 ft. high and wide. They are low water use plants and require well-drained soils. Large, yellow to golden flowers appear in spring and followed by 3-4 in. oval fruits that turn from pink to purplish when ripe.

These are well-behaved, under-utilized durable and handsome prickly pears. They are native to S. Texas into northern Mexico in rocky soils in mixed desert scrubland. They have powdery-blue to gray-green round pads with no spines, just brown to cinnamon colored glochids. In colder months the pads can exhibit some bronzing or become attractively tinged with pink. Spring blooms are golden to light orange. Plant in well-drained soils in full sun for best display.

Their new pads are dark purple and as the pads mature with a purple hue over a waxy, powder-blue color. During cold or drought stress pads will also turn deep amethyst, especially along the outer edges of each pad. The spines are dark brown to nearly black which are attractively offset against the light golden glochids. With their unique coloration and medium size, they are a perfect accent plant for artistic southwestern landscape designs.

This South American native grows at high elevations in remote mountainous locations in the Andes. They form thick columns that will eventually become branched at the base to form small but husky, attractive clumps. Long, sharp golden-brown to reddish colored spines protrude out from under their distinctive ghostly fuzzy white cloaks. This hair has evolved to protect their green skin from sunburn and cold. They are slow growing, but low maintenance plants that are easy to care for. Plant them in-ground or in containers with well-drained soil with occasional water during the hottest summer months in the low desert but withhold water from fall through spring to prevent root rot.

These are large growing columnar growing cacti that form numerous, thick vertical stems from the base. In optimal conditions they can grow rapidly, compared to other cacti species. They have squarish stems typically 5-7 in. wide with the similar number of ribs. The rib margins are lined with conjoined, bright white areoles with short bristle-like spines, that can vary by length. They have striking lines and verticality that make designers and cacti aficionados’ drool. Plant in well-drained soils with room to grow.

The Cardon is a tall, giant cacti of the Sonoran Desert. Although they do not naturally occur in AZ, they are perfectly at home in the same growing environments as Saguaros. These tall wide columnar cacti resemble Saguaros in many ways, but with some observation they are noticeably different. Cardons tend to branch from the base or lower on the column, they have gray-green waxy looking flesh, and its more numerous ribs are armed with areoles sporting silvery colored spines up to 5 in. long. Plant them in well-drained soil with plenty of headroom, although they are slow growing they are quite persistent growers and long-lived. Mature plants are offered as bareroot specimens in various sizes from 4 to 6 ft. in height. Please call our sales team for current availability and pricing.