Habitat	Bloom Period	Color	Height Inches	Moisture	Plant Spacing	Lifespan
	Sun to lt. shade	May June	lemon yellow	5" long pads in clusters up to 12" high	dry to average well drained soil	6 to 18 inches	Perennial

For other flowers visit the wildflower seed list or  the Potted Plant List to order prickly Pear Cactus seed/plants copy the order form or  email questions, comments, and orders to john

Opuntia humifusa seed Prickly Pear Cactus seed	approximate number of seeds	approximate coverage in square feet
1 packet -  sold out of seeds	40	20
1 ounce -   ----------	950 -- 1000	400
1 pound   ----------
Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear potted plants are $5 each plus UPS shipping

Seed shipping chart at bottom of  page
    Opuntia humifusa, prickly pear cactus or devil's tongue is a low growing, spreading succulent cactus with enlarged fleshy, spiny, green pads and lemon yellow flowers.  The showy yellow flowers are 3 to 4 inches across and bloom in May and June.  Prickly Pear Cactus is found growing wild in colonies on glades of limestone, sandstone, and igneous rock and sandy fields and pastures throughout the Ozarks and most of the Midwest and eastern USA.  Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear Cactus was formerly known as Opuntia compressa.  The common name Prickly Pear refers to the red, bristly, pearlike fruit.  Native Americans ate the fruit, pads, buds, and flowers raw, cooked, or dried.  Prickly Pear Cactus plants are grown in the wild flower rock garden as a focal point or can be grown inside as a potted plant. 

     Prickly pear cactus plants, when growing wild, often lay flat or near the ground. Under optimal garden conditions prickly pear will grow one to two feet tall and produce larger pads.  They thrive in rock gardens or containers and can be effective in a mixed planting, borders and natural areas. Hardy prickly pear is low-growing and its brilliant yellow flowers and meandering pads are a welcome addition to the sunny flower garden.

The map below shows areas where Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear Cactus plants grow wild but they can be planted and will grow over most of Midwest and Eastern US.  
USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 9.

Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear cactus	Alabama Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky	Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Jersey New Mexico New York	North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin

For other flowers visit the wildflower seed list , to order Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear Cactus  seeds copy the order form or email questions, comments, and orders to john