Spineless Prickly Pear
Opuntia humifusa
The eastern native cactus, spineless and garden-friendly. Silky yellow summer flowers, red-purple winter pads, and no water once established.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The only eastern native cactus, with satiny yellow summer flowers and dramatic purple-red winter color.
Eastern prickly pear is the only cactus native to most of the eastern United States, and it's a dramatic one. Flat, succulent green pads spread low to the ground through dry summers, then open large, silky yellow flowers in June and July that look almost tropical in their intensity. The pads turn reddish-purple in winter, an unexpected and genuinely beautiful color change that few perennials can claim. The spineless variety is more garden-friendly than the standard species, lacking the painful small glochids that make most prickly pear unpleasant to work around. It handles the worst droughty, sandy, rocky conditions in full sun without any supplemental water once established. A true conversation plant: visitors always notice it, always ask about it.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown spineless prickly pear propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry
- Mature size
- 6"–1' · 18–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- June–July
- Bloom color
- Yellow
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Native range
- Eastern United States from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to Montana and Texas
Care notes for spineless prickly pear.
Full sun in dry to very dry, sharply drained soil. Excellent in sandy, gravelly, or rocky conditions. Zero tolerance for wet soil. excellent drainage is non-negotiable. No supplemental water needed once established. Remove dead pads occasionally to maintain appearance.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside spineless prickly pear.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.