FREE: 5 Prickly Pear Cactus Seeds

The listing, 5 Prickly Pear Cactus Seeds has ended.

The prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) thrives in hot, dry desert areas, growing 3 to 20 feet tall, depending on the variety and growing conditions. It spreads to cover 3 to 15 feet. The leaves and fruit are edible once the spines are removed. Leaf pads are eaten as a vegetable. Fruit are eaten raw and used to make juice, jelly and candy. Prickly pear cactus is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 3b through 11. Once established, prickly pear cactus are easy to care for and tolerate drought for two or three weeks.

Fill small pots or a seed tray with cactus soil. Break up any lumps in soil. Water the soil thoroughly and allow to drain.

Sow the seeds in the late spring when night temperatures consistently reach above 45 degrees. Rub the prickly pear cactus seeds against a piece of sandpaper to scratch the seed coat. Scratched seeds germinate faster and more reliably than untreated seeds.

Plant one seed per pot or plant seeds 1 inch apart in seed trays. Press the seed into the soil and cover with a fine layer of soil, barely 1/8 inch thick.

Mist the soil surface with a fine spray of water. Cover the tray with the plastic lid or put individual pots in plastic bags. Cut a small hole in the plastic to create a vent.

Place the pots or tray in a sunny window or under artificial lights. Check the soil daily for moisture and temperature. Ideal soil and air temperatures for prickly pear cactus is 70 degrees. If heat builds up under the plastic, move the container or open the vent further to release excess heat. Water the soil as needed with a fine mist, keeping the soil moist but not wet.

Inspect the seedlings daily. Cactus that turn yellow need more ligh