I do like this guys cactus from past experience Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus WINTER / COLD HARDY IN BUFFALO NY Succulent Plant | eBay
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I couldn’t care less about cold hardiness. I live in zone 8b. I am concerned about heat requirements.
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I dont think thats a particular problem but when in doubt ask the vendor.
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It has been to wet on my property lately for cactus to do well. In thr future we know that will change again it is only a matter of time.
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I’ve eaten the pear and pads before, the pear has lots of seeds, good fiber.
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I just got a Chilean Tuna pad with small roots from the OC CRFG Plant Sale yesterday. Apparently one of the members visited Chile and brought back some specific variety from there.
Will try to keep it alive in a pot here and see what I get.
Any advice on growing it? I saw a reference from UCANR that seemed reasonable but wanted to check with the real experts and growers 
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I’m not growing them, but we need to put some respect on Prickly Pear Cactus’ name. Every time I see red & green prickly pears at my farmer’s market for 99 cents a lb, I buy several pounds (I’m eating them right now). They can be stored in the fridge for weeks.
The taste is so darn good. So sweet. So unique. Refreshing like a watermelon out of the fridge. It’s a real treasure. Don’t bite down into the fruit fully because of the hard seeds. I swallow all the seeds with the flesh. Just don’t eat a lot within one sitting because those seeds will collect in your digestive tract. They aren’t digested. They will exit the body shortly. 
If you have the option of green or red, I think the red taste a little better. It’s a little sweeter.
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Nice! I now have multiple pads from the original that I planted but haven’t gotten any flowers/blooms/fruit yet.
I’m going to start fertilizing it to see what happens.
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So my first 2026 order was these …. Anyone have suggestions for container grown? I’m not really a cactus person… how dried out does soil need to be before water?
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I’d suggest clay so it is porous starting out. Mine did well in a clay pot but was root bound after 2 seasons. I had moved them to a large grow bag now. Are they eastern prickly pear?
The straw on top is to help deter squirrels from digging.
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I got mesa sky and Oklahoma pancake. Supposed to be ok outside here. But easier for me to keep in a pot vs planting in ground.
Also my luck one of the neighborhood kids that run through my yard would somehow fall into it knowing my luck 
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lol. If you look closely at my pic the spikes are rubbery. Towards the end of the year they turn into more like bristles. I’m not sure if that is the variety “Eastern” as mine was labeled.
In ground would work with heavy amending I bet. I’ve seen on iNaturalist that there are some wild ones growing near the C&O canal towpath. The images show them in more of a reddish ground and rocky with not a lot of other stuff growing. Doesn’t seem like our normal clay. I need to find time to see if I can get a pad.
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Well. After unpacking mine just now, they are staying outside (I think I had to pull out 5 glochids even with gloves from my hands) I was gonna grow them inside in a window, no way now ! Those things are a nightmare! They are super pretty cactus tho !
I’m gonna have to get some heavy duty leather gloves.
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Pro tip when you jarvest them, use metal tongs, have a fire going, and wave em thru the fire a few times..it burns the little spikes off.
Otherwise pretty easy to handle. Just dont touch em. I have optunia hunifosa myself
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Really?! Where along the canal?
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That’s wild. I’ve been there countless times and never noticed.
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It took me 8 years to notice the American persimmon trees I walk past every day walking my dog. One winter I was like what are those hanging in the tree and went over to look. Lol
My guess is that they are growing near the bank for full sun which is probably not gonna be a fun time to get to. So be careful! And be even more careful harvesting!
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Lovely flower! Looking forward to having one on my cactus too one day.
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