Tropicals > Opuntia > Opuntia compressa > Opuntia compressa
Opuntia compressa
Prickly Pear Cactus
Origin: Eastern to Central United States.
| Family |
| Cactaceae |
| Genus |
| Opuntia |
| Species |
| compressa |
| Category |
| Tropicals |
| Type |
| Shrub (evergreen) |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H7 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| -15 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 5 |
| Height |
| 30 - 60 cm |
| Spread |
| 30 - 60 cm |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Landscape |
| Among potted succulent collections, as a potted patio or indoor plant, in rock gardens or as a specimen. |
| Cultivation |
| Grow in full sun in gravelly, dry, well-draining loose soil. |
| Shape |
| Clumping low-spreading. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| Pests |
| None known. Rot may occur if soil is too wet. |
| Habitat |
| Dry slopes, plains and rocky outcroppings. |
| Leaf Description |
| Smooth, leathery, fleshy succulent bodies with small short spines in panicles of 2 - 3. Small spine scars in the place of spines. |
| Flower Description |
| Showy rounded cup-shaped bloom at the apex of a body with around 20 - 30 pinnate-forked petals arranged in a loose rosette. |
| Fruit Description |
| Attractive broad-ovate prickly pears borne after blooms. |
| Colour Description |
| Flesh can vary in colour from a silvery green to vivid medium green. Buttery yellow to golden yellow blooms. Reddish orange-brown prickly pear fruits. |
| Texture Description |
| Smooth and leathery with spines and spine scars. |
| Notable Specimens |
| The University of Alberta Botanic Garden, Devon, Alberta, Canada. |
| Propagation |
| By division or seed. |
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