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Golden pricklypear

Opuntia aurea

Also called Golden Prickly-pear

Golden pricklypear
Photo: Wendy Cutler from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0

Golden pricklypear is a low, sprawling cactus from the deserts of southern Utah and northern Arizona, forming mats up to about a metre across. It needs full sun, very sharp drainage and minimal water.

Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, and let the soil dry out fully between waterings; withhold water in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining sandy or gritty cactus mix.
Temperature
18–35 °C; tolerates brief cold to about -10 °C when dry, but protect from wet cold.
How easy
Easy
Native range
S. Utah to N. Arizona
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Opuntia aurea is a cactus that grows in Southern Utah and possibly Northern Arizona.

Other Opuntia plants

Big Pine Key Prickly Pear · Chenille pricklypear · Texas Plains Pricklypear · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia anacantha · Opuntia anahuacensis · Sand Prickly Pear · Border pricklypear · Opuntia auberi · Tiger-pear · Devil's-tongue · New Mexico Prickly Pear

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia aurea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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