How much sunlight does my Cow Tongue Prickly Pear need?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear requires abundant, bright and direct light. Place it less than one foot from a window to ensure it receives enough light to survive 💪. Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement in your home 🏡.

How much humidity does Cow Tongue Prickly Pear like?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear prefers dry environments . Providing extra humidity or misting your plant allows water to linger on leaves, which can create the perfect environment for harmful types of fungi.

What type of soil should I use for my Cow Tongue Prickly Pear?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear is very sensitive to wet soil, so choose a potting soil that drains very well and doesn’t retain too much moisture. A good soil will have lots of perlite or vermiculite for drainage and some organic matter for nutrition. A few handfuls of perlite added to regular store-bought cactus soil will do the trick!

Should I fertilize my Cow Tongue Prickly Pear?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear grows very slowly and doesn’t require added fertilizer . Replacing your plant’s potting soil once a year should provide them with more than enough nutrition. Remember, plants get their energy from sunlight, not fertilizer!

Does Cow Tongue Prickly Pear go dormant?

It’s common for Cow Tongue Prickly Pear to go dormant in the wintertime and you may notice their growth slow down. Waterings should be spaced out more during this time.

Which region is Cow Tongue Prickly Pear native to?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear is native to the Americas .

Does Cow Tongue Prickly Pear produce flowers?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear produces flowers in the wild, but does not flower when kept as houseplants.

What is the growth pattern for Cow Tongue Prickly Pear?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear grows vertically and new growth will emerge from the top of the plant.

1/10

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Q: How often should I water my Cow Tongue Prickly Pear?

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear thrives in dry soil and should be watered sparingly . Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

5.0 out of 5 (6 experiences)

Survivor

Fast grower

Also known as

Few-Spined Marble-Seeded Prickly Pear, Few-Spined Marble-Seeded Prickly Pear, Engelmann's pricklypear, Chenille pricklypear, Texas pricklypear, Cactus-apple, Cow's tongue cactus, Cow tongue prickly pear, Desert prickly pear, Discus prickly pear, Engelmann's prickly pear, Texas prickly pear, Nopal, Abrojo, Joconostle, Vela de coyote and Hairy Roger Cactus

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Opuntia engelmannii

Genus

Opuntia

Family

Cactaceae

Order

Caryophyllales

How to care for Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Water

How often to water your Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear needs 0.5 cups of water every 12 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.

Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

Water 0.5 cups every
12

Does your plant get direct sunlight?

No Yes

Select the pot size

Light

Check the growing potential in your area

A plant's growing potential is determined from its location, the time of year, and current local weather.

Select a city to check sunlight intensity

Finding light for Few-Spined Marble-Seeded Prickly Pear in your home

Light needs and placement for plant Cow Tongue Prickly Pear: 1ft from a window

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear love being close to bright, sunny windows 😎.

Place it less than 1ft from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear does not tolerate low-light 🚫.

Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Cow Tongue Prickly Pear in your home 🏡.

Nutrients

How to fertilize Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Nutrient, fertilizer, and repotting needs for Cow Tongue Prickly Pear: repot after 2X growth

Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.

By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.

To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Cow Tongue Prickly Pear after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.

FAQs

Water Needs

Sunlight Needs

Toxicity

Humidity

Soil

Fertilizer

Dormancy

Native Region

Flowers

Growth Pattern

Care Summary for Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear

Greg recommends:

Water

0.5 cups every 12 days

Placement

< 1ft from a window

Nutrients

Repot after 2x growth

Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.

What other plant parents say

Survivor 4

Fast grower 2

Easy to propagate 2

@Terry

4 Plants

103 XP

San Diego, CA

11/11/2021

Survive anything even an animal ate part of it but still here!!

Survivor

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear plant photo by Terry named Your plant on Greg, the plant care app.

@@Nbollinger17

3 Plants

17 XP

03/17/2021

Honestly I got this from a friend and witching a month I had so many new chutes growing up. I was amazed. So easy to take care of. It gets mostly medium indirect light, it sits on a shelf in my room and I was surprised at how fast it started new growth.

Survivor

Fast grower

Cow Tongue Prickly Pear plant photo by @Nbollinger17 named Carl on Greg, the plant care app.

@@Kiersten

70 Plants

36,768 XP

New Orleans, LA

03/01/2021

I found this cactus pad in the middle of a parking lot about a year ago and it’s now an established part of the plant fam!

They need loads of light and prefer to stay dry for a while but are super easy to propagate and are great for creating the feeling of a desert oasis in our swampy environment!

Survivor

Easy to propagate