Plant Care Drooping Prickly Pear

Drooping Prickly Pear

4.6 out of 5 (34 experiences)

Drooping Prickly Pear has a Survivor plant personality Survivor
Drooping Prickly Pear has a Fast grower plant personality Fast grower

Also known as

Drooping Tree Pear, Cochineal Prickly Pear and Barbary Fig

Taxonomy

Opuntia monacantha
Opuntia
Cactaceae
Caryophyllales

How to care for Drooping Prickly Pear

💦 Water

How often to water your Drooping Prickly Pear

Water needs for Drooping Prickly Pear
0.5 cups
every 12

Drooping 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.

Calculate water needs of Drooping Prickly Pear

Water 0.5 cups every
12

Does your plant get direct sunlight?

Select the pot size

5"
☀️ Light

Finding light for Drooping Prickly Pear in your home

Light needs and placement for plant Drooping Prickly Pear: 1ft from a window
1ft or less from
a window

Drooping 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.

Drooping Prickly Pear does not tolerate low-light 🚫.

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

🪴 Nutrients

How to fertilize Drooping Prickly Pear

Nutrient, fertilizer, and repotting needs for Drooping 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 Drooping Prickly Pear after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.

Browse #DroopingPricklyPear
💡 FAQs
⭐ Difficulty Level

Drooping Prickly Pear is generally easy to care for, though some plant parents report facing challenges with growing it. Check out the reviews down below to read more about their experiences!

Benefits of Growing Drooping Prickly Pear →

Common Drooping Prickly Pear Problems →


💦 Water Needs

Drooping 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.

Drooping Prickly Pear Water Frequency →

Drooping Prickly Pear Root Rot →


☀️ Sunlight Needs

Drooping 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 🏡.

Drooping Prickly Pear Light Requirements →

Drooping Prickly Pear Direct Sunlight Needs & Tolerance →


🐶 🐈 👶 Toxicity

Drooping Prickly Pear is not known to cause harm to humans or pets. Regardless, if you, a family member, a cat, or dog has ingested any plant material, please consult a doctor or a veterinarian.

Is Drooping Prickly Pear Edible? →

Drooping Prickly Pear Toxicity to Cats →

Drooping Prickly Pear Toxicity to Dogs →

Drooping Prickly Pear Toxicity to Humans →


💨 Humidity

Drooping 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.

Drooping Prickly Pear Humidity Needs →


🪴 Soil

Drooping 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!

Best Soil Mix for Drooping Prickly Pear →

When and How to Successfully Repot Drooping Prickly Pear →

What Are Healthy Drooping Prickly Pear Roots →


💩 Fertilizer

Drooping 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!

How Much and When to Fertilize Drooping Prickly Pear →


❄️ Dormancy

It’s common for Drooping 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.


🌎 Native Region

Drooping Prickly Pear is native to the Americas.


🌸 Flowers
⬆️ ⬇️ Growth Pattern

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

Drooping Prickly Pear Lifecycle →

Drooping Prickly Pear Size Guide →

How and When to Prune Drooping Prickly Pear →


🌦️ Growing Outdoors

USDA Hardiness Zone
Drooping Prickly Pear can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 8a-11b. Find your local hardiness zone here.

Drooping Prickly Pear Temperature Tolerance →

Drooping Prickly Pear Hardiness Zones →

Is Drooping Prickly Pear a Weed? →


🌱 Propagation

Drooping Prickly Pear can be propagated by the stem method. To propagate:

  • Make a cut just above the node. The node is the break in the stem where the leaf emerges.
  • To get the cutting to root, you can either:
    • Place the cutting in water until roots emerge and are ~2” long and then transplant into well-draining soil, or
    • Place the cutting directly into well-draining soil and water when dry.

How to Propagate Drooping Prickly Pear →


🧐 Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting a sad-looking houseplant, start by checking for signs of distress in its leaves, such as yellowing, browning, or drooping, which can indicate overwatering or nutrient deficiencies.

Inspect the soil moisture; too dry or too wet soil can cause problems.

Ensure the plant is getting the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it.

Finally, consider environmental factors like temperature and humidity, and adjust care routines accordingly to revive your plant.


😖 Common Issues

Overwatering is a likely cause of issues with Drooping Prickly Pear. These plants are very sensitive to wet soil so if you notice your plant becoming squishy or translucent, overwatering is the likely culprit.

Cut your plant just past where the rot ends and allow it to callus over for a few days before replanting it in fresh, dry soil. Download Greg to make sure your plant never gets overwatered again!


Care Summary for Drooping Prickly Pear

Drooping Prickly Pear

Drooping 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

Drooping Prickly Pear has a Survivor plant personality Survivor 23
Drooping Prickly Pear has a Fast grower plant personality Fast grower 20
Drooping Prickly Pear has a Large, lush leaves plant personality Large, lush leaves 3
Drooping Prickly Pear has a Easy to propagate plant personality Easy to propagate 2
Drooping Prickly Pear has a Browns easily plant personality Browns easily 1
@emelia.maee avatar
@@emelia.maee
leaf-1 4 Plants
xp 287 XP
globe Herriman, UT
02/08/2022

Super fun and totally easy to take care of :) if youre lazy like me youll love it!

Survivor Survivor
Fast grower Fast grower
@SirLiquorice avatar
@@SirLiquorice
leaf-1 144 Plants
xp 20,470 XP
12/20/2021

Grows fast while still fitting in a small place and doesn’t require a lot of direct sunlight or water. It thrives on just the led light in my ceiling fan that lights the room and the other led light for the room. Doesn’t need s specific grow light trained on it so far and it’s growing fast. Has a 3 new paddles with more coming and it only took a short period of time it seems

Fast grower Fast grower
@ennoit avatar
@@ennoit
leaf-1 1 Plants
xp 36 XP
12/07/2021

Be very very careful when re-potting because the pricks are very long and sharp and will hurt like a splinter. Absolutely loves the sun, and bottom watering seems to work best for me.

Fast grower Fast grower
Survivor Survivor
@kirbyfanacc avatar
@@kirbyfanacc
leaf-1 19 Plants
xp 529 XP
globe Basingstoke, England
07/29/2021

god knows how long I have had this, hardly ever remember to water it but last summer it did start to bloom a little, which was genuinely lovely to see but sadly didn’t get to see the whole bloom before the cold weather came

Survivor Survivor
@freshlycutweeds avatar
@@freshlycutweeds
leaf-1 5 Plants
xp 227 XP
globe Aurora, IN
07/21/2021

i loveeeee my drooping prickly pear

Survivor Survivor
@elsabetts avatar
@@elsabetts
leaf-1 9 Plants
xp 1,122 XP
07/16/2021

Very easy to look after

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
@Alexiss710 avatar
@@Alexiss710
leaf-1 4 Plants
xp 258 XP
06/19/2021

Super great cactus needs Lil water grows pretty fast

Survivor Survivor
@Jdubs avatar
@@Jdubs
leaf-1 25 Plants
xp 2,481 XP
06/17/2021

This little guy is fun to own. If you water it a lot, it will grow fast and you can easily take a piece off. I've never had one die on me (the propagated piece or the original). I've owned this one for about 13 years!

Survivor Survivor
Easy to propagate Easy to propagate
Fast grower Fast grower
@SharonKoernig avatar
@@SharonKoernig
leaf-1 68 Plants
xp 3,168 XP
globe Austin, TX
06/07/2021

Love my variegated drooping prickly pear! The look is striking. It doesn’t need a lot of water and can take bright strong direct Texas sun, which brings lots of growth during spring and summer. It’s dormant during winter.

Survivor Survivor
@Sunflower_Sam avatar
@@Sunflower_Sam
leaf-1 11 Plants
xp 2,815 XP
globe Ottawa, Ontario
05/25/2021

He’s a good little man and I honestly love him.

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Survivor Survivor
@swag avatar
@@swag
leaf-1 5 Plants
xp 231 XP
05/19/2021

They’re swag and you can forget about them and they won’t perish.

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