I guess the answer depends(a little bit/or lot)on what kind of Opuntia you mean.

If they are the garden variety that grown from the southern U.S. through Canada you need do nothing,
they basically can't be killed.

Do they grow tall or lay close to the ground?
Do they stay standing in winter out lay down?

Hi Jim,

Thanks! Here's some pictures from a couple of weeks ago. The one pictured closest, is starting to visibly droop, apparently succumbing to almost nightly freezes now. The other looks unchanged from summer. These look like min. zone 7 plants to me, from like the Mojave or Sonoran desert, but the nursery that sold them advertised them as zone 4. This is their 1st winter-but I'm thinking it looks like they'll soon lay down and dehydrate. Wish I saved the tags-they were both listed as optunia-I think- the higher, further one being somekind of spineless or needleless species. Anyhow, what do you think? Thanks!

Duncan

Mine droop and lay down every winter. I never cover any of my cacti. The one in the back looks like
Opuntia humifusa to me. You can't kill those. 🙂

-Jay

Thanks Jay!

Do you mean can't kill in Kelowna? I don't think such a plant exists for Calgary 😉 !

Thanks!

Duncan

No prob. Well, I have never killed any. 🙂 These are the Eastern prickly pear cactus and are super hardy. Native to S. Ontario, Michigan etc.
I probably have a couple hundred pads growing so if you kill yours this winter just let me know and I'll send you some. 🙂

-Jay

Is the back one spineless?

I think both are the variety that grow upright,if they lay down it's unlikely they will stand up
again,the one in back looks like the kind I had in my Cactus garden last year-
it succumbed to the cold,probably because it held to much water going into winter and rotted.

Here's a pic of the rotted victim from last year

What it looked like in mid Jan

I have about ten different varieties of Opuntia that are upright, most lay down over the winter
and then perk right back up again come Spring time.

-Jay

Thanks for the insights guys 😀 .

Jay, I'd definitely take you up on some of the eastern prickly pear this spring...thanks!

Jim, the one you lost looks a lot like the spineless one I have. Some of pads are like 4-5 inches across/long. It is bone dry and I haven't watered to start the hardening off porcess. We haven't had significant moisture in about a month and a half either. Still, we get colder than you. Usually 3-4 days down to -30c (-22f).

Maybe I'll just leave 'em and see. I'm really not sure how to protect cacti and I've got other priorities for artificial heat.

Thanks guys!

Duncan

Good luck Duncan!

That spinless fellow looks like O. ficus-indica to me, but the picture is a little distant. If it is, it should be toasted by temps of ~ -10C to -15C. If that temperature doesn't kill it, it is probably something else. I'd say that it is definately not O. humifusa, the pads are too big and the growth form is all wrong (all varietas of this sp. are sprawling, except for O. humifusa v. ammophila, from Florida).

The other one looks like O. phaecantha or a close relative (the "species" of Opuntia are extremely difficult to separate)... There are forms of this species hardy to zone 4 (3?). I have ~6 different types, but, I have tried 8 or so. Most are perfectly hardy here. The larger forms seem borderline, with the largest one I grow being the least hardy (unsightly damage almost yearly, not really worthwhile as an ornamental).

Here are some pics of the species I mention for comparison:

O. humifusa v. ammophila:

O. humifusa:

O. phaecantha:

O. ficus-indica:

Yeah, It's hard to really tell from Duncan's picture. Here's a few photos of my O. Humifusa

Looks like things are taking off for you Jay. 😀

Jay- What form is that? It looks completely spineless! The Canadian native O. humifusa are somewhat spiny, this one is from the lake Erie shore of Southern Ontario ( Point Pelee, or Pelee I.):

<img src=" " alt="imgp0973">

<img src=" " alt="imgp0993">

Opuntia humifusa 'Lemon spreader'- is spineless and sprawling. To perhaps 6" high.
<img src=" " alt="IMGP1183">
Opuntia humifusa 'Point Pelee' (the common Canadian form):
<img src=" " alt="IMGP1185">
<img src=" " alt="IMGP1209">

I have, I think, 2 or 3 others forms (I tore out one from Arkansas because it was continually damaged by my cold), including one from Northern GA, one from Delaware, and one from VA (if it's still there). The Point Pelee form is the most vigorous and largest that I grow!

I maintain that Duncans plant has the look of a larger, less hardy Opuntia. Hope I'm wrong because if it is hardy I'll be asking for a piece!

If your unsure about a prickly-pear making it through the winter. Brake a pad off and keep it inside until spring.

Also you can build a cheap but good simple cover with 4' lath and some window cover plastic. Just hammer them in the ground and make a tee-pee like cover with the plastic and staple the plastic to the poles and then poke a hole/holes in the top sides of the plastic for vents.

Heres a pic of one with out the plastic and one that is finished. 😉

This one is a many headed barrel that must stay dry in the winter. This method works wells out here in the west.