Small prickly pear - cactus set without a pot

Prickly prickly pear

In the cultivation of opuntia, apart from the environment and temperature, proper watering and fertilization are also important. During the growing season (March-September), water the plant systematically, but very moderately, making sure that the soil in its pot is only slightly moist, but never wet (prickly pear does not tolerate overflow and easily rots from excess water). At this time, we also use small doses of fertilizers intended for cacti.

When the season comes to an end, we stop fertilizing and limit watering the plant to an absolute minimum, in winter almost no watering of the opuntia (once a month or less).

In spring, we gradually increase the temperature and resume irrigation and fertilization.

Before we start transplanting or propagating opuntia, however, we must protect our hands with thick, rubber protective gloves and use appropriate tools (e.g. silicone pliers), otherwise we can expose ourselves to very unpleasant stings and irritations caused by small but dangerous Italian.