For tough, resilient plants, Opuntia engelmannii is the cactus to grow. Delivered as one small pad ... vary in sweetness ...

The prickly pear cactus is probably the most identifiable plant (besides the saguaro) ... They flower in the spring, usually by May, and the fruits can be found after July.

They will be about 4 to 4 1/2 inches long. The cactus also produces a fruit that is called a tuna in Spanish. The prickly pear is a blooming plant and the flowers can be yellow, yellow-orange, or red.

While prickly pear appreciates sandy, rocky soil, it’s fairly tolerant of more mesic, loam or clay-loam soils. Just be sure to use some gloves and tongs to handle the pads. It is a cactus after all!

In 2021, Wild Hope Farm, which has built up a bit of a following for its prickly pear—a group that includes everyone from local brewers and farmers’ market regulars—sold around $15,000 worth of fruit ...

Albuquerque prickly pear festival celebrates abundance of the desert The dangerously monikered cactus is a source of joy in the Southwest. Albuquerque celebrates with music and yummy opuntia treats.

Arizona put the saguaro on its license plate and anointed the saguaro cactus flower as its official flower. In 1995, Texas lawmakers designated the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant.