Scientific: Opuntia rufida (Synonym: Opuntia microdasys var. rufida)
Common: blind pricklypear, cow blinder
Family: Cactaceae
Origin: Rocky slopes and well drained sites in the Chihuahuan Desert of South Texas and northern Mexico from 1,500 to 4,000 feet in elevation.
Pronounciation: O-PUN-tee-a ru-FI-da
Hardiness zones:
Sunset 12-24
USDA 8-11
Character: Much branched individual stems upright, stiff, spreading, colorful, yet somewhat recessive, arid.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent perennial, Upright and moderately spreading, much branched, 4- to 5-feet tall with greater spread, occasionally arborescent.
Foliage/Texture: Stems are jointed into fleshy, rounded clades (padded stems) that are various in color from lucid purple when young to glacous blue with age. Glochids densely arrayed at aeroles, greyish to reddish brown, rarely with spines; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Flowers are a brilliant yellow changing to apricot or red with age, 3- to 4-inches across, are borne on upper terminal margins of pads, flowers strongly attract bees; fruit oblong, 2- to 3-inches long, red to purple.
Seasonal Color: A profusion of flowers during mid-spring (April in Phoenix); fruit produced during summer.
Temperature: Tolerant of desert heat.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: None after established.
Pruning: Prune by removing pad segments of any length to control spread.
Propagation: Cutting and dispersal of pads.
Disease and Pests: Root rot if soils are chronically wet, but limited to no cochineal scale.
Additional comments: Blind prickly pear is a very nice, tough, intermediate-sized, shrubby cactus for desert gardens. The prominent glochids of blind prickly pear are loosely attached and are prone to dislodge and fly into the air when these cacti are bumped or shaken. They get into animals' eyes and can cause blindness. Hence, the common name. The species rufida refers to the ruddy, reddish-brown glochids. The cultivar 'Desert Gem' is a dwarf selection that seldom grows more than 10-inches tall! The cultivar 'Minima Monstrose' is also a dwarf selection that is great choice for any desert container garden.
