Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Discuss hardy cacti grown outside all year.
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manmtn7
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Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Post by manmtn7 »

Has anyone had any luck growing Opuntia Ficus Indica in an area where the temperature can drop to 18-32 degrees Fahrenheit?
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cactushobbyman
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Location: Sanger, California

Re: Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Post by cactushobbyman »

Mine have been in the garden since 1996, and the temps often get to the mid 20's. My summers are extreme, 110 degrees. Spring time we eat the new pads and I still have to do a major prune every few years. If the plant is a young transplant, the first year you may want to protect, but I never did and they are fine.
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adetheproducer
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Re: Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Post by adetheproducer »

I live in wales uk so temperatures get much lower than 18°f I keep mine outside most of the year. It is on a relatively dry outside windowsill from about the end of January until April when I put it out in the open up the garden. It will stay there until probably October maybe even November subject to how wet it is the back to the windowsill til the beginning of December when it goes in the greenhouse. I have even had fliwers and fruit from it so it must be happy.
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My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
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greenknight
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Re: Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Post by greenknight »

There are many different strains of that, there's probably some variation in cold tolerance - but I think they're generally pretty hardy.
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Kamos
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Re: Cold hardiness of Opuntia Ficus Indica

Post by Kamos »

Hi manmtn7,
If you're looking for a cold hardy Opuntia , consider O.paraguayens. Very tough , and attractive as far as Opuntias go. :)
Neal
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