Opuntia Species, Black-Spine Prickly Pear, Purple Prickly Pear, Red-joint Prickly Pear, Texas Santa

I’ve been growing Opuntia macrocentra in my garden here in Salt Lake City, Utah (zone 7b) for about 10 years. Mine have survived a fros...Read Morety 9 F with absolutely no damage. I purchased a couple relatively large specimens from a local nursery here in the Salt Lake Valley, and they have absolutely thrived here every single year. I LOVE the gorgeous yellow flowers, and so do all the bees! This species is definitely hardy to zone 7 here in the Southwest, even though it’s commonly rated as only hardy to zone 8a/8b. O. macrocentras’ pads becomes very purple during the winter months, and really pop with other Broadleaf Evergreens, Palms, Yuccas, and Agaves. This is a great Prickly Pear for Utah as well as many other species, and should have no problem whatsoever in zone 7 + places (even in exposed sites).

Survived the past 6 winters in Albuquerque. Including 8 inches of snow an inch or less of ice and temps as low as 12 degrees.

O. Macrocentra. I bought this plant from Cold Hardy Cactus in Colorado. The seller rated it to zone 6, but I took a chance here in zone 5...Read More. It survived -10°F with little trouble. This past winter was brutal, and dropped below -15°F, into zone 4 temps, and the cactus died. My microclimate may vary from yours, though.

It made it through three Springs before it bloomed, last July. The flowers had yellow petals, fading to orange at the bottom. The pads are on the bluish side of green, with a purple tinge in places, especially when it's cold. My plant had only a few, dark spines.

Survived a winter in zone 6a without problems, although only with perfect drainage. Flowers are generally yellow or yellow-orange, and ha...Read Moreve a reddish throat.