Propagating Prickly Pear Cactus from Pads

Q. I want to propagate my prickly pear and bunny ear cactus. Should I place the cuttings immediately in the ground or in a pot and plant them in the ground later?

A. You can plant cuttings from them directly into the ground. Forget the pot. It’s not necessary. Wait until it gets warmer like around March or April. Remove a pad from whatever plant you are propagating and let the pad with the cut end heal in the shade for about a week.

The pad can be removed by cutting at the suture with a sharp, sanitized knife.  

          T

o do this, take a sharp, sterilized knife and bend the pad over without breaking it. Touch the sharpened edge of the knife to the suture where the pad joins the mother plant. The pad should pop right off at the suture. If not, gently push the sharp edge of the knife into the suture and slice through it smoothly.

If you lay the pads horizontally they will begin to curve in a couple of days.

            If you really want to guard against infections in the pad, dust the cuts and of the pad with a fungicide such as Thriam, copper sulfate or Bordeaux. When you put the pad in the shade to heal, lean it against something so it is upright or the pad will begin curving if you lay it flat.

Plant them in amended soil so that the pads flat surfaces faced East and West. This way they get sun on both sides of the pad.

            Mix the soil where you are planting with compost and add water. Stick the pad so the flat sides of the pad faces East and West. Sink the pad about one third of its length into the soil and water it once. After that, water it about every 3 weeks and it will begin rooting into the soil where it is stuck.