Wow ... speedy aren't they!

Hah, funny! You know, prickly pears are notorious for being slow and/or random in their germination. I've harvested fresh seed and planted it and some sprouted right away, and others took a year, two or even three. I try to either plant them in the ground or put the pots where I don't have to see them too often so I don't get too annoyed, LOL.

Are you going to keep the babies?
Take care,
Grant

I totally don't see the point of planting them from seed unless you're trying to hybridize them. way easier to just chop a pad off a mature plant and pop it in the ground, and you have an established plant in a couple of months.

I have also planted prickly pear pads but the seeds were just for fun. And yes I do plan on keeping them. :)

i am trying to grow prickly pear from seed and when they sprout a tiny hair like sprout that looks almost like a mushroom comes up and dies like the next day... what is happening?

It's fun to start opuntia from seed, especially when you have several times blooming at the same time--you never know what you'll get, LOL. Here's a little pot of some I started from some huge-paddle plants in my front yard. I let the birds eat the big round red fruit, but I found a few seeds in the eaten fruit so I tossed them in a pot. This batch sprouted very quickly, although I've waited a loooong time in the past for other opuntia seeds to sprout, LOL. Tennis ball to show relative size.

{{gwi:399961}}

Caitlin, it sounds like you are getting actual mushrooms in your soil? I'd make sure to use fresh, new seed-starting "soil-less" potting soil in a clean, mostly sterilized pot too. It wouldn't hurt to pour boiling water over the pot and then the pot full of soil to help kill pathogens. Just let it cool before planting seeds of course. :)

Take care all,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: My little garden blog, just a post or two a month

Um, that was supposed to say "several TYPES blooming at the same time", darn spell check, LOL. :)