W, You can do that, certainly. I wouldn't take a chance on it being cold hardy until I have more pads to experiment with. And give it as much light in the winter as you can and infrequent waterings. If you can't give it much light, don't water it but perhaps once - if you water it without adequate light, you'll get etiolated growth, and I really hate it when that happens to the Platyopuntia - they're such a rewarding subtribe! Sharon, That's entirely dependent on the species you have...as you likely know, there are many which would grow in your yard. Have you tried a pad of yours outside? They're a lot more hardy than I thought, and if you can keep it covered with snow or hay they're even hardier. The Opuntia polyacantha here has faced -10F/-15F (it was covered with snow then, though) and is growing well now.

Travis, First of all, let me say I am VERY new to cacti gardening and this is the first day on this forum. Saw your post and want to tell you that I can offer you all the prickly pear pads that you want. They are growing in my back yard. I understand that there are multiple types and I can't say that I can identify them all (just know they are prickly pear) but some are smaller pads that bloom yellow or a pinkish-purple color and some have larger pads that bloom yellow. Not real familiar with this forum yet, but I could send you some for just the shipping charges. I live outside of ABQ, NM, where it can get down to single digits in the winter, just not sure how they could handle the winters in WI since I used to live in SE MN. Let me know if I can help. David

I know Kansas well. I'm really from Oklahoma, I just happen to live in Raleigh NC at the moment. I've spoken to a guy in California that sent away for opuntia pads from the research station in Bolivia and they sent him some. I'm not sure what sort of credentials he needed but I believe he just explained what he was interested in and they sent him what they had that fit his criteria. There are US Dept of Ag research stations that will send private gardeners plants - you just have to wait a while. They are set up to provide samples to Universities and researchers but if they have material available they will share with the general public. I have had no problem growing prickly pear from seed. With a greenhouse you can keep them growing all year and get sizable plants in a couple of years. You might also just test out different growing methods to see if anything will affect fruit production and quality. I have a completely thornless Opuntia in my garden that seems hardier than most but it rarely blooms or fruits - but that would be another direction to explore. I just got back from Mexico, where I ate grilled cactus pads often. Once the weather warms up and the young pads start to fill out I plan on testing out that technique at home.

The soil looks like it is Native soil from somewhere. Sandy soil often is not good cactus soil. You might want to add an equal part grit , as in Perlite , or Pumice to the mix and put the cladode (pad) deeper in and put two wood skewers on either side to help hold it up till the roots get a better grip and put the pot in the sun. I think the dirt has compacted down. You can see where the dirt line used to be, and the level of dirt in the pot looks very low. That means that the drainage in the soil is getting much less and the air in the dirt is dissapearing. NOT GOOD. When you water it , how long does it take for the water to recede? This opuntia is more water tolerant than others but it still needs drainage.. Opuntia type plants can deal with more root space than other cactus. They like it. I would suggest a bigger clay pot. If you do take the plant out let it sit for a couple of days before you re plant it and then DO NOT WATER IT for 3 -7 days. The roots need to callus ( form a scab ) from any cuts or bruising. Then give it GOOD sun. Do you know what type of Opuntia that it is. It could be Nopalea cochenillifera. Synonym is Opuntia cochenillifera. Someone( a splitter) has been messing with those scientific names. It is hardy to about 20F maybe a little lower. Where do you live. Not to be nosey. This is a big cactus . It will be happiest outside . I have seen these 14' and big around as an SUV. This opuntia will be much happier in the ground. I have seen them in pots and I think that they keep trimming pads off of it to eat them , making it branch and stay small and IN FULL SUN. I am not sure how they grow them in pots. The first pot maybe had pads taken off and rooted by its parent. Included some photos of this cactus growing in pots in FULL sun outdoors in Mexico. Outdoors all year long in full strong sun.. and a photo of the monster this can become. This is naturally a thin and floppy variety. If it is in reduced sun , it can not support itself because of the stretching out (etiolation). This is not a cactus for a living-room collection up north unless you have a large space and great lights. The other variety that it could be is Opuntia ficus-indicus, another large one hardy to 15F maybe. Mine bit the dust at above that.. Cocheneal Nopal More info from Eat the weeds