Try to find a Mexican food market. The Spanish name is Nopal, or Nopales (plural). They should have them already de-thorned.

I've seen them on rare occasions at the Wal-mart Supercenter, packaged and refrigerated.

isn't that the cactus growing in the sand dunes at the beaches??

I have a bunch of them if you would like to do a trade...Mine are the ones that bloom yellow and you could grow your own.. Email me or post here and let me know.
Donna

Ladybarber101@hotmail.com

Opuntias grow easily in all the sandy soil around Florida.
I've seen them along roadsides, in fields and along wild pathways.
I have some of the spineless variety growing in my yard, if you'd like a couple of pads.
You can easily start them by sticking a pad in the sand.
They are available at many roadside vegetable stands if you have a population of Central Americans living in your area.
We have a local flea market on weekends where I've usually seen them.
How old are your Sulcatas?
Do they roam your yard?
Can you show us a picture?

I am in Port St Lucie, if that's any where near you, I be glad to give you a pad to grow your own. I just like the plant and the flower.

I live in Texas. They are all over here...LOL.

If you are interested in eating them, and you do find a source, look for "spineless". I have some spineless in my front yard. Even the spineless have spines. The traditional method to remove the spines is to run a blow torch over the pads.

They are the ultimate health food!!! I eat them raw, and they taste pretty good. They taste a little bit like a sweet rhubarb. (By that I mean, they taste like rhubarb without the "sour")

When I lived in Wisconsin, we had this patch of rhubarb. Prickly pear reminds me a bit of our rhubarb patch.

They are also the ultimate "soil amendment". I will sometimes crush them up and put them into my beds before planting.

If you can't find any, I could probably mail you a few pads.

If you are interested, just respond here, and I'll post an email address.

I would be interested if you could let me know how much shipping would be to zip code 12106. Do you know what variety your spineless are and if they would survive outside in zone 5? Thanks!

Prickly pears grow wild in shore communities from New Jersey to Florida to Texas. Believe that there are a few different species of Opuntia (the genus) that are winter hardy (probably into zone 6). Not sure about zone 5 but maybe with protection (raised bed/mulch, etc.) I know I had a pot of them in a smallish container and they survived last winter fine and bloomed this past June (they have big, bright yellow flowers). Where they are hardy they really spread vigorously--almost like a ground cover. Planted a bunch of them by the side of the house that gets very hot and they love it. All you need is one leaf--place it on sandy soil and it'll root in.

Winn Dixie sells them here in Sarasota