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Cacti & Succulents

Help! Pad of prickly pear (Opuntia) fell off...

6 years ago

Hi all, it's my first post on Houzz, unfortunately one in need of help!

I bought a Prickly Pear cactus last week from the shop. I gave him a nice spot next to the window. Summers in Amsterdam are not that warm, but it's the warmest spot in the house ;)

I watered him a few days ago on Thursday (the soil was bone dry), and today I woke up to find that one of his pads fell off! Did I do something wrong? I am worried it's caused by overwatering, but I don't think I watered it too much. I touched the soil today and it's already dry again.

Anyone have any ideas? :-(

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Comments (3)

Alain (Pacifica, CA;10a)
6 years ago
Not sure what caused this but young pads can break easily and this looks like a clean cut rather than rot or other. Not what you wanted but if the pad and parent plant are still firm at the cut area, you have now a second plant! Just let the pad dry at the base then put it back into a new pot (about 1 inch into soil) and wait. When you see new growth, start watering.

This being said, these plants need lots of light/sun and very good drainage. Glazed pots not the best for them. Pots must have a drainage hole and soil should be C&S soil mixed with perlite/pumice at a 50/50% ratio. Your soils seems to be too water-retaining. Sorry I don't have a better answer, just check and make sure that the cut pad and parent plant are not getting mushy anywhere (cut area and plant base) and keep the water low, letting it dry between watering (not just the soil top!)
Tee Tran
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thanks so much for your response, Alain! Really appreciate it. Will wait a bit to re-pot it and check out the soil you suggested. (I assume it's too soon since it might be stressed that it's in a new environment).

And very excited to potentially have a second prickly friend!!
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As it's alive, it's about ready to enter into a growth phase - spring and summer are the peak of those. If it feels root-bound, it likely it - Opuntias grow roots quickly many times and the roots can overwhelm the pot it's in in short order. I'd depot it and see if it's ready for up-potting. You'd likely see a pad or three added this year providing its needs are met in terms of light, warmth, water and soil to grow in.
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You're not losing a plant; you've just added two more. I suspect too much wafer and/or poor drainage. Cacti and succulents often drop leaves in response to too much water, and those pads look very turgid. I would follow David's soil advice. Get them into something that drains really well and has no peat in it at all. Pumice, Al's gritty mix, even gravel, lava rock, or river stones will be better than normal potting soil. In order to keep cacti longterm in peat mix, they must be in tiny pots with well-established root systems, then you only water when the plant shrivels. Bone dry is what cacti NEED. They suck up as much water as they can store it in their stems/leaves, and that's what they live on, not wafer at the roofs. When you water a turgid cactus, the water has nowhere to go and the roots just stand in it and rot. Fat cactus means do not water no matter how dry the soil is. In a home, most cacti can go many, many months without water.
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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.
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About the frozen pad issue, It all depends on what type of PP you have and how cold cold is.. GT, I have to preface this with I live in Zone 8B, so what I say must be taken with a note of caution. I do not know where you are and how your cactus will do. Many cactus harden off by dehydrating and "LYING DOWN" and playing dead. The ice is giving it some insulation. When spring comes it may just stand up once warm IF it is a hardy cactus like O. polycantha, O macrohiza (sp). I have seen this with Prickly Pear. I saw a huge 5 foot O. gomei lie down and smother the cactus below it and then stand up exposing the now dead prized trailing cactus 3 months later. I forgot. That happens when one has too many plants. . I had trimmed its brother of about 200 lbs. of pads and left it as a control to see what would happen. It took a long time but it stood up. It was on the edge of its hardiness range. My neighbors 4 cows broke loose and ate the 200 lbs. of pads in one afternoon. You have a choice of cutting the pad off know and bringing it inside and see if it is viable or leaving it as is , but check it for rot. The pad will not even think of rooting till warm spring/summer so do not put it in soil. Just let it callous .
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I also wonder if there is a drainage hole in that container? If there is a problem with drainage (poorly draining soil and no drainage hole), you should really repot plant ASAP. Longer you leave it there, worse it is for plant. That could create more problems than plant being in new environment, and/or being repotted again.

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