Where are you located Annamaria? This will dictate everything. If you are in a mild climate, you won't want to bother with one of the wild species, but should definitely get a cultivar of Opuntia ficus-indica. These should be readily available from warm-climate nurseries. If you're in a colder zone, you could try Opuntia engelmannii or related wild types. Many of these are available through mail order nurseries specializing in cacti and succulents as well as unusual edibles. I see that Edible Landscaping sells one that is hardy to zone 7. Of course, anywhere in the arid but not-too-cold western part of the country you are likely to see some growing wild or as part of landscaping. Just collect some pads from a variety of plants and wait a year or two to taste the fruit!

I don't grow the spineless one, but I have winter hardy Opuntias growing in a raised (enclosed) bed in front of my house in our rather rich Nebraska soil with just a bit of rock mixed in. They come back after the coldest winters. Mind you, they look like hell by winter's end - nearly black and withered. But once it starts to warm, they puff back up and green up, and by June, they're blooming up a storm... I was a bit skeptical myself when I put mine in the ground, so I kept a rooted pad inside in the winter the first couple of years, in case I lost them and had to start over. But they truely are WINTER hardy! Denise in Omaha

There are plenty of great reasons to plant opuntia. The fruit is great, it has gotten out of vogue, but in th 40-50’s it was highly prized and sold for a nice price for growers. The pads are also good to eat but take a little work. Luther Burbank was so taken with the plant, its hardiness, rapid growth, very low cost to grow and high nutritional value, he spent may years planting it and trying to develop a thornless variety. He got close but never succeeded. He envisioned this plant to end world hunger. Besides the beautiful flowers and colorful fruit, the plant makes an incredible barrier for keeping people out. It is better than a fence when grown in. You are not going to climb this fence. When planted along an existing chainlink fence, only small creaturs will be able to pass. When thick it is also a great noise barrier. Any product that is made for weed control in beds of iceplant will not harm opuntia. Roundup is not recommend for use to kill cactus, but it will in a strong solution. Over spray of a solution of .8 to 1.6, which is recommended for almost all weeds would need to be actually applied to the cactus, wetting it all, to cause any severe damage, over spray at that level will have no effect. But when you have an established cacti bed, spray a pre-emergent, then you will only need to spot treat later for weeds. 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.