My wife and I visited her cousin, Penny, a few weeks ago and were amazed at an enormous cactus she had in landscape. It was an eastern prickly pear cactus measuring about 100 square feet, loaded with ...

I didn't want to be a plant snob. So I told myself I at least appreciated some merits of the homely cactus. The prickly pear, after all, is a role model for water conservation. The flowers are pretty ...

The first flush of nopalitos, or prickly pear cactus stems, are multiplying at a succulent near you. A popular vegetable while in season -- usually from early spring into fall -- it's a staple for ...

Prickly pear fruit is edible, and tasty at that! However, it's covered in dangerous spines, so you need to know the harvesting methods to avoid getting spiked ...

News flash: If you’re new to succulents, beware the prickly pear. It is the one cactus that strikes fear into every desert gardener, and now the drought has made these cactuses available far and wide.

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers. Q We have a large, old (probably about 40 ...

Back when I was in school, which for sure was a long time ago, I read a pulp magazine cowboy story that has stayed in my memory on account of prickly pear cactus. I don't remember the author of the ...

In parts of Texas, the prickly pear cactus is everywhere — potted outside coffee shops, dotting the side of the road, poking out of cracks in the sidewalk. It also lines the pathways of the University ...

Q: I have a prickly pear cactus that started out in a pot, but the pot broke one winter, and the plant has been growing in the ground since. I really haven't done anything to it, and now it's getting ...

Q: I just read your prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-nitida) article and wanted to report that I have six such cactus in my front yard. They have been troubled with a sticky white insect pest for ...

Opuntia, the prickly pear cactus, originated in South America, moved into the valleys of the Andes and then north into Mexico and North America. In Southern California, opuntia grows in the coastal ...