Blind Prickly Pear Cactus. Opuntia rufida,Cactus Family ( Cactaceae ), Blind Prickly Pear Cactus. Also Called: Blind Pear, Blind Prickly Pear, Cow Blinder, Opuntia lubrica, & Opuntia herfeldtii. We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some of the information on this page. We share images and information with Wikipedia. Blind Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia rufida, is native to the rocky slopes and well drained areas in the Chihuahuan Desert of the Big Bend Area of South West Texas and Northern Mexico from about 1800' to 3600'in elevation The species is much more common in Mexico. Opuntia rufida was once considered to be a variety of opuntia microdasys, with which it forms hybrids (in Mexico). Blind prickly pear has an obvious trunk, with many branches, and grows about 5 to 6 feet tall. Its joints are circular, dull gray-green, and the pads are covered with many short brown spines. The flowers are about 3 inches across, yellow to bright red-orange, with the full range of colors visible on the same plant at the same time. The fruit is about 1 inch long Opuntia rufida is one of the few prickly pear cacti that have no spines - another common in the Southwest (in the Mojave Desert) is opuntia basilaris. Opuntia rufida develops into a large upright clump, 6 feet high, with hundreds of grey/green, 6 inch-long pads, branching from a low central stem. The pads produce a profusion of orange-yellow flowers in late spring. Glochids on the neatly arranged areoles have a distinct reddish tinge. The very attractive Opuntia with tiny, reddish-brown colored, soft, fuzzy looking glochids. It has no spines. But, the attractive glochids are deceptively nasty. They stick to your skin with the slightest touch or movement of air and then they are very difficult to remove. If moving the plants, wet them down before working near them. That way you reduce the blowing away of the glochids. The best method we have found to remove the glochid spines is to coat the area affected with Elmer's Glue and let it dry. Then you can peel the glue off. Almost all the spines will pull out with the glue. Sometimes, we chew gum when working with this cactus. Then you can roll the gum over the affected area and remove many of the spines. Another way to remove these particular spines is duct tape. Press tape down carefully going in one direction, remove it quickly going the other. Follow up with tweezers, and a magnifying glass, in good light. These plants are great for Xeriscape Gardens, especially in an area that you want to protect from trespassing. It keeps dogs, raccoons, & trespassers out of areas of your yard where you don't want them! We placed them in a corner of our yard that we wanted to protect. No More Problems! This species is also very prone to rot if watered to much via sprinklers. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry soil and can tolerate drought. The closely related Opuntia microdasys differs by having white glochids. Some botanists treat the two as a single species. Quick Notes: Height: Height from 4 foot to about 5 feet. Spreading to about 6 feet, moderately slow, occasionally arborescent. Flowers: Flowers are a brilliant yellow changing to orange and red with age, with red centers and green stigmas, 3 inches across, borne on upper terminal margins of pads. Blooming Time: Mid Spring - Fruit in summer.. Leaves or Segments: Segmented, each segment broad and flat, oval to round in shape, to 8 inches long and less than one inch thick, often described as a "beaver tail". Glochids densely arrayed, greyish to reddish brown, rarely with spines; coarse texture. Areoles 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Fruit: Rounded, fleshy, unarmed or armed with very short spines, yellow-green ripening to red, 1 inch, maturing late summer. Seeds: Black oval - about 1/32 inch in length. Disease & Pests:: Root rot and cochineal scale. Found: Native to the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Zacatecas. Also native to the Big Bend area of west Texas - close to the Rio Grande Elevation: 1,800 -3,600 Feet. Hardiness: USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 �C (15 �F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 �C (20 �F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 �C (25 �F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 �C (30 �F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 �C (35 �F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 �C (40 �F) Soil pH requirements: 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline) Sun Exposure: Full Sun Habitat: Gravel or sandy flats, mesas, hillsides. A landscape plant in some places. Cactus rock garden, ground cover, accent plant for small to medium sized desert landscape areas. Miscellaneous: Plant has glochids (little barbed bristles organized in clusters) that are soft looking. But, use extreme caution when handling, they are sharp and break off easy, by even a slight wind. They can cause very painfull injury! Pollen may cause allergic reaction. Needs full sun and be careful not to overwater. Can rot easily. Great xeriscape plant for Arizona.

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