Species · genus Opuntia · Cactaceae

Sour Prickle

Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw.

Also known as: Pipestem Prickly Pear · Red Prickle · Dillen's Prickly Pear · Erect Prickly Pear · Flat Hand Dildo

Growth habit

succulent shrub

Reference · O. dillenii

Cultivars of O. dillenii

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under O. dillenii yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A succulent shrub in the cactus family, Opuntia dillenii stores water in its flattened pads and is built for arid, sun-drenched conditions. Give it bright direct sun and gritty, fast-draining mix, and water deeply only when the soil has dried out completely throughout the pot. It tolerates neglect far better than excess moisture, which rots the roots and pads.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

8–32 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix with added coarse sand

Propagation

Root a callused pad in dry, gritty mix

Fertilizing

Dilute low-nitrogen cactus feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Sour Prickle yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.