Species · genus Opuntia · Cactaceae

Santa Rita Prickly Pear

Opuntia santa-rita (Griffiths & Hare) Rose

Also known as: Purple Prickly Pear · Blue Blade Cactus

Growth habit

Unknown

Reference · O. santa-rita

Cultivars of O. santa-rita

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

No named cultivars catalogued under O. santa-rita 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.

Opuntia santa-rita is a prickly pear cactus in the Cactaceae, built for arid, sun-baked conditions with its flattened, water-storing pads. Grow it in gritty, fast-draining mix and the brightest direct light you can offer, and water deeply only once the soil has dried out completely — a pad that looks slightly shrunken or wrinkled signals real thirst. It rots quickly if left sitting in moisture, so err firmly toward dryness.

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

5–35 °C

Soil mix

Fast-draining cactus mix with added pumice and grit

Propagation

Callus and root a detached purple pad in dry mix

Fertilizing

Occasional dilute cactus feed in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Bright yellow flowers in full sun; rare 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 Santa Rita Prickly Pear 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.