Origin and habitat: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico.

Common names: Blunt-spined prickly pear, Long-spined prickly pear, Purple prickly pear, Santa Rita candle cactus, Santa Rita prickly pear, Violet prickly pear

Description: Opuntia santa-rita is an erect, bushy succulent shrub to 2 m high and 3 m wide with a distinct, though short trunk. It a very attractive species with reddish or violet-purple pads. Small plants seem to be the most colorful. The yellow flowers are stunning on the purple pads in spring, definitely an eye-catcher.

Blooming season: April through August

Cultivation and propagation: This is a much decorative frost hardy cactus easily found in cultivation. It is a summer grower species that offers no cultivation difficulties. Its purple pads provide a striking accent for an otherwise dormant cactus garden.

Water: In summer, during the vegetative period, it must be regularly watered, but allowing the substratum to completely dry up before irrigating again (but do not overwater ); in winter, it’s to be kept dry. Preferable not to water on overcast days, humid days or cold winter days.

Hardiness: It is a quite frost resistant cactus, hardy to -7° C (- 12° C or less if very dry). However, in cultivation it is better not to expose it to temperatures lower than -0° C, even if in an aerated and protected location, in order to avoid the formation of anti-aesthetic spots on the epidermis. In presence of high atmospheric humidity avoid any frost as it is particularly sensitive to root rot. USDA Zone 6-10. It can handle extremely high temperatures in summer.

Exposure: Outside full sun or afternoon shade, inside needs bright light, and some direct sun.

It is suitable for small “desert” gardens, in association with other xerophytes. Where the open air cultivation is not possible due to the climate, it is to be cultivated in pot in order to shelter it in winter.

Some of the information in this description has been found at desert-tropicals.com, llifle.com and cactus-art.biz