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Opuntia ficus-indica

Opuntia ficus-indica, Cactaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Barbary fig, edible prickly pear, Indian Fig, tuna and Tuna Cactus.

Opuntia ficus-indica (Opuntia ficus-indica), the whole plant.
Daniele Pugliesi, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Opuntia ficus-indica is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Opuntia compressa. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Full sun
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Give full light all year. During growth (spring, summer, early autumn), let the compost dry before watering and feed three or four times with a balanced liquid fertiliser. In winter, while dormant, stop both water and fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Keep in full light year-round. In the growth period (spring, summer and early autumn), let the compost dry out before each watering and feed three or four times with a balanced liquid fertiliser. In winter, while dormant, give no water or fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
In spring sow seed, pre-soaked first, and hold at 21°C to germinate. In summer root stem segments. Hold the segments in folded newspaper so the spines are not touched.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Mealybugs and scale insects can attack it. Disease is uncommon, but root rots can develop in wet or poorly drained soil.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Opuntia ficus-indica (Opuntia ficus-indica) growing wild.
In the wildRyan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread and most commercially important cactus. It is grown primarily as a fruit crop, and also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses. Opuntia species hybridize easily, but the wild origin of O. ficus-indica is likely to have been in central Mexico, where its closest genetic relatives are found.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Mexico (Oaxaca)
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Mexico
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
succulent shrub or tree
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Columnar upright (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 4-8 metres; spread 4-8 metres after 10–20 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers orange in spring and summer; yellow in spring and summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Other Opuntia

More of the Cactaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.