Bunny ears cactus

Sun

Full sun outdoors; the brightest available sunny position indoors. Acclimatise indoor plants gradually before putting them into strong outdoor sun.

Water

Water thoroughly, then let the potting mix dry completely. Keep almost dry during a cool winter rest; established outdoor plants need little supplementary water in dry climates.

Soil

Sharply drained, gritty cactus compost in containers, or sandy, gravelly soil outdoors. Avoid heavy clay, standing water and moisture-retentive planting pockets.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

3-5 ft (0.9-1.5 m)

Flowers

Yellow flowers in late spring or summer on mature plants; flowering is uncommon indoors.

Foliage

Evergreen, flattened green stem pads dotted with white or yellow clusters of tiny barbed bristles called glochids; true leaves are minute and short-lived.

Growth

Slow to moderate; faster in warm, sunny conditions.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.8 ft (0.25 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.1 ft (0.33 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.4 ft (0.42 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

5. After 5 years

   2.2 ft (0.67 m)

About 6 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Invasive in

Australia

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Moderate

• Use a pot with drainage holes and a gritty cactus mix; empty any saucer after watering.
• During active growth, water only once the mix has dried completely; reduce watering sharply in winter.
• Feed lightly with a low-nitrogen cactus fertiliser during spring and summer, following the label.
• Move pots under cover before frost, preferably before night temperatures fall below 5°C.
• Handle with long tongs rather than bare hands; glochids can penetrate gloves and lodge in clothing.

Pruning. In spring or early summer, remove damaged or unwanted pads at their joints with clean tools and long tongs. Let wounds dry naturally, and contain all cut material so detached pads cannot root outdoors.

Spring

Check for mealybugs and resume watering gradually as new growth begins.

Spring

Repot only if crowded, using a slightly larger pot and fresh gritty cactus mix.

Late spring

Move overwintered pots outside once nights are reliably mild, introducing direct sun gradually.

Summer

Water after the mix dries completely and feed lightly during active growth.

Early autumn

Stop feeding and reduce watering as growth slows.

Late autumn

Bring pots into a bright, frost-free place in cold or winter-wet climates.

Winter

Keep cool plants almost dry and check that the pads remain firm rather than soft or rotting.

• Use a single specimen in a simple terracotta or concrete pot to show off its branching pad shapes.
• Combine with agaves, aloes and low succulents in a sunny, frost-free gravel garden.
• Place in a raised, sharply drained bed against a warm wall, well back from access routes.
• Group with other container cacti in a bright conservatory, leaving space for safe handling.

Garden styles it suits: Desert modern, Desert / xeriscape, Architectural minimal, Dry gravel garden, Southwestern and Mexican hacienda.

Plant it with: Queen Victoria agave, Golden barrel cactus, Fairy washboard, Mexican snowball and Blue chalksticks.

Wildlife: Flowers can provide pollen for bees where plants bloom outdoors. It is not a suitable touch-friendly wildlife planting because the glochids can injure visiting animals.

• Root or stem rot: soft, darkened pads usually indicate excess moisture or cold, wet conditions. Remove affected tissue, allow cuts to dry and replant sound material in fresh, sharply drained mix.
• Mealybugs and scale: inspect pad joints and bristle clusters; isolate affected plants and use a treatment labelled for cacti, testing a small area first.
• Long, thin or weak new pads: provide stronger light, increasing exposure gradually to avoid scorching.
• Sunburn or cold damage: move plants gradually into outdoor sun and shelter them from frost; permanently damaged areas will not turn green again.

Not known to be chemically toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. All pads, and potentially flowers and fruits, carry or can become contaminated with tiny barbed glochids that cause painful skin irritation and potentially serious eye or mouth injuries. Do not treat it as an edible cactus; seek medical or veterinary advice for eye exposure or suspected ingestion.

Where it spreads. An invasive prickly pear in Australia, including Queensland and New South Wales, where sale, keeping or movement is restricted or prohibited under weed rules. Check your state or territory requirements before obtaining it. Detached pads root readily; never dump garden waste in bushland.

• Blind prickly pear (Opuntia rufida)

  Usually has larger, rounder, grey-green pads with rusty reddish-brown glochid clusters. Brown-bristled forms of bunny ears cactus can be difficult to distinguish without a reliable label.

• Indian fig (Opuntia ficus-indica)

  Develops much larger pads and eventually a substantial woody trunk; its pads lack the dense, evenly spaced polka-dot appearance typical of bunny ears cactus.

Bunny ears refers to the paired oval pads, while microdasys means small or finely hairy, referring to the clusters of tiny bristles.

Propagation. Where growing and propagation are legal, detach a healthy pad in spring or summer using tongs. Let the wound callus in a dry, shaded place for about a week, or longer if still moist, then stand the base in dry, gritty cactus mix. Keep warm and bright out of harsh sun, watering sparingly while roots form.

Accepted botanical name

Opuntia microdasys

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest and Mexico Southwest.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.