Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear
Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear is a low, spreading prickly pear with bright green pads that are nearly free of long spines. In spring it bursts into masses of large, soft orange flowers. The pads turn purple in cold weather and green again with warmth. It grows about 1 to 2 feet tall and spreads to around 4 feet, and it takes hard freezes and long dry spells.
Best for: low, spreading color at the front of a desert bed, rock gardens, and sunny slopes.
It grows about 1 to 2 feet tall and spreads to around 4 feet, a low mound for the front of a bed or a rock garden.
Masses of large, soft orange flowers cover the pads in spring, and bees come to visit them.
The bright green pads turn purple in cold weather and green again in spring.
It has few long spines, but it still carries glochids, tiny barbed hairs that come off at a touch. Standing water and wet soil rot it.
- Tight group3 ft apart
- Plant to plant3-4 ft apart
Wait about a week after planting before the first water, then water about every other week through the first summer. Once rooted, a deep soak every 2 to 4 weeks in summer is plenty, with little or none in winter.
Wear thick leather gloves and use tongs or folded newspaper. To keep it in bounds, cut whole pads off at the joint with long-handled loppers.
It can be damaged below about -20°F. On frost nights, cover it with frost cloth or a sheet that reaches the ground, not plastic, and take it off in the morning.
It needs little or no fertilizer. If you feed it, use a light, diluted feeding in spring or early summer, never in fall or winter.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
Is Orange Chiffon spineless?
It is nearly spineless, with very few long spines, but the pads carry glochids, tiny barbed hairs that come off at a touch. Handle it with thick gloves and tongs.
When does it bloom?
In spring, with masses of large, soft orange flowers.
Why are the pads turning purple?
Cold weather turns the green pads purple. They green up again when it warms, so there is nothing to fix.
How big does it get?
About 1 to 2 feet tall and around 4 feet wide as it spreads.
How often should I water it?
Once rooted, a deep soak every 2 to 4 weeks in summer is plenty. Keep it dry in winter, and never let water stand around it.
How cold can it take?
It is rated to about -20°F, so a Valley winter will not hurt it.
Does it attract bees?
Yes. Bees visit prickly pear flowers, and some native cactus bees feed almost only on prickly pear and cholla.
How do I remove glochids from my skin?
Press tape over them and pull it off, or spread a thin layer of white glue, let it dry and peel it away.
Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear is a nearly spineless, cold-hardy prickly pear grown for its soft orange flowers. This page covers size, flowers, color change, water, cold and handling in the Valley.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
What is Orange Chiffon prickly pear?
It is a low, nearly spineless prickly pear grown for masses of soft orange spring flowers.
How big does Orange Chiffon get?
About 1 to 2 feet tall and around 4 feet wide.
Why Orange Chiffon turns purple
The pads turn purple in cold weather and green again with warmth.
Watering Orange Chiffon in Phoenix
Once rooted, a deep soak every 2 to 4 weeks in summer and dry soil in winter.
Is Orange Chiffon cold hardy?
Yes, to about -20°F.
Nearly spineless, still glochids
Handle it with gloves and tongs, since the glochids come off at a touch.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.