Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Pina Colada Prickly Pear
Pina Colada Prickly Pear is a garden selection known for its color-changing flowers. Each bloom opens yellow, often with a red stripe, then turns orange and pink by the next day. It grows as a low, spreading clump of pads about 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide. It is very cold hardy, rated well below 0°F.
Best for: spring flower color in desert beds, low spreading clumps along a dry border, and gardeners who like unusual prickly pear flowers.
Its 2 to 3 inch flowers open yellow and shift to orange and pink by the next day, so a plant in bloom shows several colors at once.
It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and spreads 3 to 6 feet, forming a low clump of pads for a dry bed or border.
Once rooted it needs little water. Soak it, then let the soil dry out fully before the next watering, and give little or none in winter.
Soil that stays wet rots the roots. It carries spines and glochids, so keep it back from paths, pools and play areas and handle it with gloves.
- Tight group3 ft apart
- Plant to plant3-4 ft apart
Wait about a week after planting before the first water. Then water every other week while nights stay above 60°F. Once rooted, soak it and let the soil dry out fully before the next watering. In winter, water only if rain does not come, and lightly.
Cut off whole pads where they join, using long-handled loppers or tongs to keep your hands back. Prune only to keep it in bounds or to clear crowded pads.
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.
Plant it with the side that faced the sun still facing south. A newly planted cactus can sunburn its first summer, so light shade cloth helps until fall.
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.
Why is it called Pina Colada?
It is named for its flowers, which open yellow, often with a red stripe, then turn orange and pink by the next day. Blooms come in spring into early summer.
How big does it get?
It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and spreads 3 to 6 feet wide in a low clump of pads. Leave it that much room along a bed or border.
How fast does it grow?
It is a fast grower for a prickly pear, so a single plant fills its space in a few seasons.
How cold can it take?
It is very cold hardy, rated well below 0°F, and growers report it surviving -10 to -20°F. It needs no frost cover in the Valley.
How often should I water it?
Water a new plant about every 2 weeks through its first summer. After that, soak it and let the soil dry out fully between waterings. Give little or none in winter.
Does it need full sun?
Yes. Give it at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. A newly planted cactus can sunburn in its first summer, so light shade cloth helps that first year.
Does it have spines?
Yes. It carries spines and glochids, tiny barbed hairs that stick in skin. Handle it with thick gloves and tongs.
Do bees visit the flowers?
Yes. Bees work prickly pear flowers, and cactus bees feed almost only on prickly pear and cholla flowers. Plant it where you can watch them in spring.
How do I start more plants?
Pads cut from the plant root easily. Let a cut pad dry in the shade for a week or two, plant it cut end down, and wait about a week before watering.
Pina Colada Prickly Pear for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Pina Colada Prickly Pear is a garden selection grown for its flowers, which change from yellow to orange to pink. It is low, spreading and very cold hardy. This page covers what to expect size, flowers, water, cold and handling.
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What is Pina Colada prickly pear?
It is a garden selection of prickly pear grown for flowers that change color. They open yellow, then turn orange and pink by the next day.
How big does Pina Colada prickly pear get?
Plan for about 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide. It forms a low, spreading clump.
When does Pina Colada prickly pear bloom?
It blooms in spring into early summer. Each 2 to 3 inch flower opens yellow and turns pink by the next day.
How cold hardy is Pina Colada prickly pear?
It is rated well below 0°F, with reports of plants surviving -10 to -20°F. Valley winters do not hurt it.
How do you water Pina Colada prickly pear?
Water a new plant about every 2 weeks through its first summer. Then soak and let the soil dry fully, with little or none in winter.
Handling Pina Colada prickly pear
It has spines and glochids. Use thick leather gloves and long tongs, or grip pads with folded newspaper.
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