Hi all! I am growing the Prickly Pear Cactus outdoors in my zone (7a) for the pads, fruits, and for novelty and would like to know what precautions I could take to get it through our cold, snowy winters over here!

I read that these can be kept outdoors during the winter because they are quite cold hardy, but what are your experiences? Should I put them in the ground prior to winter/fall? Or are they OK pot-bound during the winter?

Any advice is appreciated!

Hmm, I'm not gonna be of much help because I didn't have them in a super cold climate, but I did have a yard with a bunch of them in a high desert where it was below freezing regularly overnight for a couple months each winter. They all did fine, mostly very established ones, but also some cuttings in the ground. One in a pot did well, but it was under the house's eaves. No snow, though, but rain followed by freezing nights. Maybe someone from a colder climate can help you more.

Hi Aaron,

Are you sure your Prickly Pear is a cold hardy one? The cold hardy Prickly Pears don't grow very tall, maybe a foot tall, and spread out on the ground. I grow quite a few in my yard in the ground. But even the cold hardy Prickly Pears have preferences: Some can take being frozen solid for months but others start suffering after just a week. None can handle being wet during cold weather.

In the western desert regions, the snow does not contain a lot of moisture. In fact, it doesn't melt, it evaporates.

If you think you have a cold hardy Prickly Pear, put it in the ground. If you aren't sure, leave it the pot and store it in your garage for the winter.

Only a select few species are hardy to your zone, and like daisyl said, nearly all the "short, ground sprawling type".
Species include
-opuntia humifusa
-opuntia phaeacantha(most varieties)
-opuntia fragilis
-Opuntia santarita (borderline)
-opuntia polyachantha
There could be other ones, but only for these im fairly certain.
But, bear in mind, hardiness is also affect in reverse proportion by humidity- the wetter the winter, the less durable to cold the plant is. I would have been in the same zone as you, but lowered it do to freak weather and humidity.

Here they grow wild and it's slightly colder here, but they're always on rocky, south-facing ledges. Everywhere else collects too much rain.

I read a book recently that described these areas as "oases in reverse." In other words, in exceptionally dry parts of a winter-wet climate. In a wet winter climate like WV or NY, the cold-hardy varieties are NOT wet-hardy and must have excellent drainage. This doesn't mean just lots of rocks or growing in steep areas, but both. So if your particular species are cold-hardy, make sure they're being grown in almost pure rock (very little actual soil) and the pots are slanted/tilted to make the rain drain as quickly as possible. That's your best bet. I have seen huge stands of them grown this way as far north as Oswego.

On top of the previous excellent advice I would only add that the longer your plant has to become established in a particular location, the better it will be able to resist environmental stress in that location. So maybe consider overwintering your prickly pear indoors this year as Daisy suggests, and next year get it in the ground (in just the right location, as Jai suggests) by springtime.

If the plant you have is O. ficus-indica, then it is definitely not cold hardy and it will turn into mush. If fruit is what you are after, O. phaeacantha would be the best choice since its fruit is fleshy and good to eat. Other species like O. polyacantha and O. fragilis have dry, inedible fruit. Another cold hardy species with edible fruit is O. macrorhiza although its fruit is smaller than that of O. phaeacantha.

Never knew the species but had a prickly pear I grew outside zone 8 in a raised "rock garden" I made for it as a teenager. It survived all Winter rains(and Spring and fall)as well as freezing down at least to the single digits maybe lower and flowered for me every spring with pretty yellow flowers. I believe it was a Texas native. Make sure your planting site is above any surrounding ground for excellent drainage.