The primary site for opuntia ficus indica is on the southeast corner of the property. The pads are planted at a slight angle towards the north. This will provide continuous exposure from the southern sun.
Two modes of planting are used:
- Flat on the ground.
- Perpendicular to the ground in the south facing orientation.
Some pads were in poor condition due to being planted too early and were subjected to multiple frosts and two snowfalls in the spring of 2023. This caused about 60% of the original 65 pads to rot. Not all were completely unsalvageable. They were cut apart to remove bad sections, but were too small to plant in the perpendicular orientation, so the primary method of cladode regeneration was used, laying them flat on the ground with soil around them.
Since these pads have been in the ground less than a week, time will tell the outcome of the two different approaches.