Texas A&M-Kingsville maintains a prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) germplasm collection, from which commercial or hobby growers frequently obtain cuttings for propagation. Increasing numbers of users seek this specialty crop for one or more of its many uses: the latino vegetable nopalitos, a semi-sweet fruit crop, a drought-resistant forage species, and a photogenic ornamental for landscaping. The plant is easily propagated by partially burying a cladode in soil. Hastening the propagation process using fertilizers would be desirable. One study measured cladode growth response to soil-applied NPK, and chelated Fe and Zn. Main effects of NPK and Zn treatments were signifcant, as were NPK X Fe and NPK X Zn interactions. Effects of Fe alone were not significant. Cladode N content correlated positively with cladode S content, but negatively with cladode weight. Because of the CAM metabolism employed by prickly pear, response to foliar feeding during daylight and dark periods was of interest for a second study. In that study, foliar application had a significantly negative impact on cladode growth, regardless of the time of application.