I took home a pad from one years ago, knowing that they're supposed to root pretty easily, but it sat there in a pot for two years without rooting, still green, with the long spines preventing it from really staying in firm contact with the dirt, then eventually it shrivelled up.

I'm super into prickly pears, they're edible and sculptural and neat. I have some seeds from hardy east coast ones I'm trying to grow right now. I may actually have enough indoor space to keep some fun ones in there after this summer, too.