What type of soil do stick plants prefer?

The walking stick cactus [Opuntia spinosior] is native to a desert environment. It prefers free draining soil that holds some moisture. The moisture is needed, to bring soil nutrients inside the plant. Inside the cactus, dissolved nutrients interact with sunlight, to make energizing, life sustaining photosynthetic products such as starches and sugars.

All cactus plants adapt to a range of environments. What's difficult for the desert cactus plants is a watery environment. Their tissues rot and die in waterlogged situations. So they may have problems with the waterlogging possibilities of clayey soil.