Every time I hear a gardener wax poetic about roses and then mention how they detest spiky cactuses, I chuckle to myself. Do they realize how prickly rosebushes are?
Though thorns and spines are different, they both have sharp, pointy edges. Personally, I find cacti much more attractive than roses.
Simply put, cacti are cool. These largely desert-dwelling plants belong to a separate plant category called succulents, and they have undergone an incredible amount of evolution. It’s all about water with cacti.
First, let’s talk about their succulence. View a cactus from its highest point. You’ll notice succulent stems that are spherical or columnar and have accordion-like folds. When it rains or when they are irrigated, the cactuses can store water thanks to those pleats that enable the stems to expand. The stems shrink when it’s dry and the water is depleted. What distinguishes a succulent is its capacity to store water.
The cactus’ water strategy also includes the use of spines. Spines are supposed to be vestiges of leaves that have shrunken during evolutionary time. Plants lose water to the atmosphere through the large surface area of their leaves. Therefore, leaves are a liability in deserts and other arid conditions, where plants with smaller leaf surfaces thrive. As a result, cactuses develop fewer and smaller leaves until only spines are left. What’s more startling is that by capturing airborne dew and sending it down to the plant’s roots, spines help keep cacti watered.
Although photosynthesis is often a leaf function, it occurs in the green tissues that cover the succulent stems of cacti because they lack (or practically lack) leaves. The cactus is covered in spines and what appear to be fine, dense hairs, which together shade the plant and shield it from harsh sunlight. Additionally, they reduce moisture loss through stem pores that open to release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Contrary to most plants, cacti’s pores only open during the chill of the night because they can lose water through evaporation when they are open.
Have I persuaded you to cultivate cacti in your garden? Try some of these. Select a location for all cacti that has very well-draining soil and full sun. Within the first year or two, water deeply on occasion. It’s possible that you won’t ever need to water cacti again along the shore or even inland.
The tall, sharply ridged, columnar Fachiero azul (Pilosocereus pachycladus) is a native of Brazil’s dry forest. It produces stems that range in height from 10 to 30 feet and have a strange sky-blue tint. The stems have white spines and hair along their numerous ridges as accents, giving the columns the appearance of a rambunctious terrier. Each cactus produces ping-pong-sized bloom buds that are deep purple or midnight blue in color. The buds open to show flowers that are creamy white and have the feel of crepe paper. Overall, the cactus’ architectural design and color scheme are amazing. It is a great option for a tall, slender accent in a water-wise garden that maintains a temperature above 30 degrees at night.
One of the most recognized and frequently observed cactuses in San Diego landscapes is the golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii). Each barrel is an orb with many ribs that is brilliant green and heavily coated in spines that are golden yellow. Each cactus grows a patch of white “wool” at the top where flowers appear that are even more vividly yellow or chartreuse than the spines as it ages. Native to the high-elevation deserts of mainland Mexico, these slow-growing cacti. Eventually, plants can grow to be 3 or 4 feet tall and wide. While older barrels are often single, they occasionally develop into groups of seven or eight barrels, spanning an area with a circumference of eight feet. Golden barrels look amazing in geometric plantings, mass plantings, and late afternoon sun, especially when backlit so the spines sparkle.
Opuntia ficus-indica, sometimes known as the prickly pear cactus, is a typical sight in gardens around Old Town and in older San Diego districts. They feature small, fine, sharp spines on all of their surfaces, and their broad, rounded, bright green pads develop in jointed “chains.
One of the many traditional applications of opuntia is as a live barrier to keep away vermin and animals. Break a pad off, allow the cut end to dry for a few days in a shaded area, and then bury it to take root. That is essentially all there is to prickly pear propagation.
The enormous, sweet, magenta-colored prickly pears of prickly pear trees are known in Spanish as tunas, and their pads are consumed as nopales.
Opuntia violacea ‘Santa Rita’ is among the most exquisite Opuntia species. The blades of this smaller-scale Opuntia remain green along the coast, in the shade, or during periods of overwatering, but in hot weather inland and in desert regions where the plants are both heat- and drought-stressed, the blades turn lavender/blue/rose blush. Lemon yellow describes the flowers.
Wear leather gloves, long sleeves, long pants, and eye protection when handling this or any of the more than 2,000 other varieties of cactuses. If you develop spines in your skin, you can remove them by covering your skin with duct tape and removing the tape. With the tape, the spines should come off. Some people apply white glue with a brush, cover the wet glue with gauze, and wait five to ten minutes for the glue to dry before removing the gauze and, hopefully, the spines along with it.
What is the price of a real cactus?
Southwest Arizona, western Sonora, Mexico, and even a few locations in southeast California are home to saguaro cacti. They are typically found in the northern regions on slopes that face south, where the sun shines more frequently. The Saguaro Cactus is covered in protecting needles and bears a red fruit in the summer as well as tiny white blooms in the late spring.
Only in the Sonoran Desert does the suguaro cactus, also known as Carnegiea Gigantea, flourish.
A Saguaro will only grow about one to one and a half inches in its first eight years.
Moving a saguaro cactus off of private or public land without a permit is against the law in Arizona.
Saguaro cactus roots spread out like an accordion to take in as much water as they can.
Arizona’s state flower is the saguaro bloom, which blooms only after a saguaro has reached the age of 35.
SAGUARO CACTUS FACTS
The saguaro is a unique species of plant that can get rather big yet develops extremely slowly. The saguaro’s weight and height are often astounding, and the plant’s beauty is emblematic and significant to the magnificent state of Arizona.
- Arizona has rules and limitations on the gathering, harvesting, and disposal of these cactus. To learn more about the rules that apply to your region, get in touch with your neighborhood government.
- The Saguaro can survive for 150 to 200 years in the appropriate growing circumstances.
- The cactus has one major root that extends down approximately 2 feet while the remaining roots all extend out till they reach the height of the plant and only go down about 5 inches.
- Saguaro growth is particularly slow. A saguaro may only be 1.5 inches tall after a whole decade of growth. They can potentially grow to a height of 40–60 feet under the right circumstances! After a rainy season, a completely hydrated Saguaro may weigh between 3,200 and 4,800 pounds.
- Arizona legislation allows for the collection of saguaro “ribs,” which are used to create jewelry, furniture, roofs, fences, picture frames, and other things. Even the Native Americans used the ribs as water containers before the canteen was created.
HOW MUCH DOES A CACTUS COST?
According to DFRanchandGardens, the average price of a saguaro cactus in the US for 2020 is between $20 and $2,000 per foot.
The saguaro will cost less the smaller it is, according to osieOnTheHouse. However, if they are merely spears and in good condition, they typically sell for $100 or more per foot. The price of saguaros with arms is higher.