These Blue Barrel cacti are among the most eye-catching varieties suitable for native landscape designs, containers, rockeries, or mixed succulent gardens. They have a pleasingly round shape, bright powdery-blue waxy flesh with 1 in long, golden colored spines running down numerous ribs. With their refined, tidy attractive appearance they are effectively used for minimalistic modern mass plantings. Low maintenance and bright yellow funnel-formed flowers topping these barrels from spring into summer make them an irresistible option for savvy landscape designers.

These barrels have a slight squatty, round shape with deep green color and 15-20 offset ribs. Immature plants have fuzzy white areoles along these ribs that sport about 12, yellow colored radial spines and 5-6 red, nearly translucent colored central spines, one of which will be long and hooked downward toward its sharp tip, that provides the evocative namesake Devil’s Tongue common name. Iridescent, purple to deep pink colored funnel-formed flowers appear in late summer to fall on these well-behaved beauties. As with other Ferocactus spp., plant in full sun to filtered light in well-drained, unimproved soils to help them thrive.

These common and popular landscape cacti, native to central Mexico, are durable as they are attractive. They are easy-to-grow and maintain in well-drained soils either in full sun to filtered light with light periodic summer watering. In habitat they are considered quite polymorphic, which means to take on different physical characteristics due to the growing environment and other distinctive population traits of some subspecies growing nearby. Because of this, some specimens show white fuzz around the spiny areoles, but most mature specimens do not. They form stocky, green fleshed, wide cylinders or multi-ribbed columns covered in reddish gray to purple colored spines that are about 1 in. long and mostly recurved or hooked. Plants are topped by a ring of orange to golden flowers in the spring to early summer, which are followed by bulbous golden fruits that look like small pineapples.

This is our Sonoran Desert native barrel cactus. They grow from central Arizona into Southern NM, and just barely into W. TX. They typically grow as a thick, single column with 20-30 widely spaced ribs. Each rib is lined with large areoles that contain 2-4 inch radial spines with gray to brown colored sharp, central spines that are distinctively hooked at their tips giving them their common name of Fishhook barrel. These are slow growing, durable cacti with efficient water absorbing root systems spreading out in a spiderwebbed pattern a good distance from the plant. Loose, sandy or rocky soils are best, and they will tolerate filtered sunlight from large shrubs or arid adapted trees. In the spring, a showy ring of orange to reddish flowers form at the top, which are then followed by persistent fleshy yellow fruits for summer. Fishhook barrels are offered in containers and as bareroot specimens. Call our sales team for current availability and specs.

These are well-known, recognizable succulents native to the lower Mohave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. The form woody, widely spaced, vertical, spiny branches from the base. They have a naturally strong vase shape with limbs emanating from a foot wide at their base and splaying out to 10-12 ft. at the top.  Flowering occurs at the tips of each stem. In spring to summer deep orange tubular flowers form along new succulent growth of about 6-8 in. long. This flowering growth is added to the over-all height of the plant once per year. Ocotillos are offered as bareroot specimens and in containers, so call for current availability. Potted plant roots are sensitive to disturbance so handle gently during transplant.

Brilliant red blooms against angular gray stems. Chuparosa are semi-evergreen plants that grow naturally in low deserts from AZ to CA up to about 2500 ft. in elevation. They require low water once established, even during summers. They are opportunistic plants when it comes to available water. However, as long as the soil is well-drained, they will grow ever larger and carry their lush foliage all year. In natural environments, plants shed foliage during drought to conserve precious moisture. The stems are gray, succulent, and somewhat brittle. Flowers are formed at stem ends to give blooming plants a fiery silhouette, especially when back lit. They bloom from fall to spring. Never shear them. Periodic, selective thinning or pruning after flowering will control size and shape.

Large growing native durable evergreen shrubs. A shrubby symbol of the southwest, creosote bush occurs on rocky slopes, desert plains and mesas from low deserts up to 5000 ft. in elevation in pockets across the southwest. Only dropping out where rainfall amounts increase, and cold temperatures prevent their establishment. They are slow to moderate growing, primarily evergreen with some leaf drops during cold of winter and during summer drought. In urban landscapes with supplemental irrigation plants grow faster and hold their foliage well to become dense, dark green foundational shrubs. Light gray, woody upright stems hold small, resinous distinctively fragrant shiny leaves. Small yellow blooms appear heavily in spring and sporadically during summer monsoon rains. Flowers are followed by small round seed capsules covered with fuzzy silver cilia that glisten in the sun. Give them room to grow and never shear them. Simply thin old branches to encourage new lush growth from the center.

In their native habitats of Mexico, specimens can grow to amazing sizes. However, in cultivation, they tend to be smaller and maintain a smaller manageable size. Mature stems will form a woody and scaly trunk, while the arms, especially at their tips retain their characteristic and attractive powder-blue color. They have widely spaced, short, sharp gray spines along their plump ribs. They do well in containers or in-ground with well-drained, loose soils. Watering should be limited to summer months while they are actively growing, with little to no watering during fall and winter.

Soft, swaying bright green perennial grass. Popular ornamental grass with soft, thin bright green iridescent leaves. They grow in a tight vertical mound up to about a foot tall and spread slowly to about the same. In late spring seed heads form that top the entire plant with light blonde to tan feathery seed plumes, hence the common name. In colder climates they can go dormant with all the leaves turning a silvery blonde color. They make a magnificent statement when planted in mass, but just a few in a random or organized group is visually pleasing. In their natural high desert environment they grow primarily as an understory plant to oaks and other evergreen to semi-deciduous trees. The can grow on vast colonies but typically on northern facing slopes. This feature tells us when they are planted in low desert heat, give them more water in the summer to keep them happy. Or plant them with morning sun to afternoon shade. Like any ornamental grass, they are low maintenance.