Cacti

Bright green to glaucous vertical stems is 2-4 in. thick with widely spaced spines along their ribs. The often display small fuzzy white areoles with glochids along these ribs. The San Pedro is native to tropical, mountainous areas in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. For this reason, these adaptable, columnar cacti blend well with other tropical plants such as Canna lily, Bird of Paradise, and misc. Palms to name a few. Due to their higher elevation provenance, be aware that these cacti can develop sun scald from intense western sun or reflected heat. Areas with filtered sun is appreciated, especially for young or immature plants. They will accept and benefit from additional irrigation during growth months when they have well-draining soils but limited to no water during winter.

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.

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.

Their pads are oval, often heart-shaped with smooth powdery-blue to blue-green color. This species of Opuntia is quite variable in size and shape throughout their native range. Pads have no spines but rather wide spaced glochids that are typically cinnamon to black, less occasionally whitish in color. As if their physical texture was not alluring enough, in the spring large, rose-like blooms appear near the tops of many of the pads that are an eye-catching, radiant shade of magenta pink. Moderate to slow growing. Plant in well-drained, unimproved rocky or sandy soils.

Engelman’s Prickly Pear is one of the most widely distributed types of cacti, which gives designers a clue to their adaptability and versatility. They have pleasantly rounded green pads covered with areoles that have white, gray to golden medium sized, sharp spines typically surrounded by brown glochids. Flower color variations are quite common along with some other physical characteristics like shape, size, and spine density, due to their naturally wide distribution. If you are observant, you can find flower colors ranging from yellow, to orange or pink. They will tolerate light filtered sun locations, but they should be planted in well-drained soils, with minimal water. Pads can be removed as needed to “prune” them for shape and size.

Originally from the Rio Grande area of South Texas, the ‘Old Mexico’ grows to be a sprawling large cactus with the look of the old southwest desert. Large, thin, light green paddle-shaped pads are irregularly undulated and scalloped along the leaf margins. Although technically spineless, it has tiny glochids can irritate. Like many other Opuntia, large colorful yellow flowers appear in late spring to summer, followed by oblong reddish/purple fruits, 2-3 inches long. Beyond its striking appearance, Opuntia Gomei provides a habitat for wildlife and attracts pollinators with its colorful blossoms. Extremely heat and drought-tolerant, it requires virtually no additional irrigation once established. Plant in full to part sun in well-drained soil. Use in large, open cactus rock gardens for a barrier or textural accent.