Landscaping with cactus

June 13, 9:32 PMBackyard Living ExaminerJane Gates

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 Cacti come in all sizes and shapes.  Most have incredibly showy flowers.  Not too many bloom for very long however.  The most characteristic cacti are the Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantica) and the Cereus family of columnar cactus.  These are your tall, vertical cacti often symbolic of the desert.  These make excellent focal points in a cactus garden.  Round cacti can be very tiny or large like the barrel cactus. There are odd shaped cacti as well.  There is an even greater variety in shape, color and flower with other succulents.  By the way, all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. What these all have in common is a water-storing stem/leaf adaptation.  Cacti have areoles that frequently harbor spines and they carry their seeds in a fibrous mass rather than individual seed sections. Cacti are all perennial (lasting for more than a year) and are dicot (two-leaved) when they first sprout from seed.  Many succulents share some of these traits, but cacti have all of them. 

There are several native cacti in this area.  The most local is the Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) that grows on our hillsides.  Somewhat squat with less oval pads than most Opuntias, the Beavertail blooms with big, brilliant fuchsia colored flowers.  When not in bloom they are easily overlooked.  Do not touch them even though they don’t appear to have those long nasty spines typical of many cacti.  The more subtle spines they do sport are razor sharp and you don’t want them making contact with your flesh!  Two other relatively local cacti that grow well here are also in the opuntia family and are opuntia engelmannii or litteralis with longish flat pads and yellow/orange flowers, and prolifera with elongated cylindrical, branching growth and smaller red flowers.  These are great additions to a native garden if designed where they will not be touched. 

Some cacti that grow well in this area are the Ferocactus, Cereus, Echinopsis, Opuntia, Ecinocerus and Mammillaria.  You will have to do a little research to find the varieties best suited to your garden as there are some members of these groups that will fare better than others.  Some of these are large families with relatives in high and low elevations, warm and cold zones and different wet or dry seasons. Most cacti are best planted after most of the rainy season is done.  Unlike other plants, they do best when planted dry.  Since they store water in their tissues, they do not wilt from root loss when planted.  Instead they actually root better in dry sand or soil since it encourages them to send out roots in search of moisture.  Cacti can take a fair amount of water if the weather is hot and dry.  They are also evolved to go without water for periods of time.  They are still living creatures so that means they DO need water to live, so don’t expect them to live with none!  The most deadly combination is wet and cold.  This is the formula that causes them to rot.  And this is why they need well-drained soil or sand during our winter months.   

Cacti blend well with a number of desert plants and succulents.  Some succulents creep and crawl making excellent mats of texture and color to offset solitary cactus specimens.  Some form bushes or odd shapes.  Although some succulents have somewhat insignificant flowers, sculptural forms or curious leaf shapes or colors make them fascinating.  Others, like the well known ice plants (Aizoaceae family) create some of the most dazzling floral displays available.  Try aloes, gasterias and haworthias for interesting vertical growth.  The Crassulaceae family offers large and sometimes bizarre shapes and colors with andromischus, crassulas, dudleyas and echeverias, many of which do fine in the chaparral areas.  For large specimens consider the Hesperaloe, Agaves and Yuccas. 

The study of cacti and succulents can fill a lifetime alone.  There are many wonderful books and web sites on the subject.  But  you can landscape with cactus plants to create a showy, sculptural garden that requires little maintenance, is wildfire resistant, and displays some of the showiest flowers in nature when in bloom.

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