I love using this cactus in garden designs, as it grows well here and can get quite large over time. These examples are the second planting attempt after gophers devoured the roots of the first ones planted 9 years ago which had gotten about 6’ tall. These newer specimens are only 2 years in the ground, but have tripled in size since initial planting. This time they are protected with galvanized wire gopher baskets which keep the gophers at bay. They had also devoured some prized Yucca rostrata and an Aloe tomentosa(they more typically leave most aloes alone).
I recently purchased some nice multi-trunked specimens in 3 gallon pots, somewhat pricey at $US50 each. Now I have to decide where they will get planted, whose new or existing garden. Not all my clients are fans of cacti, so that narrows down the choices.
There’s a choice geophyte planted at the base of one of them, can you see it? It has reached blooming size and flowered two years in a row now.
