Ocotillo cacti ( Fouquieria splendens ) is a flowering spiny bush that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico . It is ordinarily plant in the Sonoran , Mojave , Chihuahuan and Colorado deserts . It prefer well - drained , rocky soils and unresolved spaces like slope , Mesa , wash drawing and desert grassland .
This plant is actually a deciduous bush and not a cactus , although it has standardized feature of speech to a cactus including spines , shallow theme , stem photosynthesis and extreme drought tolerance .
Ocotillo has a cluster of long , bristled stems that grow from a key base . These stems can turn over up to 20 foot ( 6 meter ) in summit and resemble a bunch of spiky wands get through for the sky . The stem are mostly leafless , but after a good rain , they ’ll sprout clusters of narrow oval leaves that last for a few weeks or months until the grease dries out again .
Ocotillo produces vibrant red or orange tubular flowers at the tips of its stems . These bloom bloom in the spring ( from March to June ) and sometimes even periodically during summer after a rainfall . The clustering of flush resemble flames , hence the name “ ocotillo , ” which means “ lilliputian great mullein ” in Spanish .
While semi - succulent and a desert industrial plant , Ocotillo is more closely related to the tea plant life and blueberry than to cactuses . The plant is also referred to asbuggywhip , coachwhip , candlewood , slimwood , desert coral , Jacob ’s staff , Jacob cactus , andvine cactus .
This desert plant has modernize some ingenious adaptation to outlive the red-hot , dry climate . The spiny staunch help deter herbivore , and the green photosynthetic stems provide the plant to go forward producing some vigor even when leaves are absent . to boot , the ability to quickly sprout leaves after rainfall allows the Ocotillo to take vantage of short geological period of moisture availability .
The ocotillo grow best in zone 8 to 11 , and as far north as the Central Valley , or in a greenhouse where the temperature is controlled . It some traditional medicinal uses among aboriginal American residential area . The bloom and stem have been used to slow bleeding , relieve weariness , and treat many ailments . Also the radical are sometimes used for fencing purposes .
How to Grow Ocotillo
Ocotillo can be implant year - stave with care . idealistic plants have been originate in pots from prow cuttings and from seed . Transplanting bombastic bare - root plants has marginal achiever . They should be planted to the original originate depth and , as with cacti , in their original directional orientation : the original south side of the industrial plant , which has become more heat- and sunlight - repellent , should again face the bright , hotter southerly direction . If their direction is not mark , achiever is again limited .
How to Plant Ocotillo Cuttings
