An Ocotillo would be gorgeous and quite a nice replacement. It will put on a show all year long.

Keep in mind it will occupy more space lower down and horizontally then the Saguaro did so try to remind yourself that you'll need space around them when it comes to planting. I mean you "know" this, but it isn't hard to forget when you visually look at your yard and plant something else thinking you left enough space for your other plants only to find out you didn't two years later. (Uh....guilty. )

I'm sure it would be real slow going from seed but I do remember a neighbor that bought an Ocotillo about two feet tall from a BB store. In a year it had grown about another foot or so. It was looking good. I think they had a drip system. This may be a good bet as I have heard mixed reviews on the fully mature bare root Ocotillos from the stores. Some of them do real well and some are complete duds. When you consider the cost of the plant and the transportation challenge associated with bringing home a full grown Ocotillo you may want to start off with something smaller. Just a thought.

Ocotillo in winter



In spring

I have an ocotillo seedling and it is a relatively long wait, but not a particularly difficult one. This plant is about 7 years old. Once they reach about gallon size they are pretty good at taking lots of sun (here). With potted ocotillos you have to remember to water more often when they are in leaf/growth (like in the picture).

I bought one ocotillo from HD and brought it to NM and it has done really well. It's the one in my pics on the site. We loved it so much we bought another one, and it did nothing for 5 years, so I've just ripped it out. No leaves, and no sign of any growth. I couldn't believe it. They both looked similar with plenty of roots.

Now I want an ocotillo!

They are really gorgeous. I've always wanted one too.

Alas, I live in the north fricken pole (AKA Pennsylvania). So I wouldn't be able to keep it outside, which seems like it would defeat the purpose. Womp, womp.

AG, the place I want to put it is actually closer to the street than the cactus was by a couple feet. Same general area, just further from the house. I see that some people sell the individual sticks on eBay. Those are supposed to root. Thinking.... Not going to do anything this month. I'm broke!

That ocotillo looks awesome! I was reading its needs, I like that it can take 10F, but how about winter rains? Dry heat we have a lot too, but no summer rains. We get sometimes late Fall to mid Spring rains. Something nice to add and experiment in my dry garden, if I can find one.

The ocotillos in our part of the Sonoran Desert receive much or most of their rainfall in the winter and almost none in summer. They tend to leaf out about two weeks after the second real storm, and reach a sort of crescendo if the rain continues. There are different varieties or subspecies of ocotillos, depending on the origin, as I faintly understand the situation. If you have the choice, the BC version would be the one to choose for a summer-dry climate.

There are very few ocotillos here, but a good number on the other side of the peninsula near San Felipe. There's a desert just above the coast there where the dominant plants are ocotillos and so lots of people in the area have ocotillos in their front or back yards. I got the sense that those garden ocotillos are mostly neglected, left to the whims of nature, but very much alive in the right moment. They really do grow enormous over time.

Is this wild one in San Juan River area an Ocotillo? It does look very interesting.

That's a cholla.

There are some Ocotillos in Modesto. I remember one on Standiford just west of Tully down the sidewalk from Mr. T's Donuts. Is it still there?

Not sure what variety of Ocotillo we have here Liz but it looks to be the same one in the wild as I see being sold in the stores and in everyone's yards and landscapes. They're abundant in my neck of the woods and really a popular plant for yards, public landscapes and just about everywhere you look. They seem as happy as can be in the best manicured and watered lawns as they do living in literal dirt with no water out in the wild somewhere. I can't attest to their needs as I have no personal experience with one but from what I observe they seem to be uncomplaining about their placement.

I would imagine, and this is just speculation on my part, that like any new plant you bring home it would need some extra water in the summer and maybe some covering on our nights where it flirts with freezing temps. After that.... it is a desert plant and indigenous to our area, the Low Sonoran Desert so it would probably be happy to shake and bake once established.

Again, just surmising on its care from observations as I do not own this plant and have not tried to grow it ( yet -everyone is making me want one).

I don't know. I guess it boils down to thinking of it as whatever you are more comfortable in doing. If you invest in a middle size plant you may have better chances of survival. True, no guarantees but at least the plant is established and could probably do well and tough out the first summer and winter and be more tolerant as you learn. Down side is you don't have money for other things for the yard and you'll have to wait longer to buy the plant initially.

If you went with a seedling or just bare branches it may not cost much. You might be able to do that right away but you'll definitely have to invest more in the time and care and tweaking the conditions to make sure things are optimal environmentally. It will also take a lot of time to see results; possibly even years before you could really enjoy the plant.

What do you think?

Karen..........
Bummer about that other Ocotillo. . What size was the plant you bought?
Any guesses on what may have happened to it?


Ocotillo in March in the wild. This is in the area where we go hiking.


My husband is 6'6" tall if that gives you an idea of how big this thing is! He was looking at one of the thorns.


Close up of the thorns and branches.


Just thought the shadow and light was pretty on this.

Ocotillos are gorgeous plants when they're happy. I have one in Phoenix that has been down to 10 degrees and it was fine. I do give it a bit of extra water in summer. It's puts on the green leaves every time it's watered.

The one that didn't grow was full grown, and had nice roots. For some reason it just didn't root at all. My husband wanted to tear it out after the first year, but I waited 5 years for it to root. It had it's chance!

What I love to see is the old fences around old homesteads. They put ocotillo sticks in the ground and they form living fences.

Karen,
Bummer about the one that didn't grow. Full grown one too---what a pity. Sounds like you got one of the ones that turned out to be a dud. I don't know why they do that. As I mentioned, I heard mixed reviews of getting full grown bare root Ocotillos as they can do that. And yeah...I think 5 years was pretty generous time wise in giving it a chance. Still stinks though.

Since we're on the topic of Ocotillos, here's something I did about 7 years ago.


Have a good day all
AG

Nice artwork, AG!

Wow, AG! That's gorgeous!

Thank you. Was just having some fun painting new subject matter. We had only been out her 3 years so all of the plants were still very new and intriguing and unlike anything I had ever seen before texture, shape, symmetry and color wise. Just found them interesting.

Besides...........they made perfect models. They never complained if I didn't catch their good side.

And probably didn't wander off to get a snack or complain when you took too long.

DaisyI said:And probably didn't wander off to get a snack or complain when you took too long.

You sound like you speak from experience.