Pronounciation: Gru-SONE-ee-a cla-VA-ta

Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11

Landscape Use: Succulent specimen gardens, terra cotta patio containers, rock gardens, desert and xeric landsacpe designs, textural accent plant.

Form & Character: Segmented, branched and spreading, well armed, dangerous, foreboding, interesting.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, nonwoody, succulent leafless perennial, segmented stems, semi-prostrate and spreading, moderately slow growth rate to 1- to 2-feet tall with greater spread.

Foliage/Texture: Leafless, club-shaped, segmented stems, 1- to 2-inches long to 1-inch wide, areoles small with short, barbed spines (glochids) and 7 to 15 white spines per areole, spines per areole arranged 1 to 3 major flattened upper spines and 3 to 5 major flattened bottom spines, dagger-like, stout, tapering to 1/2-inch long. Club cholla is most likely medium textured, but its foreboding presence in cultivated settings gives the appearance of being coarse textured.

Flowers & Fruits: Terminally-positioned flowers each with many bright yellow petal-like tepals, each to 1-inch long, with red, yellow-green to white filaments, a yellow or white style and stigma lobes. Fruits green to yellow when ripe, barrel-shaped, 1- to 1.5-inches long, densely covered with bristly, short, glochid-like spines.

Seasonal Color: Yellow flowers during later spring.

Temperature: Tolerant

Light: Full sun to light filtered shade. In Phoenix, no direct and reflected afternoon western summer sun.

Soil: Tolerant

Watering: Only rarely needs supplemental water.

Pruning: None

Propagation: Asexual propagation of callused and hardened stem segments.

Disease and Pests: None

Additional comments: Club cholla is a visually fascinating plant, but it is VERY dangerous because of its long, stiff spines.