Pronounciation: Fare-o-CAC-tus glau-KES-cens
Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11 (arid zones only)
Landscape Use: Textural, form and color accent, small to intermediate barrel cactus for xeric landscapes, desert gardens, and containers.
Form & Character: Spherical to cylindrical, dry desert, neat, clean, recessive, lonely.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent perennial, very slow growth rate to 2-feet tall and near equal girth, pleated with 11 to 15 ribs. Often solitary stem, but sometimes basally branched.
Foliage/Texture: Barrel stem bluish, ribs contain one central spine and up to 7 radial spines per aerole, spines to 2-inches long, spines yellow; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Flowers clustered at stem terminus, whitish to yellow in color, funnel-shaped up to 2-inches wide; fruits are white to 3/4-inch long with the remnants of the flowers attached.
Seasonal Color: Like other barrel cacti, yellow flowers provide a subtle visual accent during the spring to early summer.
Temperature: Tolerant of Phoenix winter cold, but only heat tolerant to 115oF.
Light: In Phoenix, light filtered shade is best, provide shade from western summer sun.
Soil: Well-drained soil is required.
Watering: None
Pruning: None
Propagation: Seed
Disease and Pests: Root rot in poorly drained soils.
Additional comments: With western sun protection, blue barrel cactus can be a wonderful, very low maintenance barrel cactus with a unique bluish cast for desert rock gardens and other xeric managed landscapes in the lower Sonoran Desert.
There are several recognized variants that lack spines:
