Ferocactus wislizeni – Cactus garden

Ferocactus wislizeni is normally quite a low maintenance plant and is typically very easy to grow, great for beginner gardeners. Fishhook barrel cactus is a barrel-shaped or columnar cactus with cylindrical stem, up to 30 inches (80 cm) in diameter and up to 6.5 feet (2 m) tall. The spines are thick and hooked. It has a leathery asparagus green skin with approximately 15-28 ribs per cactus. Its flowers are yellow to red-orange with reddish midribs and brown tips, up to 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and appear atop the cactus fruit during the summer months. The fruits are green when unripe, yellow after the flower dries up, and persist atop the cactus long after the flower is gone, sometimes for more than a year. he Fishhook barrel cactus makes a great accent plant for any individual who loves blooming cacti. Edible parts are Fruit, seeds, flower buds, inner flesh.

Scientific Name: Ferocactus wislizeni.
Common Name: Fishhook barrel cactus, Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus.

 

 

 

 

How to grow and maintain Fishhook barrel cactus:

Light:
Choose a planting location that gets direct sun during all or most of the day. Keep dry at 10°C in winter, but can tolerate sporadic light frost. Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun.

Soil:
Dig a hole deep sufficiently profound for the plant’s roots and amend it as needed to provide fast-draining soil. A good soil mixture includes 10 percent native soil, 45 percent washed sand or pumice and 45 percent compost. Ferocactus thrives in the poor and arid soil.

Temperature:
Utilize Zone 9 – Zone 11 as your guideline for the fitting atmosphere for this plant. Remember when planting that candy barrel cactus is thought of as hardy, so this plant will survive close to or in freezing temperatures.

Water:
Water during the aestival development cycle, this plant need plenty of water, But needs to be avoided wetting the bodies of these plants while they are in sunlight. A wet cactus in the daylight can cause sun burning which can lead to scares or even fungal infections and death.

Harvest:
Buds are gathered in the early to mid-summer. Fruits are harvested from late November to March. Flesh is harvested at any time. The roots are collected once cacti have fallen after storms.