Fake Saguaro & Golden Ball Cactus

The Pachycereus pringlei or Fake Saguaro Cactus turns red at the top in the spring time. They can get very large reaching about 6' to 15' tall and will sometimes branch out in a tree-like form. Only then will it make flowers.

Of course, mine is far from that point. I bought it as part of a beautiful cactus garden which very quickly outgrew its pot. I separated all the cacti and this one, I only recently identified. It seems to be doing quite well with a lot of sun and little water ... nothing special about its care. At this point, it is about 10" tall.

Another cactus that was in that cactus garden is my Parodia leninghausii or Golden Ball Cactus (or Yellow Tower or Goldfinger.) (It is pictured below. The small one to the left is a baby I picked up last fall.) If all goes well, they will form small towers about 12" tall and make clusters of probably yellow flowers at the crown. They lean toward the sun and love every minute of it.

I had another parodia which I had planted in the ground. It did very well the first winter but the second winter, I guess I overwatered it right before a very cold spell and, poof, it was all downhill from there. I hated that I lost it because it flowered a lot.