The following list includes the various cacti I have seen and been able to identify in Barstow. Some of these are native to the Mojave Desert but most are not. See my blog on Going Native With Cacti for the native ones. The second list contains additional cacti that the Sunset Book of Western Gardening recommends for zone 11.
The cactus I bought recently for its interesting shape, not sure if it would end up in the house or the yard. but a little research showed that it should be well adapted to the Barstow area, although I have not seen any others here. It looks much like a crested Opuntia with the spines on the edges sheathed in green.
This cactus is very slow growing. After 10 years, mine is only about 2' high, so I am using a picture taken at another location in Barstow. In the wild, saguaros spend their first few decades in the shade of other plants therefore I planted mine under a Desert Bird-of-Paradise. It gets its water from a neighbor's yard which is probably too much water, but it is doing fine. The Sonoran desert where Saguaros come from, has twice as much rain as the Mojave desert.
Chollas have barbed spines that are hard to remove from fingers and clothes.
Teddy Bear Cholla/Cylindropuntia
This is the cholla that populates the Cholla Garden at Joshua Tree National Park. It looks fuzzy enough to hug, hence the name. But beware the spines.
It comes in two colors. The gold form can be distinguished from the Teddy Bear Cholla by the shape of the plant. The shape of this one is misleading as it has been overwatered and has dropped some of the lower branches.
Boxing Glove ChollaCylindropuntia fulgida
I started this in a pot from a piece a neighbor gave me. Since then it has broken the pot and rooted in the ground. Right now I am trying to decide where to put it as it cannot stay where it is.
I started this from a piece a friend gave me. The magenta flowers are beautiful.
It has vicious hooked spines however, and the friend now insists she did not give it to me, that she would not give it to anybody.
This plant had been in a pot for a couple of years. When I put it in the ground it lost most of its branches, but it should come back. It is called Christmas Cholla because the fruit resembles bright red Christmas balls. The stems have a square cross-section and there are only a few spines.
This is also a small poor specimen. it has died back several times, but keeps coming back up.
Pencil Cactus/Cylindropuntia ramosissima
This cholla is native to our area. Therefore it does not need to be watered at all, once it is established. The one shown is across the street on vacant land. So far I have not had success starting one in my yard.
Echinocactus, one of the two types of barrel cacti, are identifiable by their fuzzy tops and fuzzy fruit.
Golden Barrel, Silver barrel/Echinocactus grusonii
This cactus comes in two colors. I found m silver ones at the Cactus Mart in Morongo Valley. The golden variety is found in most nurseries. It grows well here, but needs monthly watering in the summer. The flowers are yellow, but are almost unnoticeable because of the color of the spines.
Cottontop Barrel/Echinocactus polycephalus
These are native to the Mojave Desert and so should not be watered. Unlike most barrels, they grow in clumps. Mine have not flowered.
Echinocactus setispinus
Echinocereus are low columnar cacti that grow in clusters.
Mojave Hedgehog/Echinocereus reichmanii v. baileyiiThese have a pinkish color from the spines. Mine have been in my garden 7 or 8 years. They bloom every year, but have yet to form offsets.
This clump is at the Desert Discovery Center in Barstow. This cactus is native to the area.
Arizona Hedgehog/Echinocereus coccineus v arizonicaThis plant was purchased this Fall at a nursery in Apple Valley. I have not yet had experience with growing it, or how well it adapts to the Barstow environment. It bloomed its first Spring.
I have had trouble growing these even though they are native to the Mojave Desert and there are beautiful ones in Las Vegas. In the past I have ordered them from High Country Gardens in Santa Fe in the Spring and they have not survived the summer. I have tried once more, hoping that as they come from Santa Fe, the Fall will be a better time of year to plant them. The mature form is a green mound. The flowers are a beautiful scarlet color.
The Echinopsis are medium height columnar cacti with beautiful flowers. The group is not well defined and some of them are sometimes classified as Trichocereus, Pachycereus, Lobivia or other genera. it is not unusual to find that a cactus has several scientific names.
Red Torch Cactus/Echinopsis huascha
These can be seen many places in town, most of them larger than mine.
My plant does not do the species justice. It has survived for many years with a great deal of neglect, and continues to bloom every year. It is in a sunny but somewhat sheltered location.
San Pedro Cactus/Echinopsis pachanoi
There are lots of these in Barstow, most larger than this, some with arms. The flower is spectacular enough than many of the early botanists described it and classified it differently. Therefore it has many different scientific names, but they all include "pachanoi." I have tried unsuccessfully to start one from cuttings. It is not particularly hardy in Barstow, so it will be interesting to see if this one survives the winter in such an exposed location.
The Ferocactus are barrel cacti that do not have fuzzy tops or fuzzy fruit.
Compass Barrel/Ferocactus cylindraceus
This one is outside the door of the Mojave River Valley Museum. Mine are small and do not yet show their mature shape.
The flowers are actually purple, but the color does not photograph true. I bought this one at a nursery in Yucca Valley because of its uniqueness, figuring that if it survived winters in Yucca Valley, it would probably survive the winter here, which it has.
Ferocactus hamatacanthus
Crow's Claw Cactus/Ferocactus latispina
This also came from a nursery in Yucca Valley. Again I bought it because I had never seen a barrel like it, with the exceptionally long spines. And then I fenced it off for fear my little dogs would run into it.
Mexican Fire Barrel/ Ferocactus pilosus
Ferocactus robustus
This cactus grows well here with minimum attention. It blooms every summer for several weeks.
This cactus is marginal for Barstow. If it survives, it grows large quickly, unlike a true Saguaro. Mine is small. The one pictured is at a friend's house.
Ocotillo/Fouquiera splendens
this plant is most spectacular in bloom when the long branches have red flags on the top. This time of year I was lucky to find one with green leaves. I have bought several ocatillos, in pots, bare root, and tried to grow them from cuttings, but haven't had any luck. However there are many beautiful ones in Barstow.
Opuntia may or may not have spines, but most of them have glochids, very very small barbed slivers that get into the skin and are hard to remove. Therefore they must be handled very carefully.
Chenille Beavertail/Opuntia aciculata
This cactus lacks spines. It gets its name from the smooth appearance of its yellow glochids. But beware.
Beavertail Cactus/Opuntia basilarisThis opuntia has mostly glochids rather than spines. The pads are somewhat heart-shaped. When stressed the pads become slightly purple as shown. The flowers are a gorgeous magenta.
This Beavertail is very scarce in its original habitat. It is shorter and broader than the type species, with smaller pads.
This Beavertail is a groundcover, growing only a few inches tall. It has the gorgeous magenta flowers of all Beavertail cacti.
Cow's Tongue Prickly Pear/Opuntia engelmannii
This opuntia has very distinctive long pads.
Grizzly Bear Cactus/Opuntia erinacea
The long flexible spines of this cactus make it less of a danger than most prickly pears. It is native to the Mojave Desert and so needs very little watering. On the other hand, without occasional water, it is very slow growing.
This is a spineless glochid-free cactus. It was developed for the edible fruit.
Apricot Prickly Pear/Opuntia littoralis
The pads of this prickly pear look furry, but the "fur" consists of glochids. They are not to be touched.
This species is native to the Mojave Desert. I have located several clumps on vacant lots in my neighborhood. But it grows better with occasional watering.
This prickly pear has thick pads and long spines. It is said not to be hardy here, but mine has gone through one winter. However it was a fairly warm winter.
The pads of this cactus can be more than 1' across. The red fruit is juicy and edible. But it must be handled carefully because the skin has glochids and the juice stains. The flowers are yellow as shown.
The beautiful purple color is a result of stress. With a mild climate and perfect watering, this cactus has green pads. With cold or drought, it turns purple.
Black-Spined Prickly Pear/Opuntia violacea v macrocentro
Where this one is planted, it may get too much water to turn entirely purple. I like it mainly for the contract of the long black spines.
Parodia magnifica
This cactus very much resembles a golden barrel, but technically it is not a barrel at all. I have purchased several at various times because the flowers are magnificent. Supposedly they grow in Las Vegas, and so should grow here, but I cannot keep them alive. The one in the pot did not survive in my garden, but the cluster in the ground have been in front of a car wash on W. Main St. for several years. Notice the micro-emitter in the picture. Mine were not on a watering system and that was probably the problem. http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ says that they need regular water in the summer. The flowers are so gorgeous that I will certainly try again.
Tephrocactus This genus includes the following two cacti that are marginally hardy in Barstow. I know of some that have been outside in pots for many winters, but have kept mine as house plants. They are easy to start from pieces, so some day I will try putting some outside in a sheltered location.
I grow this as a houseplant, but have friends in Barstow who keep it outside in a sheltered location. The pads have aureoles, but no spines. There are occasional glochids. The tag in the pot calls it an Opuntia. Like many cacti, it was been classified many ways.
Paper Spine Cactus/Tephrocactus articulatus v. papyracanthus
I grow this as a houseplant but have friends in Barstow who keep it outside in a sheltered location. One of these days I will try planting it in the ground in a sheltered place where I want a cactus that doesn't have spines. The joints tend to fall off, so I stick them in a pot and start a new plant.
In the Spring, as these cacti bloom, I will republish this blog posting replacint the pictures with pictures of the cacti in bloom.
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