Our barrel cactus fell down earlier this year. We stood it back up and propped it on three sides with some 1-by-2-inch furring strips, but it fell down again when the landscapers trimmed the palm trees. It laid there several days covered with palm fronds and blocked by all the trucks and scrap metal in the front yard. By the time we could stand it back up, it looked dead.
This one is about four feet tall and weighs about 100 pounds. About a week ago, the yellow flowers on top of it bloomed, so I decided to replant it and see if we could save it. Below are photos of the successful effort:
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| Barrel cactus
Ferocactus wislizenii by Jack V Sage, July 4, 2012 |
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| Barrel cactus photo 2 Ferocactus wislizenii by Jack V Sage, July 4, 2012 |
I dug the hole about 15 inches deep and 18 inches in diameter. I had to pour some water in the hole to soften the soil. Even with the water, it was tough getting down that deep.
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| Barrel cactus photo 3 Ferocactus wislizenii by Jack V Sage, July 4, 2012 |
This is a good view of the root ball. The roots still had plenty of flexibility, so the cactus should do just fine.
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| Barrel cactus photo 4 Ferocactus wislizenii by Jack V Sage, July 4, 2012 |
I wore Jersey work gloves inside a pair of welder's gauntlets so that I could lift the cactus. Even with two pair of gloves, I still got pricked. The thorns on this cactus are three inches long. The debris clinging to it is St. Augustine grass and chips of palm. I leaned the cactus against the east side of the hole, where the ground was firmest, then back-filled around the root ball with the wettest dirt. I pulled extra dirt and a bunch of the bird droppings and palm fruits into the hole for fertilizer and heaped extra soil around the base of the cactus for support.
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| Barrel cactus photo 4 Ferocactus wislizenii by Jack V Sage, July 4, 2012 |
Desert USA has more information about the barrel cactus
here.
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